My blogs are misbehaving

17th June 2016 | Posted in Blogging

It’s not like I don’t have a content plan. It’s not like I haven’t thought through the topic. And remembered all about the audience persona that I am addressing.

And yet my blogs constantly misbehave. Instead of telling a single story, they wander around a number of (very interesting) points and finish far away from the conclusion that I wanted to make.

So what’s going wrong?

Here are five things that could be stopping you from writing a straightforward, interesting blog of just the right length.

 

The subject I’m writing about is the one in my plan – but it’s not a subject I’m excited about today. I can’t quite remember why I’ve got this down as a good topic.

 Tip. When you’re planning your content, take time to outline what you want to say in the blog, as well as giving it a title. When you come back to actually write the article, you’ll have a better idea of what point you wanted to make.

 

I’ve been distracted by today’s inbox. I get a lot of really interesting and valuable news and content through email and social and I want to explore it and write about it straight away.

Tip. Hmm. Write your blog before you read your inbox?

 

I’m trying to say too much. One thing leads to another and everything I write reminds me of something else that I thought was really important, so I try to shoehorn it in.

Tip. Stick to the plot. This is not a novel where you can allow your characters to take over and shape the story. Remember who’s in charge.

 

I don’t want to cut out anything I’m saying.

Tip. You don’t have to. Break down what you’re staying into different topics and write a separate blog on each. As gardeners know, if you break up an overgrown plant you can often get many new smaller plants without great effort or expenditure.

 

I’ve got the opposite problem. I want to get to five tips and I can only think of four that are really relevant.

Tip. Stop at four. Don’t start padding. Don’t get boring.

 

If you found it was worth your time reading this article you might find these interesting:

Who is your ideal customer? An introduction to personas

Quick tweaks for consistent newsletters Hot tips for making a committee-written newsletter look like it has one author – your business

Making every word of your communications really work hard  Handy hints on getting the most out of all the components of campaign and newsletter emails

 

Struggling to plan and write your blogs? Let’s put our heads together. You have the knowledge. I have the marketing writing expertise. (And I can type with all my fingers.)

Get in touch to explore how we can work together to get your content working hard for your business, whatever its size. Drop me a mail at [email protected] and we can start a conversation rolling.