So far I have managed to write 3 blog posts (this will be my fourth), and for someone who hasn’t written in a long time, I think they are pretty decent for just starting out. However, I know I am definitely out of my depth when it comes to proper blogging. There is so much more to it than just writing a blog post and publishing it.
You need to think about:
- images
- the title
- keywords
- meta descriptions
- calls to action
- the content
- when to publish it, where to publish it
- is it optimised
- and loads more!
And that’s just to do with the actual post! Never mind sorting out the topics for future posts and when you will post them, or who will be responsible for the post for that day. The list is exhaustive.
Today, I am learning how to create an editorial calendar. I opened the e-mail for the challenge, read through it, read the corresponding blog posts, opened the calendar and my brain went into panic mode wondering how I am going to manage to sort this “thing” out when I’ve only just started writing again and I’m not even really sure I know what I am doing! Hence, the topic for my day 4 challenge.
Now I know that no one is good at everything when it comes to running their own business. The phrase “fingers in too many pies” comes to mind. If we were good at every single aspect of running a business – and there are many – we wouldn’t have a need for designers, marketing people, accountants, bookkeepers, etc. I know my strengths, and I’m learning about my weaknesses as well. I have received some very good advice from a fellow mum who runs her own business, Meg from Bringing Up Brits and has far more experience than I do when it comes to blogs and promoting themselves. I am grateful for her help and support, and once I am through with this challenge, and can afford to, I will be looking to outsource some of the work with regards to the blogs. Oh, I won’t be giving it up completely because I have found that I actually enjoy writing and thinking of topics. I love how the topics seem to come to me sometimes as a “spur of the moment” and I know I just need to write about them! However, I know the finer aspects – like the images, keywords, meta descriptions, and just having someone give the blog post a once over, will be so much more beneficial to myself, and to the business, that I will gladly pay someone to do this for me. I will also be looking to find some guest bloggers who would happily write a guest post for me, and I will, of course, do the same for them if they would like me to do.
I know that there is a lot more to blogging than people think. I know it is far more time consuming than people think it is as well. I also know that it is very important for a business that wants to have an online presence. I have only just started my journey with blogging, and it is a journey that is never going to end. By the end of the challenge, though, I am hoping that I will know a lot more about what it is I want from my business blog, and be able to explain that to anyone I have that helps me with it. I will always have a big part to play within my business blog – and I think it is very important that anyone who has a blog knows exactly what needs doing and what they want, even if they have outsourced the work.