Is it worth restarting your inactive blog? And how can you enhance your writing skills in order to produce better blog content?
In this article, let’s first identify the reason why you’ve deprioritized your blog, and then discuss 7 tips to get you back on track.
It goes without saying that there will be a lot of dormant blogs floating around the internet – all started with the best of intentions. That’s no surprise, as blogging is a relatively inexpensive marketing strategy to start as a small business owner.
The caveat? It’s hard work. Aside from being insanely time-consuming, writing doesn’t come naturally to everyone. So, the initial allure and excitement quickly dissipate and the blog just ends…an unmanageable black hole on your site that is avoided at all costs.
Because you may have high hopes for your blog and still want it to be successful. After all, getting into long-form content marketing was definitely your goal. And rightly so, we might add.
Your journey to creating an online presence and establishing your credibility through published writing just didn’t go as expected and you don’t need to deal with it. It’s fixable!
Before you rush to your word processor and pick it up again, take a moment to figure out why you stopped in the first place. This will help you better manage your downfall and be more aware of your expectations when reviving your blog.
Table of Contents
Three reasons why you gave up your blog too early.
Reason #1 – Your blog isn’t receiving enough visitors.
Welcome to the world of internet traffic. This problem is certainly not unique to your blog, so the first thing to note is that you are not alone in this battle. SEO has left countless bloggers frustrated and discouraged when it comes to creating shareable content online.
” How long does it take to rank on Google?” is a frequently asked question in digital marketing firms. Unfortunately, the truth is that there is no simple, definitive answer. A little research on this will reveal that many factors go into the ranking. You can use your judgment and expertise to determine which of these will impact your content the most, but you undoubtedly need to develop a solid keyword strategy to create content that search engines will love and rank in organic searches.
Reason #2 – You’re not seeing tangible growth
It’s the norm for new blogs to grow in small increments at first. Most likely, your direct network and some additional followers will see your blog posts in the first 6 months. You will gain some followers, lose some followers, and pushing the number will feel like an insurmountable challenge.
During this time, within the first year, bloggers get discouraged by the numbers and abandon faster-growing strategies. Maybe that suited your business model better and you realized that blogging didn’t suit you back then.
But if you stick through the early stages and focus on cementing your readership, there will come a point where your blog will snowball and gain momentum. Ideally, you should include other marketing activities from the start and let the blog support them. For all cross-channel marketing efforts and content reuse, keep your blog in mind and create unique content that drives search traffic to your call-to-action.
Reason #3 – You’re running out of content ideas
All the enthusiasm in the world cannot be sustained if you simply struggle to find creative and engaging ways to write about an indefinite range of subjects, with a range of multimedia at your disposal. This is one of the reasons for a big shift from blog marketing to content marketing. In this decade of digital marketing, blogging is so much more than writing a 500-word article and hitting publish.
However, use this to your advantage. Being proactive can help you follow topics you’re passionate about and find ideas to address in a timely and engaging manner on your long-form blog. Take some time to plan your content calendar, follow blogs you enjoy reading, and research topics that might interest your audience.
Is it worth restarting an inactive blog?
A quick look at the latest stats in 2020 on blogging reveals:
- 77% of internet users read blog articles,
- Internet users in the US spend three times more time blogging than email.
- Blogs are some of the most shared content on the web and
- 60% of people buy a product after reading a blog post about it.
Yes, it’s worth it.
Blogging is not dead as some would like to believe, but it has evolved. As blogging moves toward content creation as a whole, successful bloggers focus on cross-channel storytelling, email list building, and social media engagement. Full-time bloggers are most likely involved in other revenue-generating content creation activities beyond the scope of text-based blogs.
So while it may take months for your articles to gain traction, all those constant updates to your site and quality content will pay off in the end. Because of this, blogging is recommended as a perfect strategy to complement your other marketing efforts – so you should seriously consider giving your blog another chance.
Fortunately, you’re not running for the Nobel Prize. You just have to strive to be as authentic as possible, connect with your audience, and drive organic search by optimizing your blog content. There really is no need to procrastinate any longer as with a little guidance you can start where you are. So if you think you’ve quit your blog prematurely, let’s explore how you can write better and faster than before!
7 Tips To Improve Your Blog Content Writing
Tip #1 – Set weekly writing goals
Make writing a weekly exercise. Set aside time for this on your calendar and make sure it’s on your to-do list for each week; Don’t hope to just squeeze it in when you have a moment. Aside from blog content, writing is one of the most valuable skills in business. It carries over to all your other marketing efforts and business activities.
Treat your writing as a process rather than a finished product.. Write – edit – write something else – repeat. You will soon find that the words come more naturally and you actually begin to enjoy the opportunity to think clearly.
Key takeaway: Just write!
Tip #2 – Learn SEO best practices
Search Engine Optimization, SEO, is a big topic in their own right with important information about blogging. This article isn’t meant to delve deep into the topic, but every content creator should keep up to date on SEO best practices. Here are some of the basics to keep in mind and research for your blog:
- Title – Research and use competitive keywords.
- Structure – Use subheadings for SEO and skimming.
- Backlinks – Include internal and external links.
- Content – Update outdated articles and create fresh content.
Here is a super-comprehensive step-by-step SEO guide for beginners by Neil Patel.
Key takeaway: Work on your SEO!
Tip #3 – Document your thoughts
You throw away ideas if you don’t capture them as soon as they arise. There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank page and trying to think of all the ideas you know you had before, only for your head to go completely blank in the moment. So when inspiration strikes or an intriguing thought pops into your head, don’t just let the idea pass you by. Because no, you won’t remember, especially if you lie in bed at night.
Inspiration and stories can be drawn from your daily life as long as you are present and aware enough to recognize them. Including these experiences in your marketing will humanize your brand and make it more relatable to your target audience. As a result, make sure you have a system in place to record them for future use.
There are numerous note-taking and management systems such as Trello, Evernote, and Keep. A useful and accessible way to record your thoughts is with the voice memo app on your smartphone. Record yourself pitching your idea and listen again later. There’s also an option to physically jot down ideas in an old-school notebook — or the closest piece of paper. Whatever works best for you.
Key takeaway: take notes!
Tip #4 – Read more regularly
That kind of makes sense, doesn’t it? Reading expands your vocabulary and introduces you to different styles of writing—which, of course, help you become a better writer. No knowledge is wasted, so the content doesn’t necessarily have to relate to your writing practice. But if you do, that’s just a bonus, since it then also serves as research.
And whenever you read an article that you particularly like, analyze it. Try to understand exactly what interests you in reading it. If you understand the content and can easily connect to it, keep that in mind when writing for your own audience. It’s both an art and a science, so try to reverse engineer it.
There are strong arguments for entrepreneurs to read more. But there is also a sense of discipline that comes from incorporating reading into everyday life. Presumably, this habit trains your brain to become more disciplined (cultivating better habits and such) when writing as well, so if you’re not a heavy reader, it’s worth following the advice on how to develop reading habits.
Key takeaway: Read more!
Tip #5 – Use a strong hook
Think back to your essay writing days in high school. You have been repeatedly taught how to structure your essay and make connections between paragraphs. And just as your teacher would have preached, it’s really your first paragraph that draws your reader in and sets the expectation for what is to come.
A hook is a line or lines that entice your reader and makes them want to stay to learn more. There are different types of hooks that you can switch between for your blog posts. To get the most out of your hook, it’s crucial to identify your audience and then set the tone. But in general, asking a question is a very popular hook (scroll to the top of this article!) because the goal is to get your audience to think about a topic and then seek an answer to it—and they can get by blogging your read. Another popular hook is a surprising or strong statement that can be controversial or unexpected.
Premonitions or intimations are an attention-grabbing hook that avoids descriptions and creates suspense because everything doesn’t have to be spelled out right at the beginning. Because people are curious, they will at least browse your blog to get the gist. In the best-case scenario, they then decide that it is worth actually reading the article and digging deeper into the content.
Key takeaway: Roll them up!
Tip #6 – Find your voice and write naturally
Being yourself is the most sustainable way to build an online presence. Trying to mask your voice and just mimic what everyone else is doing is not a good idea – as you will come off as disingenuous or inauthentic to your audience.
There are millions of blogs online and each produces freely available content with valuable information. So, what is the one thing you possess that no one else has? Your voice! Accept it and nurture it.
Don’t be afraid to insert yourself into your text or share anecdotes with your readers, because it’s your perspective that brings the content to life, making it all the more memorable and entertaining. If you want to write in the first person, go ahead! In fact, many recommend and prefer it over the elusive “we.”
Write as if you were speaking to a buddy, within reason. Again, think about the writing styles that you, the reader, like. Stick to clear and concise language that is easy to follow.
Key takeaway: Be yourself!
Tip #7 – Take a step back, before you start editing.
As an entrepreneur, you are always pressed for time and simply want to publish the content as quickly as possible. But, if possible, don’t edit your writing immediately after you’ve finished writing it.
You must take a break, work on something else, and then return to the problem with fresh eyes.
At least it helps to just take a short walk or enjoy a cup of coffee to switch from writing mode to editor mode.
Read your writing aloud, even if it seems unnecessary – it isn’t. Reading aloud will help you pay attention to rhythm, awkward sentences, missing words, and grammatical errors, and develop your sound as a writer. If that’s not possible where you are, read it out loud…in your head.
You’ll easily find self-editing tips to refer to for guidance, but as you begin to develop your writing skills, you’ll soon notice your weaknesses and become more attuned to common mistakes to watch out for.
Key takeaway: Switch!
Bonus tip!
Use Grammarly, an AI-powered writing assistant.
Recap
- Set weekly writing goals
- Learn SEO best practices
- Document your thoughts
- Read more regularly
- Use a strong hook
- Find your voice and write naturally
- Take a step back, before you start editing.
Bonus Tip: Use Grammarly
Writing and communicating your marketing strategy has become as important as developing and implementing it. While these tips are designed to help you become a better writer and restart your blog, remember that writing is also the foundation of everything a digital marketing professional does today.
Purposeful writing, something you practice while blogging, is arguably the most powerful tactic for producing excellent copy. If you have nothing to say or your writing goals aren’t on target, your content will become shallow and the words won’t resonate with your reader.
So, become a better writer for your blog and then watch yourself become a better marketer for your business.
To Your Success!
