I am frequently asked where I get all of my ideas for my blog articles. A lot of people start to blog but get writers block. Welcome to the club, I still get writers block, but I have found a few things that help. I do blog once per week and have for over 3 years now. If you are a business owner trying to grow your business or certainly your online presence, writing a blog is an absolute must. If you think you don’t have anything to say, think again. You have successfully built your business which means you do have a lot of knowledge about what it takes to build a business. This information is valuable to many people. Don’t sell yourself short, people will read what you have to say if it is helpful. The first way to get rid of a blog block is to write about what you know.

One thing I have learned to do every day is to carry a list. Any idea that strikes me during the day I write it down on my blog list. That way when the time comes to start writing this week’s blog, I have a list of ideas to choose from shortening my pondering time, hence eliminating my blog block. It may be a client issue, networking tip, a book I am reading or just a news article I find interesting.  I find if I have a subject to discuss, the writing comes fairly easy. Be sure to write about subjects you have direct knowledge and give examples and instruction. Too many business owners don’t want to share anything from fear of being duplicated by their competition. You do not have to share your recipe for your “secret sauce” but it is okay to explain how to make the hamburger.

The true combination of writing a blog is to be useful, respectful, colorful and real. I write like I talk. I love to tell stories to make a point when selling or training my agents. Therefore most of my blog articles include a story I have read or experienced in my life, it doesn’t get any more real than that.  My friend Mitch who got me started on writing a blog showed me the list trick and it really works. We see and hear things daily that would interest another agent, salesperson or entrepreneur from experiencing an issue by how we handled our issue. That is helpful.

Just a few other tips to remember when writing your weekly blog, is to have a good title. I find I have more readers when my title is a question rather than a statement. People naturally gravitate towards questions and answers. So when you have your subject, form it into a question. Next find a great web image that reinforces your subject matter. One third of readers are visually dominant, a good image pulls in as many readers as your good title. There are tons of free image websites, just be sure to give them person credit at the end of your blog for their image. Lastly, I strive to write 600 words in my blog. I don’t stress about 500 or 700, but I find 600 words is a good sweet spot for a reader to learn something new or invoke a new thought but not so wordy that they don’t want to take the 4 to 5 minutes to read it.

I encourage you to take up writing soon. It will do wonders for your web traffic and reputation. You may feel free to contact me at tim@yourfriend4life.com with any blog questions. I am always happy to help fellow entrepreneurs. By the way, we are at 630 words.

“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind”.—– Ayn Rand

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles  at www.freedigitalphotos.net

yourfriend4life.com

Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 27 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.