How to Blog If You Don't Feel Confident as a Writer
When it comes to writing, I've already shared my difficulty getting started. The truth is, though, I like to write.
But what do you do if you don't like writing or you don't feel like you're any good at it?
Tough to write when you’ve just stolen an antique typewriter and a banquette used on the set of Goodfellas.
Is content marketing—which establishes your authority in your industry and attracts potential customers—still for you? UH HUH.
Here are three ideas for you to create and share content even if you don’t feel confident in your writing.
1. Don’t write. Yes, maybe you thought of this one already. But I’m here to tell you that rather than stifle your creativity, try sharing your knowledge using other media.
Video: Get a tripod for your iPhone, find a spot with good lighting (near a window, for example), hit record, and start talking!
Amy Schmittauer of Savvy Sexy Social has fantastic tips for getting started on camera. Two of my favorites: Don’t forget to look straight into the lens at your ideal client! Imagine her on the other side of the lens. Some public-speaking coaches even recommend taping a photo of your favorite star or crush just above the lens. Uptoyou.
Also, don’t introduce yourself at the beginning of your video. As Amy says, “Give them everything good first,” meaning, start with information on the topic that drew them to your video title. Start with content.
Embed the video on a blog page on your site, and voila! A blog post.
Images: You can also experiment with sharing a gallery of photos with short captions, or a series of charts. Or an infographic.
Telling people how to do something: How about a step-by-step post with a photo representing each step? Just remember to include the images on your website, and link to them, driving traffic from social media to your website.
2. Do write, but change your point of view.
When you come up with a blog post idea, think about the knowledge you want to share from the POV of your potential client. You’re not writing an essay or a short story.
You’re solving a problem. Their problem.
That’s what you got into business to do, right? You saw that you could provide a service or a product better than the way it'd been done before. You have the ideal solutions for your audience—a set of people whose problem you can solve. So, make it about them. How does knowing about this topic make their lives easier? Organize your post around the answer.
3. Find your voice.
If you’re not a chummy, buddy-buddy kind of guy or gal in person, you don’t have to adopt that tone in your writing. Conversely, if you balk at formality, and your casual style allows you to meet people where they’re at, use that to your advantage.
You don’t have to write like a poet. You just have to know what you want to say. Sharing your knowledge in an authentic way will help you stick with writing, and employing point #2 (what problem of your audience’s are you solving) will help you structure your writing.
These three tips involve taking the time and allowing yourself the freedom to experiment with new media, a new way of approaching content, and with your voice.
You can’t take shortcuts to good content, but if you put the time in, you can share your knowledge effectively, even if you don’t love to write.