You've seen it before. A website with a blog “Coming Soon.” Or perhaps the blog already exists but with few posts and the most recent dated 6 months ago. Or perhaps the posts are frequent yet read like bad advertisements.
It's not uncommon for blogs to start and all of a sudden stop or otherwise get derailed from the initial plan. With all good intentions people imagine blogging is easy and straightforward: write and share, right? Alas this isn’t always the case. A successful blog provides relevant, insightful content to a targeted audience on a regularly distributed schedule. These elements are difficult for some folks, however, for lack of writing skills and a demonstrable scarcity of interesting things to say.
Though these obstacles exist for all would-be bloggers, there are very real solutions to overcome them, including:
Outsource to an outside resource
If you're a solopreneur and/or don't have staff to do the blogging, you can easily find a qualified outside professional resource to take on the responsibility for you. A simple online search will lead you to content developers who specialize in your specific industry and others who are more industry agnostic. Remember to carefully vet the resource so you can be confident the writer is capable of communicating in your voice.
Make an “appointment” with yourself to do the writing
Sometimes blog writing is overlooked because it isn’t on a scheduled To Do list. If you don’t make the time to get it done, it will be difficult to commit to the blog over the long term. Set up a window of time for a blogging “appointment” in which no other work can interrupt you.
Research topics of interest
A truly successful blog will have well-researched topics. Do your research. If you're having difficulty coming up with topics or themes, look at blogs written by your industry competitors or industry association. The goal is to write content that is interesting and beneficial to your readers, not material that is overtly self-promotional in nature.
Write in an engaging, “reader-friendly” style
Know your audience. Communicate with the voice and style that readers will enjoy and earn their appreciation for your writing. Effective bloggers write as if they are speaking directly to the reader.
Have fun
Most importantly, have fun! Blogging should be an enjoyable endeavor. If you find it to be more of a chore and something that you dread doing, it's best to take a step back from the responsibility and allow someone else to write the blog for you.