Before You Blog: What Are You Writing About?

I'd like to invite you to think differently about each blog post you write. For each blog, ask yourself two questions:

What is my key message?

What change am I seeking to affect in the reader?

I used to think about all marketing content in the terms of micro-decisions.

For blogs, this would mean a series of micro-decisions like this:

1. A reader decides to click over to your site

2. She decides to read the headline

3. She decides to read the opening statement

4. She decides to read to the next paragraph

5. ...and so on

By breaking these little moments up this way, a marketer can appreciate the permission being asked of the reader and the commitment being made by the reader, and so think strategically about each part that combines to make the whole experience.

But lately, I've been thinking in much broader terms: what change am I seeking to inspire in the reader? 

This focus is helping ensure I'm creating useful content for a reason other than simply to create more content in an already noisy world. Sometimes that change I'm seeking isn't just in the reader, but in myself, too.

And that's why I suggest trying hand writing the answers to these two questions before your fingers hit the keyboard. Beyond the value of the practice of handwriting anything, you'll also have a physical reminder right in front of you while you write, and something you can refer back to before you publish.

Happy blogging!