It has been exactly 5 years to the date of posting about 5 Ways to Start Blogging With a Purpose. WOW! So much has changed since then, so I thought I’d do a part two if you have been thinking about starting a blog. Doing something with purpose means you’re not doing it just to do it. There’s a reason behind it, and all of your actions will support the reason. Let’s explore!
Do your research.
Find out what topics your audience is interested in so you can be a resource for them. A simple Google search on top questions your audience has can provide insight. You can also ask AI to provide you with the topics that your audience needs help with. However you decide to conduct your research, it will help to form your content so you can provide more value to your audience.
Plan your content.
Have a rhyme and reason for each post you create rather than just winging it. You want your blog to have a focus, and the best way to stay “on topic” is by planning out your posts in advance. You can start with the results from your research above and build from there.
Dedicate time for your blog.
Put time on the calendar so you know it’s real. Blocking out a small window of time at a cadence that makes sense in your life is a major key to blogging with purpose. Having a schedule is the first step to try to be consistent with creating new posts. I like to have a monthly planning session where I review what I will post for the month and outline the contents of each post. This is incredibly helpful because it gives my content creation process a better flow and saves time.
Scale down the platforms.
It’s wise to utilize social media platforms to share and cross promote your blog posts, but with the overwhelming number of platforms that pop up everyday, it’s easy to get confused on which ones to use. I recommend choosing two platforms to focus your energy on. This could be any combination of social platforms, but I suggest sticking to the two platforms that your audience shows up on the most so you can in turn show up for them.
Remember, you own this ish.
Content creation and the internet have gone through many ebbs and flows over the years, but one thing remains true- if you have a blog, you own and control your content. You can post how you want, you can move how you want. No algorithm is going to hide your content. Your job is to create posts that are useful, and to drive traffic to your website. A quick and easy way to drive traffic to your website is by creating your own link page to use for social media that directs users to your website. This way, you can get the traffic rather than Linktree or other link sites getting it. Check out this post on how to create one in Squarespace.
Related Post: Read part 1 to accompany this post: 5 Ways to Start Blogging With a Purpose
I hope these ideas have helped to give you clarity on how blogging can be beneficial and how to approach it with purpose. If you’ve been thinking about starting a blog but have reservations about it, let's discuss it in the comments below!