by John Bonini
Bad habits are hard to break!
I said I wouldn’t have ice cream this week.
Yet there I was, leaning over the freezer door
surveying my options like the indecisive person in front of you at
Starbucks. It wasn’t until I was two spoonfuls into a mint chocolate
chip sundae that I realized my oversight.
I tried to justify it. It’s Sunday. I always have ice cream before Game of Thrones.
Old habits die hard. Unfortunately, so can your goals if those habits aren’t identified and corrected.
I often hear the question, “how can I generate more
interest and traffic to my blog?” Good question, but it’s often the
wrong one as it’s usually reflected outward as if the one thing that’s
been holding them back is some secret of distribution.
There is no distribution secret -- at least not one that I’ve discovered. Instead, the problem is usually rooted in some bad, hard-to-break writing habits. Unlike my affinity for ice cream, however, you can get a handle on these.
So let’s identify a few of these habits so you can start breaking them.
You're Narcissistic
Let’s get this out of the way early: You care about
your product, but your prospects are concerned with solving their
problems. Contrary to just about all of your content efforts, solving
your customer's needs isn't about highlighting your company, but rather
giving them the right information.
Think of your blog as the instruction manual that
comes with most products. Grounded in action, manuals not only tell us
how things work, but they even show us how to
do it visually. This is exactly what the modern consumer is looking for
in a company blog. They don’t need to be sold on you yet -- instruction before seduction.
Breaking the Habit
Identify the challenges that eventually lead people
to need a product like yours -- then blog about those challenges. If
you’re selling fertilizer, you could post about controlling weeds and
protecting against ticks. Focus on addressing the actual challenges your
audience has, and by extension, you'll position your product as the
logical solution.
You Overcomplicate It
Readers shouldn’t need a doctorate in business jargon in order to understand your blog posts. In
fact, jargon kills any sign of empathy you may be trying to convey. If
people can’t understand it, they certainly can’t relate to it.
This habit becomes more pronounced the higher up the
executive chain you go, as the more expertise you have on a subject, the
harder it is for you to articulate the solution on an intermediate
level. This is often referred to as the “curse of knowledge,” a
cognitive bias that makes it difficult for those “in the know” to think
from the perspective of those who are not.
It’s also a curse on your readership, as people only read what they can both understand and pull actionable value from.
Breaking the Habit
If you don’t already have a content style guide, work
together with your team to put one together. This covers everything
from grammar to specific industry terms and should completely align with
your ideal persona and how they communicate their challenges. If there
is a simpler way of writing something, use it. As Ann Handley says, “No one will ever complain that you made things too simple to understand.”
You're Inconsistent
While this may be more of a lack of a habit, it’s still a habit nonetheless.
Asking how frequently you should be blogging is the
wrong question. Instead, ask yourself how many questions and challenges
your audience has. The answer should be infinite and constantly evolving
-- and you should be blogging as often as you can to answer all of
those questions.
Sadly, this isn’t how most companies view blogging.
It’s more of a chore to be checked off as completed at the end of the
month. And if nothing comes of it then, “Hey, at least we gave it a
shot.”
Just know there are other companies, possibly even
competitors, blogging more frequently and effectively, and still
managing to catch a few winks. You can, too.
Breaking the Habit
Increasing consistency may sound idealistic when you’re lacking resources, but aligning content efforts with overall company goals should get more people involved.
Internally, everyone on your team offers a unique perspective. Set
company-wide blog post quotas and keep a detailed editorial calendar to
stay organized.
You're Riding the Bandwagon
The benefits of following the crowd seemingly outweigh the negatives.
It’s less of a time commitment, requires less effort,
and ensures you’re aligned with what other successful companies in the
space are doing.
Just remember that whenever you’re riding the bandwagon, you can’t be driving it.
This habit plagues many companies having trouble filling their editorial calendar.
“What’s [insert competitor] doing on their blog?”
This practice doesn’t ensure success. Instead, it
positions your company as one-step behind -- you're always trying to
play catch-up. Why compete for the same attention? If others are already
writing about it, why will your post be any different? There’s only so
many readers to go around, and while you can’t be sure that they’ll read
your post over someone elses, they're much more likely to choose your
blog if what you’re writing about can’t be found everywhere else.
Breaking the Habit
The ground is always more fertile ahead of the pack,
so instead of filling your editorial calendar with whatever is trending,
try putting a unique spin on the topics your audience is interested
in.
Remember, your success lies in your ability to create
contrast between your blog and everyone elses. But before you do that,
you’ll have to break these bad habits.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bowl of half-melted ice cream to get rid of.
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