Why blogging is so damn hard and tips on how to get it done

Here are some reasons why businesses find blogging so difficult, and what you can do about it:

Blogging is a great thing any business can do for their website. B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month compared to those who don’t. Furthermore, businesses that blog have 434% more indexed pages. That’s definitely some incentive to start blogging!

So then, why is blogging so hard?

We are busy

Sometimes it’s hard to maintain a blog for your business when you’re trying to balance every other aspect of the business.A demanding client will often come before a blog post for your business. You can’t tell a client to wait, but you can make your blog post wait. Often, blogging isn’t the top priority for a business and may not have the highest ROI.
To avoid the busy excuse, block out a time on your calendar that will just be dedicated to blogging. Make this a frequent booking, one every week, fortnight, month. Whatever frequency works for you. Don’t book any clients or meetings, just sit down and write. Booking out a time will mean you’re more likely to honour that commitment and get the job done.

Not knowing what to write about

If you’re in a specialist or niche area, then it might be hard to keep coming up with different ideas to write content about. If your market is oversaturated, it’s hard to make your posts different and stand out.

If you’re stuck on what to write about, here’s a simple tip to help you out: write a list. On Excel, on Word, on your notepad, wherever. Just keep writing down blog ideas. You’ll eventually see your list of ideas grow. The existing ideas may even serve as inspiration to new ideas. Keep revisiting this list frequently and adding topics.

We just don’t want to write

Everyone has days where they just want to stay in bed and not go to work. Same goes for blogging. Sometimes it seems like there’s nothing worse than having to sit down and write a blog post.

Here’s a few tips to get that motivation back:

• Set a deadline: make the task seem more official by having a deadline. Maybe even make this deadline well known - schedule it into your calendar, let other workers know when it needs to be done by. This way you’re more likely to complete the task and not procrastinate.
• Remember why you’re blogging: reminding yourself of your goals can be good motivation. Why are you doing the blog? To create a community? To write a book? To get sales? When you don’t feel like blogging, remembering the end goal can serve as good motivation.
• Try another type of content: Have a serious case of writer's block? Don’t abandon blogging all together, just try a different outlet. Ever considered producing podcasts? This is a medium that is always increasing in popularity, and is a great way to continue producing content without actually having to sit down and write.

Writing too frequently

You’ve decided on how much content is going to be produced for your blog each month, and how frequently it will be published. You sit down to write and realise you’ve overcommitted yourself, and there’s no way you’ll get all the blog posts done as well as handle business.

When you’re blogging, it’s important to ensure you’ve got a timetable of how frequent you are going to publish content. Every week, fortnight, month, it doesn’t matter. Once you’ve decided how often you are going to write and how much content you will produce, stick to this timeframe. That’s why it’s so important to get this right before you commit. If you’re producing lots of content, but don’t have the time or resources, chances are you’ll end up with poor, sloppy content. In some cases, it’s better to produce less content, but ensure it’s of a higher standard.
So just remember a few things about blogging:

• It will take time to get used to: no one is a natural born blogger. If you’re just starting out, give it some time. This site talks a nice analogy, a marathon versus a garden, and eventually you’ll get the hang of things.
• It will be time consuming: you won’t just be able to take ten minutes out of your busy schedule and produce a masterpiece. Researching, writing, editing and optimising your blog piece takes time. Make sure you can set aside enough time before you commit to blogging.
• Blogging should be fun: if you’re trying to blog right now and hating life, then this might come as a bit of a shock. Blogging should actually be fun and enjoyable! The minute it’s not is when you’re doing something wrong and you should stop and reflect. Remember why you started and when it was enjoyable, and focus on the goals you had at that stage.