Are you wasting your time writing blog posts? Here’s a question I’ve been hearing lately. I’ve been writing professionally for nearly 20 years now and I’ve seen trends come and go. There will always be a need for great writing, in one form or another.
So, why are some people saying blog posts are a waste of time?
I’ve heard some “gurus” and marketing/business experts saying lately that you’re wasting your time writing blog posts. They claim that content is no longer king and that your time could be better spent elsewhere. I have clients and friends asking me if this is true.
I get it. With so many business tasks vying for your time, it can be difficult to sort what’s really important, and what can be skipped.
Are You Wasting Your Time Writing Blog Posts?
Does blogging belong on the to-do list?
Or, is it a waste of time to write blog posts?
I’d say it’s never a waste of time when you’re writing with a purpose. You need to know why you’re writing or you shouldn’t bother. Take some time for research. Ask your audience what they want. Find out what value you have to offer. Take some notes. Brainstorm. Freewrite. Allow your ideas to flow freely and then come up with some really solid blog post ideas. Then you can take the time to develop those ideas.
Don’t blog just for the sake of blogging.
Don’t blog just to put some content out there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with someone who said something like “I was told to post three times a week”. So they had churned out sub-par content just because some “expert” had told them they needed to.
Don’t blog just because someone said you should do it once a week, or twice a week, or whatever. And don’t publish boring, repetitive content just so you can say you published something. You should only publish when you have something of value to offer your readers.
However, blogging is ABSOLUTELY still a fantastic way to promote your business and connect with your target market. And there are infinite numbers of exciting and informative topics you can write about once you learn how to really narrow down what your audience wants to see.
This is your chance to speak directly to your target client. What would you say to them?
My questions would be:
- What are you writing about? What is the main topic and what is the point of it? How will it help your reader? How does this content you are sharing add something new or useful to the industry/niche?
- Are you including a clear CTA (call to action)? What do you want your readers to do? Do you write posts with your end goal in mind? For example, what do you want readers to do – to sign up for a program? For 1v1 coaching with you? To get your freebie and sign up for your list? If you have readers and they’re expecting something from you, absolutely give them something, but make it something AMAZING. Make it worth their while. Give them something special, something useful, and something that reminds them why they signed up with you in the first place.
Don’t publish because some “guru” told you you’re supposed to, or because you feel it’s an obligation. Do it because you have looked at the reasons it can benefit you and decided it’s the best thing to do. The more you publish quality content, the easier it will become and you may even find yourself thinking of new topics all the time in your normal daily tasks. I always recommend my clients keep a notebook, spreadsheet, or some other type of notetaking where they can log all of their ideas as they come to them.
Then, you can sit down to create new blog content and refer to your list of ideas for help.
Here are some reasons blogging and company blogging are still relevant today:
- It brings people to your website (and helps keep them there). While posting content on social media can be useful, it’s also easy for people to get distracted in their feeds and scroll on past whatever you post. When you publish great content on your website via your blog (it also helps SEO), it means they are on your site. This makes them stay on your site longer, and it also makes them more likely to click through to other pages and even to buy something from you (especially when you include that CTA).
- It gives you a place to publish long-form content. I may be a traditionalist when it comes to this, but I still love long-form content. Stats show Google likes it too and it helps your site rank better. Today’s social media influence means we are pressed to say things more quickly. Short, snappy posts, 140-characters, it’s all about being brief. But there’s still something to be said about high-quality long-form content.
- It helps establish authority. How can you show you are an expert in your field? Writing high-quality blog posts about the topics you are an expert in is a great way to build more authority for your brand. While this metric is not as impactful as other metrics you can measure, it’s still important nonetheless. Imagine being able to send a customer or prospective customer a link to a blog post that answers their questions or concerns. You will establish yourself as the expert.
Writing Blog Posts Conclusions
These are just a few benefits to blogging today to get you started, but it’s not an exhaustive list. There are also many secondary benefits to blogging for your business. If you don’t have time to do it yourself, or you worry that you don’t know how to blog with benefits in mind, it’s okay to hire help from a professional. It’s an investment into your business that, when done correctly, will reap huge rewards.
If you have more questions about how blogging can help you, or how to create a content plan for your blog, contact me today. I’m happy to help!
I definitely agree with blogging with a purpose! As long as you have a clear focus/purpose, blog posts are definitely not a waste of time!
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
Absolutely Jennifer! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
Such great tips! When I first started blogging professionally, I was publishing 5 new posts a week because that’s what everyone was telling me I should be doing. While I was getting a great number of page views, I became burned out super fast and it turned into me just posting content just to post it. Now, I post about 3 times a week which is not only more manageable, but the content is so much better as well. Blogging with a real purpose is so important!
Thanks for sharing this! I just realized why I started my blog at the first place. It is my passion. And I have loved it more when I began to blog about it.
This is an interesting read to read as a new blogger. I definitely dont think we should write just to write something because it is obvious to the reader if there is no purpose or passion behind it.
I ask myself this question all the time! But at the end of the day, blogging also brings me joy and that’s what matters right? Thanks for sharing such great tips!
Amen! Blog because it makes you happy, not because you’re told to do it so often. Sure we want to have profitable biz as a results, but if you don’t love writing, it’s not going to happen.