Do you struggle with content for your blog?

Do you struggle with content for your blog?

Sometimes I am challenged to come up with content for my blog.  Karen Dunlap, of Design for Your Success NOW,  gives some great advice on coming up with those ideas.

This week, we’ll pick up our conversation on blogging.  We’ve talked about why you should blog and how your blog should have a voice that’s consistent throughout your business.  Let’s now talk more about content.  What should you write about?  How do you make the content entertaining and engaging?  How much content should I include?  We talked a lot about this at the Design Bloggers Conference I attended last month and here are some things that were shared:

Write from a place of passion.

Passion is energy and that energy will engage your readers.  This gets back to the values we talked about last week.  When you connect with your values, you’re also connecting with your passion and purpose.  Write about what you feel connected to, what inspires you, and what speaks to your soul.

Talk about yourself and your work.

Let people know what you’re up to in your business. Let them peak in on projects and follow you as you design for your clients. Don’t be afraid to show a more personal side of yourself. That helps your readers feel connected to you. Get comfortable sharing your accomplishments; it builds up trust and credibility in your reader’s eyes. Keep it humble and genuine.

Showcase your expertise.

Talk about client dilemmas and how you resolved them.  Before and after photos are always a big attention grabber.  Share your knowledge and be willing to part with some design advice free of charge.  It establishes you as the expert and continues to build on that trust and credibility.

KISS – Keep it short and simple.

Pictures are the biggest draw for design blogs.  It’s what we call “eye candy”.  A picture followed by a few sentences of key thoughts or personal impressions is really all you need.  When showcasing your work, make sure the pictures do your project justice. Imagine sharing your pictures with a good friend, what would you say?  That’s really all you need to convey on your blog.

Blogging doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking if you keep these several things in mind when it comes to your content.

The key is to keep it authentic to you, centered on your values, passion, and purpose, and to let your content reinforce your brand.  By doing so, you’ll not only engage and inspire your readers but also your ideal clients!