I wish I'd started blogging sooner. Small business owners are experts in our niches, and the sheer volume of encyclopaedic knowledge and opinions we accumulate is mind-blowing.

We have a lot to talk about!

“Words are all I have to take your heart away”

A blog is much more than just words. When you generously share your expertise, strangers, clients, and potential clients view you as an authority in your field. Google also laps up all your delicious, original words and its algorithms put you in front of more people.

You - yes, you - have landed on more expert blogs during your internet searches than you can poke a stick at. Sometimes, the blogger shares information that is so helpful that you subscribe to their newsletters or follow them on social media. You may even buy their services.

How do you get started?

This blog gives you:

1. Five compelling reasons to start a blog.

2. Five ways to get started.

3. How to use AI to help you.

4. Obliterating your barriers to blogging.

Five reasons you should start a blog

1. Blogs are evergreen. While social media posts fade into the ether, blog posts exist forever. You have undoubtedly read blogs that are brand new or ten years old. It doesn't matter if it was helpful to you. For the blogger, they wrote it once, and it delivers value repeatedly.
   

2. You build authority in your niche when you're generous with your expertise. People will trust what you say, and when they trust you, they are more likely to buy from you.
   

3. Blogs are a remarkable opportunity to:

   • Scoop up more subscribers for your newsletter.

   • Increase your social media following.

   • Drive people to your website.

   • Express yourself!
     

4. Blog posts are a valuable resource which you can repurpose. Slice-n-dice them for social media and newsletters.
   

5. SEO! An original non-AI blog increases the chances of Google putting your website in front of humans.

Five steps to starting your blog

1.Decide where your glorious blogs will live.

• If you have a website, check out its blogging functions. My favourites for my clients are Squarespace and Wix.
  

• If you don't have a website, drag-and-drop platforms like Squarespace and Wix host stand-alone blogging sites. Specialist hosts such as Blogger are also available. Blogger is not one of my favourites (I find it a little clumsy), but it's a reasonable one-stop shop for newbie bloggers.
  

• If you're website-savvy, head over to WordPress. Whatever your vibe, WordPress will have a template that fits.
  

• If you yearn to write, Medium is an ideal and beautiful platform. You can just... write.

2. What will you blog about?

Don't panic! Ideas will come.

• Solve problems: Write about your target client's problems, which will be—conveniently—problems you have answers for.
  

• Turn common queries into a blog. If you get asked the same questions or enquiries, turn them into a helpful blog post. Think of this type of blog as an in-depth FAQs.
  

• Give juicy value. Share your expertise or advice in straightforward, digestible bites.
  

• Seasons and holidays. Look at the year ahead for seasonal events, religious and national holidays you can capitalise on or discuss. e.g :

  • Mental health professionals could write about managing stress during the holidays.

  • Architects could write about designing naturally light homes for the dark winter months.
    

• Get mad, get even! If something about your industry makes you tear your hair out, write it down. This type of blog is usually the most fun. Go on – rant!
  

• Create listicle blogs, eg:

  • Ten tap dancing techniques.

  • Five ways to photograph tortoises.

  • Top six inspirational male style icons.

3. Know your competition

Have a serious scout around at your competition. Who are the key players? What are they blogging about? Make notes and look for angles they’ve missed or topics you could present with a fresh approach.

4. Research your topic and headline

Research is essential. For example, I wanted to write about the benefits of blogging. I typed a few questions into Google search, such as: "What is a blog?" "Small business blog." "Benefits of blogging." "Blogging for beginners".

I looked at the *data, and it became clear that people wanted to know how to get started. Hell yeah, I can certainly help with that, so I settled on "How to start a blog" as my heading and topic.

*I use specialist tools for proper analytics on my research, and I'm happy to recommend them free of charge. Press the button and I'll point you in the right direction >>

5. Get organised

I keep a huge list of random blog post ideas. When I'm ready, I research them to determine their viability.

How to exploit AI wisely

Use AI to do the grunt work and edit the hell out of it. Google penalises content created by bots and rewards original human content. Read my dire warnings and advice on how to use AI to create human content.

To get you started, copy this prompt into ChatGPT:

I want to write a 1000-word blog about [insert your topic].

The content should appeal to [insert your ideal customer].

Break the blog into [insert number between 5 and 9] subheadings.

Include statistics and cite your sources.

Summarise with [insert number between 1 and 5] actionable tips.

My company is called [insert your brand name]. Mention it twice.

Write in a [choose a tone of voice: formal/friendly/casual/knowledgable/expert/academic tone]

AI will spew out something horribly generic (ugh), so edit it until it sounds human. Check it for accuracy because we all know AI is littered with errors.

Barriers to blogging which need obliterating (there are only two)

You don't have time: Yes, writing a 1000-word blog takes time, but it's content that just keeps giving. In a year’s time when you point someone towards one of your older blog posts, thank your own lucky stars for taking the time to write. What a legend you are.

You hate writing: Hire a professional blogger. I ghost-blog for clients in various sectors. Ghost bloggers get under the skin of your business and take care of the research, writing, analytics, and data. Hit me up if you want help.

The first blog is the hardest. Your first blog post, and maybe even your second will take you forever but don't get disheartened. You will get quicker. I promise.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found this blog post enlightening and informative.

I’m Mel Barren from Wordy Girl Design. I’m a ghost blogger and writer shamelessly for hire. Press the brazen orange button if you need help with your words:

Go on. Press the button!