3 Blogging Challenges To Be Beaten

Been a Bit Lost

It has been a while since I was here to make another blog post and there are several reasons (excuses) for that. But we will get to them shortly.

In the interim I have been ‘wandering around’ in the IM world investigating things that were looking attractive but were really diversions. It is so easy to lose focus and before you know it you end up way off target. And that is essentially what happened to me.

Working through John Thornhill’s Partnership to Success program I ran into the Mind Mapping section and ground to a halt. It just wasn’t working for me and I lost focus.

However after a change of direction and listening to some of John’s training again it became abundantly clear that one’s blog is fundamental to building a presence online.

Blogging Is The Key

Being consistent and persistent in making blog posts that provide value and information to the reader are the keys to growing in this business.

Yes there are other things that need to be taken care.  Many of which seem more interesting and enticing than creating ‘another’ blog post.

But at the end of the day it is one’s blog and the posts that will continue to provide value and assistance to the reader long after they are written.
Hence I am back again with the intention of making at least one post per week or better going forward.

Depending on one’s inherent personality, skills and experience some people find blogging more difficult than others. I would be one of them.
For me personally I find the idea of putting one’s self out on line challenging.
Being inherently conservative and technically orientated the whole concept of being yourself online is uncomfortable. I guess things will change with time.

Three Blogging Challenges

There are three basic things that we all face starting out and will consider here are:

1. Finding a Topic
2. Getting Started
3. Saying Something of Value

Finding a Topic

Finding a topic seems an almost impossible challenge when you are starting out. Especially if you are hesitant about sharing personal information or incidents. The risk is that you spend many hours ‘looking’ and thinking but little time choosing and doing.

If this is your situation just remember you are not on your own. Most folk starting to blog experience the problem.

To combat this struggle there are a lot of ways to generate ‘prompts’ and ‘ideas’ to work with and move forward.
We’ll just consider a few of the more easily managed ones. Just make sure you stay relevant to your niche.

1) Share your progress, challenges and experiences for any training program you might be following.

2) Tell readers about any new article, experience or interesting software you have used or found.

3) Find requests for help on forums then write a post that solves the problem.
Reference your post in a reply comment in the forum.
There are many forums. Try the Warrior forum and forums relevant to your niche to start.

4) Get involved in relevant Facebook groups and discussions to discover topic ideas

This is a brief summary of where to find a topic. As you make progress and get more confident the ideas will come.
Eventually I am told you may wonder why it was such a struggle. For me, I have yet to be convinced that is the case.

Getting Started

Actually starting to write or type something is a bigger challange than some will admit. The risk here is that in the back of our mind we harbor the thought that you have no ‘authority’ to blog on the topic.
No experience, no valid information, no talent to put it all out there. Or you feel you have few ‘literary’ or writing skills.

Don’t worry about these feelings we all have them too. I think the secret is to push on and get something down on the screen.

A quote worth considering is ‘Begining is half done.’  While it may not be practically correct psychologically it is definitely true.
Once the writing starts a words begin to appear on the screen they give added impetus to the task.
Things progress more easily from there as you see the number of words on the page grow.

Keeping at it is the secret. Making sure to write on a regular schedule that works best for you.
A wise person once said ‘Life is not an emergency’ – so it doesn’t all have to be done ‘today.’
Consistent persistance is a better approach.

Saying Something of Value

The whole purpose of any blog should be to provide value to the reader.
This could take the form of tips, information on a product you have used or a site that has proved helpful

There are countless blogs out there that are really only extensions of an indiviuals life.

They reflect the writers own personal wants, actions and wishes instead of providing answers for their readers.
Essentially they offer little of value to their reader.
What is needed is help to solve a specific problem. Or information that will assist in their day to day lives.

Right now, in March 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, the world is poised at a critical juncture.
We’re not experts but we should encourage tempered actions and positive outlooks for the future.
Making sure that anything we post on the topic is honest and based firmly on fact.
Just help people to get through it all.

Final Thought

I’ve said enough for this post. It has taken a bit of time to work through it all. And I trust that you find something of value here.
It you would like to comment I ‘d be pleased to hear from at any time. Just drop me an email or post in the comment area below.

Talk to you again soon

Ian Whyte

PS
If you feel you could benefit from some good information about blogging take a look
at ‘The Bloggers Roadmap' Written by Dan Sumner it provides a comprehensive coverage of the topic.