OMG…I followed all the advice and set up my blog but now your first blog post needs some content. Bloody hell what do I write about for my first blog post?

How do I choose a topic? I have so many ideas running around in my head but how do I decide which one to start with?

 

 

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At this point I could be brutally honest and cruel by telling you that it really doesn’t matter what topic you choose because as a brand new blogger nobody will see your first post initially apart from your mother, if you give her the correct link!

Will Anyone See Your First Blog Post?

Let me put things in perspective for you with some good old-fashioned doses of statistical reality. If you're thinking that once you have your first blog post done and dusted and are simply waiting for those hords of interested readers to flood your site then think again.

On average there are about 2.73 million new posts written every day so the chances of your first blog post ever being discovered immediately are “Yours and Buckleys.” In other words there’s no chance at all that your post will make any sort of instant impact so don’t worry about this.

But now I hear you asking – hey Peter, if no one’s ever going to see my post then why bother creating it in the first place? Good question but remember I said “nobody will see your first post initially.”

One Post Means Nothing – And Neither Will the Next One

Blogging is NOT an overnight success journey so stop thinking like this.

To become a successful blogger you have to create valuable, relevant, interesting, stimulating, controversial, funny, newsworthy, shocking (whatever’s your strength) content on a consistently regular basis.

Here’s a great selection of blog post types that have been proven to work

Over time you will grab people’s attention and build your blog community.

Every blogger has to make a start somewhere and your very first blog post is a critical part of that process.

However, you are blessed if you have found this post BEFORE you create your first blog post masterpiece.

Why do I say that? Well because it's true. Spending a few minutes carefully (not just skimming) going over what I'm giving you here will save you lots of heartache and frustration when you come to creating your first blog post content.

Let's put everything on the table so you'll then have every chance of avoiding the mistakes that so many bloggers, including me, made when they first started out online.

Want to Join the Long List of Blogging Failures?

According to a survey by Technorati, “only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled.”

Richard Jalichandra, chief executive of Technorati, said that at any given time there are 7 million to 10 million active blogs on the Internet, but “it’s probably between 50,000 and 100,000 blogs that are generating most of the page views.”

He added, “There’s a joke within the blogging community that most blogs have an audience of one.”

There are so many reasons why blogs (and bloggers) fail. These include a lack of passion, lack of creativity, becoming greedy to earn quickly, lack of personality and authenticity, lack of a realistic goals plus a lack of consistency and persistency.

[Tweet “Everytime you post something online you have a choice. So make it count”]

What is the Key to Success as a Beginner Blogger?

Here’s my simple answer. If you want to be a successful blogger then don’t be lazy!

You have to spend time researching your target audience and the other bloggers in your niche.

Ignore this step and you WILL fail – no ifs and buts – it’s an absolute certainty.

Visit top bloggers in the niche you are passionate about and see what they are blogging about and more importantly what comments their readers are leaving. Also check out relevant social media groups, forums plus Question & Answer sites like Quora. Use FAXFOX to research your niche forums.

Here’s a video all about this simple research method with Quora that will not just give you tons of topcs to blog about but also provide your blog with highly targeted traffic in response to any answers you provide.

Take as much time as you can to do this step – it’s that important.

Once you have clearly identified the readers you are writing for then your blog post topics are much easier to come up with.

BUT…

Do you know who these folks are?
Can you relate to them? Are YOU passionate about helping these people? What are their hopes, dreams, passions, interests, problems, challenges, pain points, vocabulary?

Let me help you a  bit more with this post I created about What Is Your Target Market?

Your first blog post is simply your introduction to your target audience but even though your mother is the only other reader you get at first, make it count.

So let me ask you Why Haven't You Got Started With Your Blog Before?

So What Do I Write My First Blog Post About?

You’ve done your research so the answer to that question is…

What Keeps Your Audience Awake At Night?

Your first and EVERY other post must focus on your target audience

Let me help you a bit more in creating some vauable content for your fisrt blog post. Here’s a video all about how to effectively discover the pain points of your target audience.

 

15 Tips To Help You Write Your First Blog Post

Before I share my 15 tips with you let me give you some simple yet essential advice.

If you are creating your first blog post (and all your other posts) with a mindset that you HAVE TO do this so you can meet some expectations or make some money or prove a point to others then forget it.

With this sort of mindset you'll fail big time so save yourself all the hassle and use some other approach to your online marketing.

Whenever I feel a bit down or stressed out about whatever, I never try to create a blog post.

You can probably gather that my posts are extremely conversational and I share from deep inside me about the topic I am covering. 

 

So I make sure “I'm in the mood” and ready to engage, converse and share. To be absolutely open with you if you look at the published date of my previous blog post it was more than 3 weeks ago.

Why? Because I had not been very well and my passion to engage and share was a bit on the low side.

 

[Tweet ““Only on the Internet can a person be lonely and popular at the same time.” ― Allison Burnett,”]

Yes I know what you're thinking – to be a succcessfu blogger you must not be lazy and always be consistent. Oh well it just goes to show that I'm human after all!

Now here's some more tips for you. 

On word document rough out your post outline that includes the intro, body and conclusion – never start writing directly on your blog platform. You’ll make lots of changes, lots of mistakes and make lots of edits so keep your creative genius off your blog platform until you are absolutely certain the post is as good as you can make it.

Be an attention grabber. Think of a title that will grab people’s attention. Then think of how you’ll keep that attention in your very first sentence and first paragraph. The key to a successful introduction to your post is “empathy” and “expertise”. Right from the very start your readers want to know that you really understand what they need AND that you know what you’re talking about.

In your very first blog post you can quickly introduce yourself but I hesitate to even suggest this. Readers don’t care about you just now as they don’t know you, don’t like you or trust you. Preferable to direct them to your “About” page IF what you are sharing is of potential interest to your readers.

How long should your post be? I read recently that the perfect post length is like a lady’s skirt – long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep it interesting.

Make EVERYTHING about your reader – not YOU. Show them how they’ll get results or overcome their “pain point” by following what you recommend in your post. Use actual results to make this even more powerful.

Use short and direct paragraphs – let your reader feel that your post is “easy to read”

Use sub-headings that tell your story in snippets. Accept the fact that everyone skims reads, at least to start with. So make it easy for your readers to follow your story.

You’ll have skeptics so don’t hang back here. Address your skeptical readers right up front by using words like “you’re probably thinking…” or “you might be wondering…”

For example right now you might still be wondering how you can possibly write your first blog post even with all these tips and ideas I’m giving you. Well if that’s the case please leave me a comment below or contact me direct if you need some more personalized one-on-one help.  

Ask your readers questions. If someone asks you a question then usually you will start

thinking about an answer. So will your readers and by asking relevant, thought-provoking questions you drag them into a conversation. Did you notice the questions I was asking in this post? For example “What is the Key to Success as a Beginner Blogger?” This is an easy way to build engagement with your readers – and not just your mother.

Provide a shock factor or statistic – just like I did with the “number of new posts written daily” and the “blog failure rates.” This can be very powerful because sensationalism sells – provided it’s the truth.

Find your voice. You need to be real, be authentic and be YOU. If you’re not a naturally funny person then don’t try to use humour in your blog posts. Let your personality shine through and a simple way to do this is to write as if you were talking with a close friend about the topic. Keep it conversational and easy to follow.

Use images, videos and podcasts to break up your written content – can you see I'm practicing what I'm preaching here? Let me also share with you 2 sites I always use with my posts. Here's a great source of copyright free images you can use and here's a superb free online image editor. 

Use Highly Relevant Links. Make sure you enable social sharing opportunities for each and every blog post. Share valuable links to gain authority – earn your readers’ respect by providing them with links to relevant sources. 

Encourage feedback by creating compelling content that gets your readers engaged, talking and sharing. Always respect the time of your readers when seeking comments on your content by showing your appreciation. Notice what I say at the bottom of this and every post when requesting comments in the “It's Your Turn” segment at the botttom of this post.

[Tweet “Want to be a successful blogger? Be different, stand out, and work your butt off.”]

Recommendation: Be Different and Grab Attention

Here's something that very few (if anyone else) is doing and it will definitely differentiate you. When someone leaves a comment on your post why not create a simple 30 second “thank you” video that you can upload to say, YouTube, as an unlisted video and then send your new blog commentator an email with the video link?

Try this as it really does work – people are amazed that you took the time to appreciate them and this creates all sorts of networking opportunities even for beginner bloggers.

Proof read your post. Read it out loud. In fact I usually create a podcast for each post and this process always shows me where my writing loses its flow or the focus on the reader.

That’s all you need to get started on your first blog post.

So start writing.

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It’s Your Turn

I know just how busy you must be so many thanks for taking the time to leave me your comments – it is always appreciated.

As a beginner blogger what were the key things you got from this post?
What has been your biggest struggle as a blogger?
What has really worked for you as a blogger?
Do you need help in coming up with blog topics?
Need help in identifying your target audience?
Would you like me to help you with your blogging?