why Content is king for your blog

WHY CONTENT IS KING FOR YOUR BLOG:
5 tips for maximizing your blog posts

As an avid consumer of knowledge when it comes to subjects I want to know more about I have dived deep into many books, masterclasses, and coaching about blogging. From SEO, design, and analytics to platform preference and advertisements. They all seem to say the same things. Driving traffic to your blog is high on the list. Traffic is a big part of blogging, but it is not the most crucial part of effective blogging

One of the biggest pieces of crucial content I hear far less about it Content. 

Content is king when it comes to blogs or anything you put out there really. If you don't have good content it doesn't matter what platform you use or the design of your layout. You can spend hours tweaking this or that when it comes to widgets or ads, but this becomes a distraction from what matters most. 

I know from experience writing is hard work. Whether it is a book or a blog post writing is time consuming and a drain on your will power. Finishing a blog post is a huge mark off my to-do list. 

“Too often, feeling intimidated becomes our excuse not to be awesome.”~Scott Stratten

Here are 5 tips for you to do before you try to fine tune any blog settings or drive traffic:
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   1. Decide what to write in advance. Come up with a list of topics you can talk about for a least 30 minutes with out prompts. Try to keep them in a similar topic. Don't lose your audience by talking about gardening one day and how to grill the perfect steak the next. 

   2. Commit to writing in advance. Some people like to do this in a block of time while others commit to a daily writing minimum. Block out a session of time to write all your blogs for the month at the beginning of each month or even at the beginning of each week depending on how many blogs you will post. 

   3. Keep it short and simple. In this digital age most people skim through what they are reading. Its a hard truth to ponder, especially when you put hard work and time into writing your blog. Keep what you write short and to the point. A word count of about 400-500 words is optimal. If a post is too long at first glance many readers will decide to never even take the effort to browse through. 

   4. Make your posts easy to read. Just like we talked about above people tend to skim what they read. Try to make your posts easier on the eyes with short bullet lists, subheads, small paragraphs, and quotes. You want to keep up the momentum and forward movement as people go through your blog.

   5. Commit to how much you will blog. Consistency is important in blogging. Decide in advance how many times a month you will blog and commit to it. Once a month? Once a week? All out with 5 posts a week? You can always increase your frequency in the future, but you will lose engagement from your audience if you are not consistent. 

       Bonus tip: Invite engagement. Page views are great, but engagement is the goal. Make it easy for readers to engage with your post. Allow readers to comment on your posts. 

Overall remember your content is what is important. Don't just throw up 500 words of drab because you want to have something out there. Make sure you are providing engaging and valuable content to your audience. 

What are your blogging goals this year? How are you doing so far?