Blogging

The 5 Steps I Take To Write + Publish My Blog Posts

Maintaining your own business while doing client work is a little bit tricky sometimes. I put client work before TheCrownFox work, which means sometimes things like blog posts get pushed to the back burner. I had a strong process going earlier this year and it is something I am trying to re-implement now, so I thought I would share it with you to not only motivate myself, but to maybe give you some ideas for how to get more blog-bang for your buck….er, time. 

MAKE MONTHLY GOALS/THEMES

What I had been doing previously, and started slacking on, was the idea of all my content pushing towards a goal. I think this was easier when I was launching something, because I wanted all my content to push towards that. Now that I’m more focused on client work my content, though still under the big umbrella of branding/business, has become a little bit scattered. I sat down last week and spent some time outlining my goals and making sure that I had a concrete vision for what I wanted to teach, talk about, and share for the next little bit.

You can do this too, no matter what your industry or blog relates too. Say it’s a cooking blog and you want to try to focus on a more thematic approach – maybe base each week’s recipes on the season of the year or related holidays. Or if you are a travel blog, you could theme it related to price of trips, regions of the United States or world, or something along those lines.

This might seem too restrictive to some people, but for me thinking of overall themes helps me to generate ideas and topics quicker, versus just staring at a blank page and waiting for an idea to come. I also keep a list of questions I’m asked about branding, business, or blogging to look back to and draw inspiration for themes from.

THINK BIG PICTURE, BREAK INTO PIECES

Along those lines of themes/goals, I like to start really big picture and then start narrowing down topics. So I might focus on content this month, and that could be further broken down into blog content, newsletter content, courses/products content, and so on.

For how my brain works, a mind map is the best way to start organizing these ideas. So I start by writing blogging, but then I realize blogging actually relates to content, which has so many more branches. I like working this way because a simple idea for a blog post suddenly turns into a month’s worth of content.

In the same regard of “big picture” I always want to make sure I tie back to my overall brand vision of being a branding resource to online businesses. So though this particular post is about blogging, really it’s about generating content and for an online business to grow big and strong, it’s my opinion that good content is vital. I just try to double check that what I am putting out and tying to TheCrownFox always leads back to that brand vision.

P.S. if you need some help with that, check out Branding 101: Building Your Base – it has a ton of useful information, including help with your brand vision!

OUTLINE IN BULK

Just a time tip, once you’ve generated lots of ideas through mind mapping and making themes – I’d go ahead and roughly outline some ideas right then and there. Your brain is already in the mode of generating ideas and it’s definitely easier to outline posts before just sitting down to write them.

I don’t outline heavily, I basically come up with the title and the main sub-headers (aiming for between 4-8). Sometimes I stick with what I’ve outlined, but other times it’s just a good reminder for where my head was at when I came up with the idea. I definitely like to leave time between coming up with the blog post idea/outline and writing, because then my brain has had time to simmer on it and develop strong ideas about what I want to say.

In the past I would outline about a month ahead of time. Now I’m only about two weeks ahead, but I am putting aside time to get back to that month ahead of schedule soon. It really does save time in the long run. Once I have a post outlined, actually writing it is significantly less daunting and can be done in a much shorter time. 

WRITE WITH INTENTION

This is where I lacked the most focus when it came to blogging post-launch. I couldn’t figure out how to structure my blogs because there was no intention – I wasn’t pushing anything. Then I realized, wait, I’m an online business. I’m always pushing for clients. So I started writing about client related processes and topics, which worked out well for the time. 

I thought a lot about this sub-head, because I didn’t know how to properly explain what I mean with “intention.” But I think I can summarize it by saying again that everything should be pushing towards that brand vision and helping to fulfill it in some way. That you shouldn’t write a post, or any content actually, just to put something up. In fact, you may have noticed I’ve skipped a few weeks’ blog posts lately – because I refused to just write something that didn’t serve a purpose or answer a question that I’ve been asked by my audience or peers.

PROOF + READ OUT LOUD

Once everything is written down and “finished” I create a draft of the blog post and create the social graphics. Then I forget about it for a few days, come back, and read it out loud to myself. I do this for a few reasons, actually. First I am just regular editing and checking for grammatical or spelling errors, but perhaps more importantly, I’m making sure the post actually sounds like me and how I talk. I want everything I put out to feel natural and normal and authentic, so by reading it out loud I can test this and change anything that feels out of place.

 As far as things that are not in my process – I don’t ever look up anything related to what I want to talk about, since there are quite a few people who work in the same circle as I do. I don’t want to be influenced, so I avoid “research” at all costs. I recommend you write from what you know and have learned on your own versus what Google says! I also use Buffer and go ahead and schedule new posts to be shared heavily within the first week and then sporadically after that. Once the post is live I use Tailwind* to cycle the pin into my Pinterest boards and related group boards to get exposure and I share it in different Facebook groups on their sharing days.

 I’d love to hear more about your blog post process in the comments below! What’s the part that you struggle with the most? Maybe we can come up with some solutions together!

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Kaitlyn Kessler

Hi! I’m Kaitlyn!

I believe that you can create a life and business you love by listening to your own inner guidance system. I think there's plenty of strategies + hacks to learn and a ton of “how to” content you can consume but ultimately you are your best guide, the best guru, the best compass, and the best source of inspiration! I’m here to help you learn to trust that voice inside, step into your incredible power, and create YOUR dream business + life.

Let’s work together!

*That’s an affiliate link, but I use Tailwind everyday and am a HUGE fan. It’s awesome.

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6 Ways Words Can Build a Consistent Brand

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Hi y'all! This is Kaitlyn quickly introducing a new guest post this week from the talented and lovely Lizzie over at Wanderful-World.com. Lizzie is an amazing resource about all things freelancing and business that I highly recommend checking out. Make sure to connect with Lizzie at the bottom of this post (after you read this A+ content)!

Building a brand is so much more than having a recognizable logo and a color palette that goes well together – something that Kaitlyn has emphasized many times! It’s more than just how your website looks, or what background images you use on social media.

While all of these things come together to form a part of your brand, they aren’t the end goal.

So what is the end goal?

Your branding determines how your audience feel when they come to your site, whether they feel like they’ve stepped into a friend’s house, or a university lecture, or whether they feel inspired or motivated. The graphics you use and your color palette can all aid this, but a lot of people forget one of the best ways you can attract your ideal customers or clients and turn them into fans.

And that is through your words.

Think about it: words are the one thing we use every single day to communicate. They can make us feel sad, happy, nostalgic, scared, inspired – all sorts. The power of words is huge, and it should be something you consider at every step in your branding process. Words are how you make a connection with your audience, because it’s the medium we, as humans, are used to.

But words are just words, right? As long as I’m getting my message across then I’m golden, right? You might ask.

And, yes, getting your brand message across is important, but getting it across in the right way is even more important if you want to land the clients and customers you dream of landing.

You basically want your ideal client to come to your site and think, “wow, this person is speaking directly to me.” You want them to feel like the space between you (which, let’s face it, can be massive thanks to the humungous spread of the internet!) disappears and they’re having a one-on-one conversation with you.

So how do you even begin to do that? It really doesn’t have to be as difficult or as confusing as it sounds, especially if you have your dream client or customer in mind.

USE THE WORDS YOUR AUDIENCE USE

This is one of the easiest ways you can make a strong connection with your customers. Using the exact language they use will instantly make them feel like you “get” them, and that you know exactly what it is they’re looking for.

You might not think that every single word matters, but it really does, particularly when it’s the difference between someone thinking “oh, they totally understand my problem,” and “oh, maybe they don’t understand what I want.”

But how can you use the exact words your audience use?

1. First you need to know who it is your targeting. This is where your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) comes in – what age are they? What gender? Where do they live? What are their pain points? How can you solve these pain points? What matters to them? What makes them tick?

All of these things are important to know if you’re going to find out where your ideal clients hang out (which is the next step in the process).

2. Hang out where your ideal client hangs out. This could be anywhere from Instagram if your ideal client is a creator or maker, to your local café if it’s remote workers or groups of mums. You want to become a part of their community and their conversations so you can get a better understand of how they communicate. Which means you can replicate this when you communicate with them.  

3. Make a note of the vocabulary and phrases that crop up a lot. At this point, you really want to be listening and looking out for the specific language used by your ideal client. For example, do they use the word “great”, “awesome”, or “superb”. It’s the little things like this that can make a huge difference.

4. You can take step three to the next level by pin-pointing 3 or 4 individuals that fit the profile of your ideal client, and reach out to them to ask them a couple of questions about the words they use, or what phrases resonate with them the most.

Follow these four steps, and you’ll have a list of words you can consistently use that you know will attract your ideal client (not that you think will attract them!).

USE WORDS THAT EVOKE EMOTION

If the key goal of branding is to encourage your audience to feel a certain way, then it makes sense to use language and words that help reach that goal, right?!

So consider how you want your clients to feel when they buy your product or invest in your services. For example, if you’re a fashion designer, you might want them to feel stylish and elegant, or if you’re a coach, you might want them to feel inspired and confident.

Now you want to pepper these words into your copy and content, but you also want to use words that evoke these feelings in people. So, if you want your clients to feel stylish, you could use words like fashionable and on-trend, or even vintage and glamorous. Things that encourage the reader to think of the end goal (which is to feel a certain way when they have your product in their hand – either literally or metaphorically!).

USE WORDS THAT YOU WOULD SAY

The biggest mistake a lot of businesses make is by trying to cram their copy and content full of jargon and long words. While this might make you feel like the next Hemingway, it doesn’t really do much for your ideal client.

Let’s go back to what we discussed at the start. The main form of human communication is via words, and the majority of that is done through speech and conversation. That’s how we make connections, and it should be exactly the same online (because we’re creatures of habit!).

So you should be communicating with your ideal client as if you were having a conversation with them. Two ways you can make sure you’re doing that in the right way is:

  • By reading aloud. Once you’ve written a piece of copy, whether it’s a product description, blog post, or your About page, read it aloud to see if it sounds natural. If the sentences are too long or you stumble on some of the words, go back and edit until it sounds like completely natural.
  • Imagine you’re telling a friend. If you’re still struggling, phone up a friend, or imagine you’re telling them exactly what you want to tell your audience – the benefits of your product, or the values behind your business. Explaining it in person to someone can really help you solidify your message and make sure it creates connections in real life before you try and make connections online.

CONSIDER HOW YOU WANT YOUR AUDIENCE TO VIEW YOU

This is slightly different from the idea of creating emotion in your clients, but it kind of sits in the same column of “good practice”. Regardless of what you sell or who you sell it to, I imagine you have an idea of how you want potential clients to view you and your brand.

For example, if you’re a coach, you might want potential clients to see you as an authority, or if you’re a clothes designer, you might want to be seen as a fun, relaxed brand.

It’s important then to use words that are in line with the kind of brand you want to be seen as. For example, if you’re the fun clothes designer, you really don’t want to be using boring, dull language, as that will turn off your ideal clients immediately. Likewise, if you’re a coach and you use language that makes you seem a bit all over the shop, it’s going to be detrimental to your brand.

USE A SET OF CONSISTENT WORDS + PHRASES

Once you’ve covered all the above steps, you probably have a pretty strong idea about how you want your clients to feel, what kind of brand you want them to view you as, and you will hopefully have some of the exact words they use written down somewhere after the research stages in point number 1.

Now it’s time to bring this all together to create a go-to list of words and phrases you regularly use on your site, social media, and emails – everywhere that you connect with you clients.

This is how you create consistent copy and content, and how you solidify your message. By continuously using similar words and phrases, you’re cementing your brand image because a) your clients will start to recognize you by the words you use, and b) prospects will immediately know whether your product or service is for them.

GO WITH YOUR GUT

Lastly, you have to love your brand with every bone in your body. If you don’t, you aren’t going to be able to get behind it fully (and people will start to pick up on that!).

The most important thing is that your brand is something you’re proud of showing off; something that you want to shout from the rooftops about. To do that you have to be completely comfortable with the words you use.

If a word or phrase doesn’t feel right to you, swap it out or get rid of it completely. Though your clients are (very!) important, knowing your brand inside out and feeling like its an extension of you is even more important if you want to build a sustainable business.

It seems like a lot to think about, doesn’t it? Who knew the humble word could be seen in so many different ways!?

Now you have some ideas for finding out which words you should use to grow your brand, have a go at doing them and see if it makes any difference (I’m pretty sure it will!).

Lizzie helps freelancers grow long-term, lucrative businesses with Wanderful World, a blog full of tips, tricks, and actionable advice.

Ready to launch your life as a freelancer? Grab your free starter pack here!

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