Nobody who writes for a living loves the blank-page syndrome. It happens, though. Even if you plan it all out carefully and go “OK, I’m writing about A-B-C this week,” the blinking cursor or blank white space can appear daunting.
There are some people who will tell you to push through and just write. It’s a process that I have used at times to snap out of a small-yet-lengthy dry spell. Others, though, don’t have the experience or patience to take this type of approach.
When building a business or brand, creating consistent and valuable content for your readers is important. This is true whether you are writing for your own blog or even for large-scale publications. You always want to provide value and insights that readers can take to heart.
Will everything you write turn into a grand-slam home run? No. Will it be something people might take a peek at and see if it’s worthwhile information? Yes, if you have built up credibility. Many business owners and entrepreneurs attempt to create content on their own. They will look up to the “gurus” and “maharajahs” and follows that individual’s template.
It’s interesting to note how many content “experts” are out in the marketplace today. These well-meaning people take a simple course for $97, learn in six or seven classes on how to create powerful content, and they are on their way to superstar status.
Um, what happens there O bright one when the creativity taps out like being caught in a Ronda Rousey armbar? Will Mr. Wonderful’s course help you navigate that blank page or document?
Pull up a chair and let’s have a little conversation.
Listen, I’m going to give you a few insights based on 30-plus years of writing feature stories, columns, news stories, articles for large-scale publications that are read by people around the world (Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, The Good Men Project, Addicted2Success, to name a few) that you can use in your own business.
First, writing is a craft and art. You might not be writing the next great novel, but I can guarantee you that actually sitting down and writing something worthwhile is going to take some thought on your part. Don’t give me the long social media post as a sample of your writing style. You wanna write, baby? OK. Sit your butt down and write. Learn the in’s and out’s. Make mistakes. Make big ones. Make smelly ones. Then, learn from them and write again.
Second, writing is an effective way of sharing your message. Anyone in business for themselves, whether it’s running a physical multi-million-dollar corporation or an online-offline lifestyle business, knows that branding is important. Having people who understand your core brand and are able to write copy and content to support it will get your message out far and wide. Look at how many different channels or verticals are available for sharing content today. At one point, people solely looked at newspapers, TV and radio as means to get their message out because that was the only ones available. Well, let me also add the tried-and-true word-of-mouth style too. Hearing about how “X” brand helped a friend solve a problem is definitely going to make an impact on your decisions. But actually reading something that will provide a solution to your problem will help brands stand out.
Third, writing connects “You, Inc.” to human beings. Do you believe machines are reading your articles online all the time? Heck no. People are scouring the Internet for information, tips, tricks, hacks and other nimble styles that can make what they do better. Once someone reads something you have written (or paid a ghostwriter to do for you), then that individual will begin to get attracted to your business. You are a brand if you’re consistently putting out content that draws eyeballs to your work. People begin to form a connection with your style. They might even reach out and want to be a client. That’s a win-win situation right there. Make sure what you write is effective, powerful and touches people deeply. They will remember you.
Writing is definitely something worthwhile to use and learn on a consistent basis. People do it all the time through email, blogs, articles, and websites. They either do it themselves or outsource their work to people like myself. Once you build up trust and credibility, then word will get around about what you do…both the good and bad.
That blank page, though, is something you don’t have to let become daunting all the time. Understand that it is part of your creative process and pretty soon, that blank page will be filled with more than 800 words for people around the world to read.