A word of warning: If you produce blog posts regularly and without fail, this article is not for you.

This article offers approaches to writing, strategizing, using research, collaborating, and scheduling.

If you’re already on top of your blog, producing regular content on schedule and without impacting your other obligations, you will not gain anything from the suggestions it contains.

Where to Begin: Write First

Putting pen to paper is the most important part of any writing project. Without that crucial step, you will never generate any content.

First you must write.

Don’t worry about style.

Don’t worry about substance.

Don’t worry about purpose.

Just take half-an-hour and write.

Stream of consciousness is a great way to get back into the habit of writing, so just put down whatever comes to mind.  You can worry about writing for an online audience later.  If you keep your eyes peeled, I will be sure to offer some more specific strategies particular to blog writing.

Strategize for your Blog

Take a moment to think about your purpose in writing.

• Who are you writing for?
• Do you already produce content for that audience?
• What sort of things do you tend to write about?
• Do you want follow your own footsteps or try something new?

Use these questions to determine what resources you already have at your disposal.  Decide what you can use again, what you want to change, and where you will need to provide brand new content. Your answers should help you pick keywords, set blog categories, and build a plan for how for moving your existing content into blog format and growing into the areas you want to develop.

Research Inspires and Helps Writing

A great blog is authentic, reflective, informative, and backed by a good deal of personal motivation.

Not only does research suggest new blog topics, but sharing insights from your studies is an ideal way to pique the interest of your best readers. It also keeps you abreast of current developments in your field.

If you understand how your discipline has evolved, that knowledge will seep into your writing and reveal your expertise for what it is.

Collaborate to Ease the Load

Soliciting contributions from other authors helps a blog in several ways.

1. Lighter writing burden for each author
2. Greater variety of offerings
3. Exposure to wider audience

Anyone inside the organization has the potential to be a valuable addition to the blog. Give anyone who wants to take part an opportunity to show what they’re made of. Use interviews to get information from other members of the team, and keep an eye out for gems who can produce good content while staying on top of their other duties.

Supplement the contributions of your own team with external sources. Professionals with overlapping target audiences make especially good guest contributors. Some will to write regularly (perhaps in lieu of starting their own blog), while others will only be interested in intermittent or one-off articles.

Schedule is What Keeps a Blog Going

As you build your mix of internal and external contributors, create a rotation that gives your volunteers an opportunity to voice their insights without overwhelming their other duties. Use this rotation in conjunction with your blog strategy to plan a writing cycle that produces a steady stream of content for your readers.

It may even be worthwhile (depending on your contributors) to consider a formal posting schedule. Such schedules do form a contract of trust with your readers, horrible to break, but if maintained they can be a great source of repeat traffic.

What strategies and techniques work for you?

General strategies are not the same as specific tips. What have you done to make sure you write, research, strategize, collaborate, and schedule? Do you find that one of the steps is easier than another?

I will take your feedback into account and write more on each of these topics in the coming months. Keep an eye open for the “Fill Your Blog” keyword to stay on top of this series as it develops.