Most People Never Read the Instruction Manuals

I can remember about 20 years ago I was recovering from an illness and to avoid being bored, I took up needle work, you know, cross-stitching designs on canvas with yarn. One day as I was completing a big canvas, I was listening to a motivational speaker.

All of a sudden, I heard these words: "Most people just start doing things without reading the instruction manual." Loud and clear. I looked down at my needle work and like a shock, it hit me. I'd been doing them all backwards.

Sure enough, a quick reference back to the user manual clearly showed that I was inserting the needle backwards, not producing the right effect. I put down my work and never went back to that hobby ever again.

My point is that I see many professionals who are pretty smart at what they do, but they start blogging without reading any instructions at all. Later, when they get stuck, they complain about not having "enough time" to blog.

But the real reason lies in never having started correctly in the first place. Without clarity in the beginning, you risk "doing it backwards." After a while, you lose steam, it becomes too difficult to find the time, ideas, or energy.

Another blog gets abandoned, and another professional scratches their head wondering what else to do for marketing. They ask me "Can I just use Facebook or Twitter?"

Well, no. Your blog is the center, the hub, where you communicate your message, where you showcase your expertise, brand yourself and get found, and where you start having conversations with people.

I suggest you go back to square one and think things through. I've created a worksheet to help you, The First 7 Steps BEFORE You Create Your Blog. I think this might be helpful, even if you've already started your blog.

Download 7 StepsBeforeYouBlogPatsiKrakoff

Related free workbooks:

Content Marketing with Blogs
5 Questions for Writing Web Content that Gets Results

Comments

[Jenny Pilley]

Thanks for the worksheet Patsi, made me feel like I'm back at school :)
But I agree with everything...including the cross-stitch! We can all become carried away with the concept of an idea before looking thoroughly about how to do it properly, resulting in the loss of interest.
Your short, concise post really makes an impact, thanks for sharing.