Confessions of a Former Daily Blogger 🤫
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Hello Reader, Once upon a time, in a galaxy that feels far, far away, I was the content manager for a trade association. It was the early days of online marketing, and I did a bit of everything—from publications and events to managing our social media (try not to fall over in shock at that last one). But the real "beast" of the job was the consumer-facing blog. Back then, digital marketing was a game of pure volume. Readers expected a constant stream of updates in their RSS feeds (remember Google Reader?), and search engine bots rewarded whoever could out-publish the competition. Coming up with fresh topics every single day was a herculean effort. It is notoriously difficult to be engaging 365 days a year—and don’t even get me started on Leap Years! That one extra post felt like the weight of the world. (Am I being dramatic about Leap Year? Yes. Is this how I felt about that extra post? Also yes.) Fast forward to today, and the landscape has shifted.The days of "feeding the blog bots" with constant noise of newness are gone. Now, quality and consistency are the metrics that actually move the needle. When clients approach me for a content strategy, they often assume they need to blog weekly at a minimum, oftentimes they assume even more. In fact, just this week I had a client assume they needed to publish two to three new posts per week. They are usually surprised when I start by assessing their actual capacity and building a strategy from there. While high-frequency posting can certainly generate faster traffic, slow and steady is a perfectly viable strategy in a chaotic world.In fact, I think it’s better for a lot of us. It means you can be like one of my past clients, who wrote just one strategic post every month or two and still made significant progress. Here is what she had to say after two years of that "slow and steady" approach: "Reluctantly, I started writing blog posts. At first, I was so nervous! Writing information for potential patients and other doctors to read was a little nerve wracking. After the first 3 or 4 posts, I felt more and more confident. Now, almost 2 years later, I have about 12 + posts and I try and write new ones every month. I have captured an audience with patients and other local doctors. It was the best thing to help my business." The one thing that made everything easier for this person—and many others—was starting with a good headline to attract clicks and clients.We’ve all been there: that cursor on the blank page, blink-blink-blinking. It is the kiss of death for creativity. To fight that, I’ve relied on a massive personal bank of Mad Libs-style "fill-in-the-blank" titles for years. Anything to get the writer's block unblocked is a win! After years of helping people craft the perfect blog hook, I decided to open up the archives. This fall, I pulled together my absolute best titles—from my own business and from my most successful client campaigns—into a 30-plus page ebook. It features 50 headlines with real-world examples and explainers so you can start using them right away. I even tucked in a few of my favorite strategy tips for good measure. I’m incredibly proud of this project because it’s the culmination of nearly two decades of professional blogging. Some of these strategies have been road-tested since my "do-it-all" trade association days, and they are just as effective now as they were then. I hope you’ll check it out—especially if "finally get serious about the blog" is on your New Year’s to-do list. This is an invaluable tool you can use year in and year out to find your momentum. Most importantly, it all stems from the same "tried and true" starting point I used way back in the aughts when I was publishing daily: "How can I help someone today?" Talk soon, Sarah P.S. In case you were wondering, the entire ebook—like this email—was handcrafted by me, using my own words, thoughts, notes, and learnings. No generative AI slop, no duplication, no nonsense—promise! |