When I talk with clients about launching their blog it is my recommendation that they launch with 20 blog posts. The idea of this seems a bit daunting and frankly, that is partially the point. However, when people do this they see greater success. Here’s why:
#1 Get to writing!
Writing 20 blog posts really forces you to figure out if you can do the writing that it takes to be a blogger (or the curation). The first few blog posts are easy to write but by the time people get to blog post #11 some start to wonder if it’s worth the effort. “Is anyone paying attention?” But if you get 20 blog posts out under your chosen categories then you are probably headed in the right direction. If you can do 20 you can do 100 — remember that when you get to #57 and want to give up.
#2 Did you categorize properly?
As I noted above there is something either magical or discouraging that happens after blog #10. People either realize that they are on the right track or they start day dreaming about a new blog category. Don’t ignore this place that you will possibly find yourself in. Pay attention and spend some time analyzing because if you want to change categories then this is your moment. It is not going to hurt anything because no one has seen it yet other than perhaps your inside crew.
If you decide to change your blog theme and categories at this point, don’t see it as a failure, see it as your pathway to success. We rarely get things right in the first try. See if you can use those first 10 as supplemental posts in your new blog.
#3 It gives them more to read.
The third point here is that if you start with one post there is nothing more for people to read. If you are fortunate enough to get a stranger reader to your new blog and they actually read your blog post, have more for them to read. Readers don’t know that you are a new blogger so they may think that you just have one thing to say if you only have one post. In that scenario they have no reason to come back but if you have 20 posts on the blog then suddenly you are seen as a resource.
So my tip to you today is to create a strategy for yourself to get to 20 blog posts. Start by writing the first 20 titles. Then you may want to consider outlining the posts before you write them. If you are feeling super inspired then just start writing. Whatever your process is, just go forth and write 20.
Image credit:By Stuart Miles, published on 25 February 2013 Stock Image – image ID: 100142214