Melinda J. Irvine

Have you ever been invited to your sister’s (or BFF’s) for dinner — only to have the conversation hijacked by your brother-in-law (or your BFF’s new girlfriend)?

You were expecting a fun night of wine and old stories, but instead, you’re snoring your way through your brother-in-law’s latest research paper, or the girlfriend’s intrepid tour of China.

Don’t blog like that.

And what I mean is, to publish useful content that helps your readers rather than just focusing on yourself.

I see tons and tons and tons of blog posts that do little more than self-promote.

I’m not saying don’t self-promote, just do it AFTER you’ve offered some helpful advice that your customers can actually use.

After all, you could probably handle a few more photos of the girlfriend’s Peking duck cooking class if she had just asked you if you had ever been to China.

Next time you get tempted to write another blog called ‘Why you need a content writer — bookkeeper — mechanic — life coach etc‘, get creative and blog a case study or real-world example where your work as a content writer — bookkeeper — mechanic — life coach etc saved a real person money, time, and headaches.

Readers are smart, and they appreciate content that helps them solve a problem or teaches them something new.

Happy blogging, friends.

PS: also my brother-in-law is nice.

© 2019 Melinda J. Irvine. Featured image: Canva.