Struggling to Start That Blog? Try #Write52

If we’re honest with ourselves, blogging for our own businesses can be a bit of a headache.

I’m sure there are some people out there that absolutely always enjoy writing their own blogs and always meet their self-imposed deadlines, but I’m yet to meet them.

Every freelancer is fully aware that they need a blog for their website, but they quickly realise knowing you need a blog, and actually creating one, are very different things.

I’m a case in point.

Writing blogs for other people’s businesses is a massive part of my job. So I know how important a good blog is, both for proving you know what you’re talking about and appeasing the forces of SEO.

But despite knowing all that, I first put my site together at the very end of 2017, and only managed to produce a measly three blog posts over the next two years. 1.5 a year is not a great success rate.

At some point towards the end of 2019 I spotted the #write52 project on Twitter. Publishing one piece of content every week for a year. I realised it was the perfect solution to my problem, but I still kept putting it off.

Having had my branding designed, done an in-depth SEO course and given my site a makeover, by the beginning of 2020 I no longer had any excuses to keep putting off starting Write 52.

So that’s what I did, and it’s been one of the best decisions of the year so far.

I’ve been offering some free reviews of website copy for translators recently, and a common theme that’s come up is how they’d all like to have a blog, and know they ought to have a blog, but just can’t seem to make it happen.

I shared a few of my thoughts with them about why running your own blog can seem so tough, and how #Write52 could set them on the right track. So I wanted to share them with you too.

Why is blogging so damn hard?

It’s the eternal question. Why is writing your own website copy, sales copy, or blogs so difficult?

It’s tough for everyone. But I think for those of us that write other people’s copy on a daily basis, it can be even tougher.

Sure, we know the theory and the formulas. We know how to string a sentence together.

But it’s far, far easier to string that sentence together when you’re talking about how wonderful someone else’s business is.

On top of that, writing good copy takes time, and when you’re a freelancer or small business owner that’s often not a luxury that you have an awful lot of.

There are always a million other things to do, and client work comes first.

But even if you have time, it can be motivation which gets in the way. With client work come deadlines, so there comes a point where you just have to stop endlessly moving commas around and send it off.

But with your own content, you’re the one that decides the publication date. Your deadlines are self-imposed, so you can tell yourself that they’re flexible.

The days turn into weeks, months and even years, and you still haven’t built the bank of blog posts that will boost your SEO, answer your clients’ questions, and give you plenty of content to share on your social media channels.

What’s #Write52?

Write52 was born back in September 2019. The wonderful Ed Callow, founder, supreme leader, copywriter, was fed up of never actually getting any of his own content written.

He decided to challenge himself to write something every week for a year, and called it Write52. He asked Twitter if anyone wanted to join in, and lots of wonderful freelancers decided they did.

So, having started the whole thing kind of by mistake, he set up a website, a Twitter account, and started sending out the weekly round-up newsletter.

How could Write52 be the answer to all your blogging problems?

Write52 gives you the deadlines you need to actually get blogs written and published. It’s a great way of holding yourself accountable, even when your diary fills up.

It means you publish a blog every week, even during those busy weeks when blogging would normally be pushed right to the bottom of your list.

Of course, there will be weeks when you just can’t make it, but more often than not you will hit publish. I’ve posted 13 weeks out of the last 14 which, considering my track record, is quite something.

By the end of the year, you’ll have over 50 blogs on your site. That’s a solid bank of content to show your potential clients you know your stuff.

With a well-stocked blog like that, you can afford to slow the pace and post less frequently if you like, or go back and optimise old posts.

Find out more about #Write52

Now, I know Ed isn’t keen for world domination, as he’s already got quite a lot of work on his plate compiling the wonderful newsletter he sends out every Sunday, summing up the week’s content.

(He does take a break occasionally – I’ll be the guest editor on Sunday 17th May!)

But there’s always room for more writers in the Write52 ranks. All you need to do is write a piece of content, every week, and share it on Twitter using the hashtag #Write52.

Check out the Write52 website, sign up for the newsletter, and follow Ed Callow and Write52 on Twitter.