This is a guest post from Linda Dessau of ContentMasteryGuide.com.
As business owners, we all experience the occasional crisis of confidence. I hear these themes a lot from budding bloggers:
“So-and-so has a cool new website/service/product/speech – I can’t compete with that!”
“With all the information available these days, what value could I possibly offer?”
Really, what it all comes down to is this niggling doubt:
“Why would someone hire me?”
No matter how many people offer a similar service, your business has one thing that no one else has – and that’s you.
It can sometimes be difficult to accept compliments and the positive impact we’ve had on someone else (criticism is even harder). So the first step in turning your expertise into effective blog posts is to acknowledge your strengths.
The next time someone compliments your work or says how much you’ve done for them, take in the praise and say thank you. And then stop. Leave out the qualifers, “It was nothing,” “I’m sorry about the delay,” “I wish we’d…” There’s time later to debrief and make it better.
When you come from this place of confidence and acknowledgement, your blog writing will be more authentic. And this is crucial in order for your ideal clients to recognize that you’re the right person to solve their problems. After all, how will they know you speak the same language if you’re trying to sound like someone you’re not?
Next, identify the lightbulb moments in conversations with clients, colleagues and family about your area of expertise.
There are going to be many things that are obvious to you that your ideal clients need to know. In some cases, they’re actively struggling with something, and in other cases they don’t even know what they don’t know. Either way, start noticing when you hear comments such as:
“Wow, I never thought of it that way!”
“Now I get it!”
“Boy, I wish I’d known that sooner.”
These are the blog post topics that your ideal clients will really appreciate. They’ll keep coming back for more of these insights, and they’ll remember the feelings of relief and empowerment they get from reading your blog posts.
What lightbulb moment has one of your clients had lately, and how could you turn it into a blog post?
