This week the USA turned 243 and this blog turned 2. Happy Birthday!
This is my 104th blog post since launching NutritionCommunicator.com two years ago in July 2017.
Yay! I have continued to meet my goal of creating and posting a weekly blog. It’s time to celebrate… again! It’s good to take time to applaud our achievements.
It’s also important to take time to reflect. One year ago I posted a blog celebrating one year of blogging and lessons learned.
Let’s revisit those lessons to see if the second year taught me something new, or reinforced those lessons.
The four lessons I learned after 1 year of blogging:
Consistency is key
It gets easier
There’s plenty to write about
Readers like reading about people
Would I pick the same 4 lessons today?
What have I learned from 2 years of blogging?
This year’s list is the same with a few additional insights and take-aways:
Consistency creates habits and meets expectations Yes, consistency is key. Making a commitment to write a weekly blog and post each Friday definitely keeps me on track. Why? Because consistency creates habits. These habits make writing weekly blogs a natural part of my weekly routine. Consistency also meets the expectations of the audience. Consistency encourages readers to anticipate upcoming blogs and check in on Fridays or over the weekend. For blogging to build trust and connection, consistency is key.
Systems make blogging easier Like so many things in life, blogging gets easier the more you do it. One way to make blogging easier is to create systems that streamline the process. Systems allow you to make decisions regarding how you will do something once, and then simply repeat. For blogging, my systems include having a designated notebook to save ideas for future blogs, electronic folders to save drafts, and scheduling time to write, edit, and proofread. I’ve also created systems for when blogs are posted and shared on various social media platforms. If you want to simplify a process you plan to do repeatedly, create a system.
Write about what you know The most common question I hear from people thinking about writing a blog is: “What should I write about?” My answer: “Write about what you know.” Just last month I heard this question from a fellow Toastmaster in my local club. This woman has been a flight attendant for 50 years. Yes, you read that right, 50 years! I told her: “Write about traveling, you’re a credible expert who’s full of true stories and real-life examples.” I reminded her that what I considered her all-time most impactful speech was when she demonstrated how to pack a suitcase. No other topic should even be considered. Write about what you know.
Be personal Stories and anecdotes create the most interest in a blog post. Posts with images are read more often than ones without, and posts with faces your readers recognize are even more likely to be read, reacted to, and shared. A personal story creates context by putting a relatable face on your message. In a profession that prides itself on being “evidence-based,” nutrition professionals may hesitate to use stories. That’s a mistake. Keep the evidence, but add stories too. Think of personal stories not as anecdotal evidence but as examples and real-life experiences that help readers understand and relate to a message. Don’t be afraid to be personal.
Have you ever thought about writing a blog? I invite you to consider joining my nutrition communicator community and writing a guest blog. I’ll work with you every step of the way.
“The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them.”
~ Og Mandino
If you like this content, please share it:
