I’ve been blogging for seven years. Over that time I have talked with many people about blogging. When I talk to people who are even slightly interested in blogging for themselves I inevitably run into the same argument. “But, I have nothing to write about.” I personally think that is a terrible argument. Everyone has something that they are truly passionate about and could talk for days about that subject. To prove that you can blog about anything and still provide value I submit this example of a perfectly good blog post on the topic of saving money.
My wife and I started working on Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University three weeks ago. In that time we have cancelled three inactive credit cards, a line of credit and we’ve paid off one of our active cards. We went to the cash based system and it changed our perspective so much. I found myself clipping coupons with such fervor and excited about finding deals. I found a great deal at CVS.
I use the Gillette Fusion Razor. I usually shave with the same blades for a long, long time because the blades are so expensive. Gillette is smart and they sell you a cheap razor and then they get you with the cost of the blades. Blades are what hit you in the money belt. A new razor however is not at all expensive and you can usually find good deals on them. I clipped a coupon for $4.00 off a new MVP Fusion razor from the Sunday paper. CVS had a sale on a new MVP Fusion razor of $4.00 off if you use the Extra Care Card. So, because I used my clipped coupon and my Extracare card I got a new razor and two new blades for only $.99. The cost of those two blades, if I bought a 4 pack ($15.49), would have been $3.87 each. So, with a little coupon clipping and planning I saved myself $6.75.
In this little post about my mundane life I did a few things.
Establish Credibility
My wife and I are working on becoming debt free and we are looking for ways to save money. We’ve already started eliminating our debts.
Tell A Story
Our lives have been changed by going to cash only, we now look very hard for deals.
Offer Value
I told my readers how to save $6.75 and get some decent razor blades with a tiny bit of work and planning.
For my friends who think they cannot blog because they have nothing to say; look again. Look at what is happening around you. Look at what you love. Look at what you spend time and money working on. Take that and follow the three little steps above and you easily can blog about that topic. Keep it simple, clean and accessible to your audience.
Great example! I find myself at the same dilemma quite constantly and I have a couple of times dug into the personal archive and found that it is those stories that generate the most discussion.
Tom,
What I am finding overall is that it is the simple straightforward posts that make more people sit up and take notice. I have been known to write long rambling ones with lots of great info but they just bore people.
BenSpark, congrats on the seven years! I started my first blog on January 1, 2003, so just passed my seven year mark as well. Cheers!
As for writing, I agree that everyone has something valuable to share, but sometimes I think the blogosphere would be better off if those who really can't figure out what to say or how to say it found another hobby!
Alison,
Thank you and congratulations to you as well for so many years of blogging.
Oh I agree with you that not everyone should blog, especially if they can't find the thing to say or what to say. The people that I run into though I think they would be fascinating but they don't see it in themselves. Of course I find that I can find so many great things about other people that I never see in myself.
Great tips – i guess most sit infront have a dry day
i think this kind of thinking must be have by any blogger and nice story anyway.
Totally agree cash is best – I only hit the credit card when I know that if the bank pulled the card I would have enough money to cover the full amount owed.
Credit card promos at 2.9% interest can be attractive if you can then put the money in a bank account for 6 months at say 4% interest or higher – I used to do this a lot when I was living in the UK.
In terms of blogging topics – I made it a habit to look around me and see what marketing lessons I could learn from what people do – from street beggers to sales staff in stores.I called the series marketing lessons from the street.
Gillian,
I'm really getting into the whole cash thing. The problem now with that plan of taking the money at 2.9% and putting it in the bank for %4 is that now if you take a convenience check or cash advance is that they assess a 3% fee to the total amount taken. I would consolidate all debts to one card to have one payment but I'm not getting nailed with more fees to do this.
I like your approach to finding Marketing lessons from everyday life. That is fantastic. Are you familiar with Andrew Lock and his show Help My Business Sucks. He tells of a marketing lesson from big brands each week and those are great.
Ben, that is a beautiful way of putting it in only seven words. Establish credibility. Tell a story. Offer value.
Some of the most non-threatening advice on blogging I have ever seen. I'll bet a lot of readers react as I have: I can do that! Many thanks.
Thanks Shirls,
You know, I hadn't thought of how powerful those seven words really can be and also how non-threatening. I appreciate you pointing that out for me.
Yep. Agree!
Sometimes we think that we have nothing to say because we just want to impress our readers but try to look around us. You will find a lot of thing to say – your feeling, event, improvement or even a simple thing can be a great thing to be discussed.
I realized this and that's what I write. And it works =)
Blogger Daily,
Glad that you found something worthwhile in this post. I see that sometimes we go a little crazy trying to put out the best content possible, which we should, but we get bogged down on the details instead of the overall message. Some of the best posts are those short and sweet ones. They get people involved and leave them wanting more.
This is a great article. I’m new to blogging but still learning. Thanks for the great resource.
well bloggers have a lot to say when it comes to. whenever two bloggers meet they have a bunch of topics in their niche and its a good thing to share your views with others and get help from others