So, you completed the ‘famous WordPress 5-minute Install’. Now, what? Are you staring at a blank screen and thinking about writing your first blog post? But what should it be? What’s the headline?
Are you stuck? All the experts tell you that you need to write epically awesome killer content to succeed. Thanks, that's not really helpful.
My advice — forget that! Just pick something, anything. Do You want to develop a cooking blog? Write a recipe … then another. Are you focused on personal development? Write a review about the book that had the most impact on your personal development. Then curate a personal development article that you really enjoyed. Web design? Write a WordPress design tip. Then tell us about a WordPress plugin that you really loved and why.
Do you remember these unforgettable headlines?
- Exceeding Human Limits of Strength, 1015-lb. Bench Press
- Enjoy the Perfect Shower Anywhere in the World…For $2.96
- Why I Will Quit My Job for a Passive Income
- Nevermind, I Just Got Laid Off
- Who Is Your Favorite Writer?
- What’s Your Favorite Writing Subject?
- Blog Pimping
These are some of the first headlines from the articles of some very well-known blogs and bloggers. The first two headlines are from Tim Ferriss, of The Four Hour Workweek fame. The next two are from Pat Flynn at Smart Passive Income. The two after that? From Jeff Goins of GoinsWriter.com. Finally, Blog Pimping comes from Brian Clark at Copyblogger. Michael Hyatt, who has a huge readership, started his blog curating articles, videos, and quotes before he started publishing his own content.
None of these are hardly inspirational beginnings. That is not a criticism. My own definitely aren’t killer, quite the contrary. But in many ways, looking back on these early headlines is inspirational. These now widely read blogs and bloggers had humble beginnings. They kept working at their craft, learned new skills, evolved and most importantly kept sharing. The lessoned to be learned — what you write about is not as important as just getting started.
So are you still stuck? Just pick something relevant to your niche, write, share, and repeat. The more you do that, the more you grow, and the better you will get.
Don’t focus on epic, awesome or killer — just write!
Need more specifics? Pick a few of your favorite blogs. Go back to the very beginning of their archives, and study their early articles. Before you realize it you’ll be saying to yourself, “I can do this”. Then start writing and publishing. Who knows, some of it might just be epic.