Question: What do writers, holistic professionals and social entrepreneurs all have in common?
Answer: They tend to be right-brain dominant.
Scientists tell us that the left side of our brain is used for sequential thinking, speech, analysis and organised thought. The right side of the brain is used for creative thinking, global perspectives, imagination and innovation. After working for more than four decades within the creative industries, an additional seven years as a coach and consultant for holistic practitioners, and more recent work with social entrepreneurs, it is my observation that all of these people tend to think in abstract ideas — typically associated with right-brain thinking. They are concept-driven people. They have a vision, usually driven by an emotion, and they work passionately — often tirelessly — to bring that vision down to earth.
The problem with this is that visions don’t always translate well when a right-brained person is trying to communicate them to others. Making their visions understandable to others can be a major challenge for people who see and experience the world through the lens of abstractions, ideals and values. And making our visions understandable to others is what marketing is all about. This is one of the reasons (there are many others) why visionaries often find marketing to be a daunting task.
Why Blogging is Part of the New Marketing Paradigm
One of the most powerful forms of new paradigm marketing is blogging. Some people might wonder why I consider blogging to be a form of marketing, so let me explain my reasoning. I believe marketing is simply ‘the act of communicating the message that we have something of value to share’. It’s not about ‘selling’; it’s about communicating. Blogging is, in my opinion, the way new paradigm marketers ‘sell without selling’. It is the way to express ideas, share information, give advice, establish trust AND engage in a dialogue with our audience.
It’s my observation that many new bloggers mistakenly think blogging is an ‘anything goes’ activity. That might be fine if your only aim in blogging is to use it for personal creative expression, but if you want to use blogging as a marketing tool, you cannot use an ‘anything goes’ approach. Here are the three most common mistakes I see right-brained people make when they blog:
- Blogging ‘whenever they feel like it’ rather than consistently and regularly
- Blogging without an over-arching message or purpose
- Blogging in a stream-of-consciousness manner (similar to the way they think)
Below, I’m going to look at each of these mistakes, and offer my own ‘concrete’ advice on how to turn them around, so your blogging can become an effective marketing tool.
The Value of Having a Regular Routine
In my experience, right-brained people tend to be driven by ‘feelings’. This means they tend to eschew routines, preferring to engage in creative activity when ‘they feel like it’. When they’re not in the right mood for something, they simply don’t do it. While they might think this practice brings authenticity to their work, it’s my observation that it can often hinder them from getting projects done and from putting systems in place that can help build their enterprise.
The other common trait amongst creative, right-brained people is they tend to have a lot of plates spinning in the air at once. They seem to need a lot of stimulation to be happy, and thus say ‘yes’ to lots of projects. The end result is that they are spread too thin, and often forget to leave the ‘me time’ they need to do things like writing content for their blog. And because they don’t have a commitment to a system of regular blogging, they don’t bother to create time to do it.
If you wish to use blogging as a means of marketing you MUST build it into your regular business routine by assigning specific days on which you will WRITE and PUBLISH your articles. Make a schedule and commit to it. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much commitment. Commit to two blog posts a month to start and build up to one or two posts a week after you’ve gotten used to the regular practice.
Having a regular blogging routine helps grow your AUDIENCE. When people know your writing patterns, they will look for your posts and subscribe to your blog. If you don’t show any consistency, your readers will feel no incentive to stay in touch with you. I have seen it personally in my own blogging. I recently changed my own blogging schedule to ensure I blog twice a week, and my readership has TRIPLED within the last 60 days. This has not only impacted my subscriber list, but it has also increased my book sales and my ReTweets on Twitter. Creating a routine is one small change that can make a huge difference.