Shortcuts to Publishing a Leadership Blog: 

10 Questions Before You Write a Single Word 
on Your Blog
©Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.
www.Blogs4Leaders.com 
Is a leadership blog worth the time you need to research, write, format and frequently publish quality content?
Some leadership professionals ask me if it’s worth it to blog or would keeping in touch with people through social media sites work just as well? It’s a good question, particularly for small businesses, coaches and consultants who don’t have a lot of staff and a lot of time.
Publishing a quality blog requires time and effort. The average person needs at least two hours to complete all the tasks necessary for one blog post, and you should be publishing 2-3 times a week.
Ten years ago, when I first started blogging I declared blogs to be “The best darn marketing tool on the planet!” It was if someone had handed me a microphone and people across the globe started hearing what I had to say. I started getting found online and the increased traffic to my blog boosted my business revenues exponentially.
Ten years later, there are many more reasons to start a blog. Consider this:
•	Over 400 million people view 14.4 billion Word Press pages per month
•	Tumblr hosts over 170 million blogs and has nearly 76 billion posts published
•	Blogs are a useful direct communication tool - with prospects, media, potential employees, current clients and your own staff 
•	Blog content can be viewed with any device
•	Blogs that are supported by a solid, customer-focused strategy and integrated with social media can help a brand become and stay “the best answer” for topics that matter most to readers.

Another common question I hear is, “How will readers find my blog?”
There are over a billion people connected to the Internet and many fall into the category of “your ideal clients.”
It’s not likely they go online looking for you, your business or your blog, but they do go to search engines and they type in questions with keywords.
How Readers Find Your Blog and Become Clients

Get Found, Get Known, and Get Clients!
A blog for your business should focus on communicating the unique solutions you have for solving the problems your clients experience.
If you’re serious about getting found, getting known and getting clients, you’ll need to publish frequent quality content on your blog that showcases your knowledge, expertise, and credibility as a thought leader. 
Yes, it’s work and time, but you may as well get started now. Now has never been a better time to get your leadership blog started. It does not need to be complicated or expensive to do. But your blog does have to be high quality. 
You want your leadership blog to reflect the quality of your professional services. You want it to attract people to you so they will eventually hire you.
You can’t do it alone. There are a multitude of blogging experts available to help you with each step of the process, including the writing, editing, formatting, design, publicity and marketing.
I am just one of a group of experts who can take you from start to finish. My expertise is in writing quality leadership content, and I ghost write several highly successful leadership blogs. 
What I’ve learned is that clarifying the topic and keeping that in mind as you write each post is critical. To do this, I offer you this questionnaire as a pre-step to complete before you write a single word of your blog. 
Take some time to write your answers to each question. Get some input from others. 
Never forget to focus on the needs of your readers. Help solve their problems and they’ll want to read more of what you say. Use your experience and leadership stories to make your blog come alive with authenticity and real-world emotions.
Here’s to your successful journey to becoming a best leadership blogger!

10 Questions to Ask Yourself 
Before You Post a Single Word on Your Blog
1. What is the area of expertise you'd like to focus on for your blog?

2. What are other areas of expertise you also have, but which will be secondary to this main topic for your leadership blog?

3. What are your goals and expectations for this blog? What would you like the results to be? Why? 

4. Who are your targeted readers for this? Describe them in some detail. What drives them to make decisions? 

5. What are your readers' biggest challenges/pain points?

6. How would you state your unique message, or how would you encapsulate your core philosophy in a sentence or paragraph?

7. What benefits will the reader get from reading and using your ideas/concepts? Please list as many as you can.

8. What benefits would the reader/targeted client/prospect get from hiring you?

9. What proof do you have for your stated results? (statistics, quotes, testimonials, arguments?)

10. What are the disadvantages for a company or client who does not follow what you say? What is it costing them to not take the action you want them to take?

About Dr. Patsi Krakoff and ContentforCoaches.com:
Dr. Patsi Krakoff is an expert in helping executive coaches and consultants create quality Leadership Development e-newsletters, blogs and ebooks. For the past 14 years, her company ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com has been providing writing services for coaches so they can get found, get known and get clients on the Web.
Smart coaches and consultants know that they can’t do it all themselves. That’s why they use writing services with a specialty in their own field. Dr. Patsi is a trained journalist, psychologist, coach, and online content marketing specialist. Her experience and education qualify her to write authoritatively in the field of leadership development.
Dr. Krakoff explains:
Executive coach and leadership consultant blogs and websites are a little different than most Internet businesses. You’re not selling widgets or apps; you’re selling the quality of your professional credibility and expertise. 
You’re selling YOU. You want to establish yourself as a thought leader, with a unique message designed to serve people and better the world.
If you’re wondering the best way to start your leadership blog, give me a call and let’s have a conversation.
Patsi
Patsi Krakoff 
858-224-5886 (US VOIP number)
Office in Mexico: (52) 376-766-1135
Cell phone (52) 331-262-6196