I don’t know about you, but I have struggled with what to post and how to post it during this time of crisis in our world.
There are people dying. There are health care providers putting their lives on the line to care for others. There are clerks in grocery stores and other businesses who remain open who have to work and are putting themselves at risk every day with exposure.
This is serious stuff.
I have definitely struggled with talking about something frivolous like interior design at a time like this.
I shared my thoughts and my decision to keep going during this time with my email list in the email I sent out with this blogpost.
To read that intro, go to my main blog page, scroll down to that post and you will see it there. That’s where I put my thoughts about this crisis because I wanted my readers to see it before they clicked through to my blog. (That snippet is what is sent out to my email list in the email, to introduce the post to them.)
I wanted the people who opened the email and might not click through to see it so they understood my position.
Why not put this commentary within the blogpost?
There are other reasons why I did not want that to be included as part of the blogpost.
I didn’t want to steal the thunder from that nice redo the homeowner worked on herself in my post. I didn’t want to diminish the value that post might bring to my audience by making it all about my views on blogging and this health crisis.
I know that all kinds of platforms are using their bots to detect words like “Corona”, “virus”, “pandemic”, etc. All kinds of platforms and advertisers are looking to avoid the spread of misinformation, so unless you are the WHO or some kind of health or safety authority, avoid giving advice on those topics and avoid the use of those words. Even now, more subtle words are being identified in algorithms too, so be careful in your use of them in your post and especially in your titles. They might tend to get your content pushed down and not seen.
I really wanted my readers to understand where I was coming from. I wanted to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and then move on to what I know best.
I think that it is better not to overdo it at this time with all the headline news and how it is affecting you, personally.
I know I have a pretty low tolerance of people who have lovely comfortable homes, a good income and most of all, their health right now, whining about having to stay in. A little joking is great. By all means, share some jokes and memes about our predicament.
Just remember, a blog should be all about your reader, not about you. Try to stay sensitive to what they might be going through.
For me, I have decided to stay in my lane, publish design oriented posts, and work on content that might be timely and some that might be more evergreen. I want my blog to be a distraction from all the media coverage and bad news out there.
I want to stay focused on what I have been producing that has brought me results so far.
Blog traffic is changing constantly right now.
My blog traffic dipped considerably a few weeks ago and now is picking back up with my email list. I have certain type posts that I know do well with them and I’m going to continue to try to be helpful for them and give them what they have historically shown me they like.
Unless we experience some illness in my family, which would seriously paralyze me by the way, I’m planning on keeping to my schedule of 2 posts per week for my main consumer facing blog and the occasional post here with this blog for designers/design bloggers.
I think you should do what feels comfortable for you. Don’t be disappointed by your open rate, click through rate, or any stats right now, as things are changing rapidly and we are in uncharted territory.
This could be a time to create a backlog of blogposts if you aren’t as busy as normal and want to. If you don’t feel productive in that way, don’t worry about it. It helps me to create content and I enjoy it.
Here are the posts that seem to be working for me now.
Posts that don’t really push sales or products.
Posts that relate to what the average homeowner might like….color posts, how to work with what you have, general design information type posts, etc.
Posts that share my least expensive consultations done via email and those results and recommendations.
This post did not do well at all with my email list. Maybe it was too sales-y? Maybe it was too soon into the crisis to be thinking of this? Really, I thought it would be helpful, especially later on down the road. I always like to publish in advance of when that post might need exposure, because it takes at least a few months for a pin from a blogpost to get any traction on Pinterest.
Moving forward, I’m going to focus more on building my readership for now and think this is a good bet for most.
I heard some guru on Youtube that said basically you just want to show up for your audience right now. He said you can entertain, be helpful, but hard selling a bunch of new services and products are likely not going to go over that well.
The last thing you want to do is alienate people. Better to just keep being as consistent as you can and provide a nice distraction with some helpful content they might be able to use on down the road.
Moving from Design related posts to more trending content?
You might be hearing that everyone is searching recipes, home schooling, how to make face masks, etc. right now.
Don’t feel the need to jump onto that kind of content for your design blog, just because it is now popular. As a matter of fact, it might not help you at all.
Although I talk a lot about all aspects of interior design, I don’t really go off topic to some other type of content much.
The few times I’ve delved into food or even travel with posts on my blog, they have not really had the success I thought they would.
I slowly realized, people don’t come to me for recipes. I’m always talking about how I don’t cook anymore, my husband does, so sharing a recipe is really off-brand for me anyway.
If you are considering moving in a different direction, I would urge you to remember that if you stay with your main pillar content, then you stand to gain much more trust as an authority in your niche with Google search.
While you might think it is nice to throw in personal post that doesn’t really relate to anything design once in a while, you won’t be doing your blog any favors with Google, Pinterest, or any other place that might drive traffic to you.
Matter of fact, you are confusing Google if you do that too much.
What if you want to pivot?
Let’s say you really have an interest in another content pillar. It’s a serious pursuit for you, and you want to start incorporating that into your content, regularly.
That’s fine. That can be done.
It can be hard, like starting all over again almost.
The trick is to be consistent with your content and gradually work it in.
So, if you really like cooking and want to share that in your design blog, then perhaps do it as a recipe at the end of a post with a pretty pic of the dish AND the setting. Relate it to your design content somehow.
And do that repeatedly and consistently.
If you can do that, then you can broaden your appeal more into the lifestyle category, while not really taking away from your authority as a design blogger.
Same goes for all other areas of interest.
I think many of us are interested in travel and love going to special hotels and destinations, but really, that whole genre is tanking right now.
Travel bloggers are suffering, as you can imagine, as people are cancelling trips not looking for new destinations.
If that’s the content pillar you’d like to add in, maybe you could wait that out a bit until this crisis is more under control.
IF you are into makeup and beauty, I have heard over the years from many that this is one category that remains strong in all kinds of economies.
This might be an opportunity to work in self-care tips or whatever to get some of your other passions on your blog if you want to.
Just remember to keep your goals top of mind, if you plan on taking this time to do a little experimenting outside your normal blog content.
when considering content topics……..
Keep in mind, if a potential client were to come to your blog and see your latest post, would they realize you are a designer that could help them with their project?
Would a homeowner, looking for advice for a problem they are having with their spaces, know you might have the answer for them in your blog by reading your most recent post?
If you want your main focus of your business to be interior design, then your content should revolve around that.
All in all, this is a challenging time for everyone and no doubt many are unsure how to proceed in business, let alone blogging. I think staying the course, being as consistent as possible, and writing content that aligns with your main goals will likely help you rise above, after this is all over.
UPDATE Later in the day….
Check out these two brilliant creative biz owners that I follow on Instagram. I haven’t seen them doing this ever before, on IGTV. But there they are…..showing up……for their audience.
They weren’t selling, they were present. They were there to help us pass the time, maybe to stay top of mind. What can you do when staying at home and you want to still try to connect with your audience?
You connect, in a very real way, that makes a strong memory and fills a void when everyone else might be just pushing more products at your same audience.
I shared these on my Instagram stories today. VERY cool.
Wendy O’Connor Art
Farmgirl Flowers