Dear Pastor,
In today's world, being visible to the people you're trying to reach isn't easy. In fact, I struggled with it for a long time and, to be honest, not everything I've tried has worked. However, I've learned a lot of things that do work.
This post is my way of passing on a little of what I've learned to Pastor's that aspire to get that message out as a Christian Writer.
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My journey has been rough, and it's a lot of work, but the benefits one can gain from developing an online presence are worth the struggle it takes to do so. I don't claim to know all the secrets, but I have learned a few tricks of the trade.
If you're interested in hearing my thoughts, save this post or keep on reading. The journey has just begun.
YOUR VOICE CAN BE HEARD!
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Here are 3 of the things I learned through this process. I hope that you will not have to make the same mistakes I did.
1. Starting a Christian blog doesn't always go the way you've planned.
I'm going, to be honest with you here, I have attempted to start at least 6 or 7 completely different Christian Blogs in my lifetime, and only 2 of them exist today. Neither one of them are what I envisioned in the beginning. I wanted to get my content out there so badly, I never thought through what would happen after I published my first few posts.
I didn't expect to publish a post, and it become visible overnight, I understood that I'd need to work for results, but I did expect to know what needed to be done right from the beginning. You may be thinking that's crazy, trust me I know.
So, take it from me, creating an effective blog post will take some trial and error. I also realized I was writing as an outlet for my thoughts, without much thought or planning involved.
I WAS WRITING JUST TO WRITE, NOTHING MORE!
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In the beginning, I wanted to encourage my family and church members. I felt something in my heart and just wanted to share it with others. While my family and friends provided positive feedback with each post, that's all there was. My dream audience didn't magically search for my name on Google and find my heartfelt content.
I needed something more. I needed to find a way to get my name out there and show up online. I needed to find what drove my desire to write and dig into it. I couldn't just write to write. Something was missing from my writing, something missing from my drive, and something missing from the dream I had of getting my message to more than just the congregation of the church I was serving in and becoming a Christian writer.
I needed to expand my audience by learning fundamental techniques that would help me to do so, and I needed a plan to focus my writing.
I NEEDED SOMETHING I WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT TO INSPIRE ME!
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3. Your inspiration is not always what you think it is.
When I first began my journey building a career as a Christian writer, I thought I would inspire myself. Boy, was I wrong!
My most successful blog posts and articles are the ones written with a purpose in mind, having nothing to do with motivating myself. They are words that focus on encouraging others in the faith, words that use my experiences to help others, and words written to give God the glory instead of myself.
Focused content is essential. Focused techniques are crucial.
While I still journey down this path, I have learned more than I ever thought possible about building practical blogs, finding ways to reach a wider audience.
Through doing this, I have enjoyed connecting with the right people to help me along the way and finding out what my true inspiration and purpose as a Minister of the Gospel and as a Christian writer are.
IT HAS BEEN EYE OPENING!
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Times of Refreshing come by HIS Hand,
M.J. Elliott
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