Blogging for SEO vs. Blogging to Write

I'm a published author, a writing coach, a journalist, and the runner-up for Cleveland Scene's "Best Local Nonfiction Author" in 2020 (I lost to Connie Schultz, who is an outlier, so basically I won).

So you may be surprised to hear that I have often felt like a big lying liar who lies when it comes to feeling Like A Writer. Actually, now that I think about it, crippling imposter syndrome is one of the hallmarks of what I like to call Real Writer Shit, so maybe it's not that surprising.

When I started my first blog in 2012, I was chronicling my "Journey to Less" after ending my first marriage, moving in with my parents, getting my own 500 square foot apartment, and downsizing. And I loved writing there. Writing the process down in the blog gave me motivation to keep working on my minimalist goals. I was nearly anonymous and started to get a following of other minimalist and eco-conscious writers and readers, and I felt like I really had something to say.

But eventually you run out of ways to talk about how few pairs of shoes you own, and I started to write more about other, tangential things that represented my values.

My journey to less stuff became a journey to more experiences - and I still loved writing about it.

Then, in 2016, one of my blog posts - The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation - went viral. I was terrified of what came next. I wasn't sure I was up to being a "real writer" or the voice of a movement... and yet, I accidentally became one. Though I didn't publish another blog post for six months, I was in touch with a literary agent and working on a proposal to turn my viral post into a published book. A book that I did write, which was published, and which I forget about all the time.

When it came to writing for my blog, I was torn. As a marketing professional, I knew about the power of content marketing, search engine optimization, and providing value. And as a writer all the way down to my core, I knew that sometimes I just wanted to write something because my heart needed to put it down in words.

I could not reconcile these two parts and struggled for several years feeling like I wasn't showing up enough to either piece of me.

Until this year, when Podia launched a blogging platform.

I was already in the process of moving off Wordpress to Squarespace and deciding which personal blogs to bring with me, but I still wanted a home for my "work" blogs. The blogs about my coaching services, my programs and products, my advice for neurodivergent creatives and writers. Podia, being the place where I housed all of those programs and products, was the ideal home for my more SEO-focused and sales-driven content.

In the midst of the conversion from Wordpress to Squarespace, my web designer was a little confused on why I had not only a website but also a second website on Podia. Isn't it simpler to have everything in one place?

I explained it this way:

My website is like my home, my living room, my art studio. It's where I share about things that make me feel fulfilled and happy and creative.

Podia is like my storefront, my workshop where I teach classes, my cart on the sidewalk offering people free samples. It's where I share things that showcase my expertise and what I have to offer my clients.

Suddenly, it was no longer confusing. And not only did this clarify the distinction between the two websites, it also clarified my need for two distinct blogs. As soon as I was able to add Podia's blogging platform to my site, I wrote and published my first blog right away.

Benefits and What I'd Like More Of

Here's what I love about it so far:

• User Friendly: No widgets or formatted blocks - it's just a simple word processor and basic embeds available when you type a slash (/). I love the simplicity of it. While I'm sure they'll be rolling out more advanced features in the future, I'll already be adept at the basic tools and I'm sure the new features will be just as user friendly.

• All-in-One Solution: I love having my storefront, blog, and email all in one place. Similar to the blogging platform, the instant Podia added an email package that competed with MailChimp, my former email marketing platform, I switched.

Here's what I would love to see more of:

• Tags and Categories: Being able to categorize my blogs by topic would be great. Being an entrepreneur with ADHD, I have a vast array of offers and areas of expertise. But if my client wants to read more about my writing coaching, it would be nice to be one click away from all of my blogs in a Writing category, vs. the Burnout category, or the more general Creativity category.

• Keyword Research: I'm iffy on the use of AI in blogging but I've used it for keyword research and optimizing headlines. A basic keyword research tool would be a badass addition to the blogging resources.

If you're looking for an ecommerce site that allows you to build out a robust offer suite, client portal, email marketing strategy, AND a blog... Check out Podia. I'll link my referral code below - it's an affiliate link, so I do get a small bonus if you sign up for a paid plan!