What does July 4th mean to you? Freedom? Liberty? Justice? Independence? The American Dream?
Well, as an Irish lass, it never held much meaning for me. It was always just another day. Until last year, that is. Last year July 4th marked the day that my first post for Spokal, entitled “How To Overcome Your Fears And Write The Perfect First Blog Post“, was published.
As a writer, there are very few times that you look back at your writing and confidently declare, “I wouldn’t change a thing”. This, however, was one of those pieces.
When I was mulling over ideas for my first blog post, I realized a 2 things:
- I had no experience in the marketing industry, so writing about SEO or lead nurturing was out of the question. I’d need more time to do some studying and learn about the industry before I can write about it in any legitimate way.
- Being the sole writer of a business’s blog (that’s not your own) is kind of intimidating.
So what did I choose to do?
I focused on myself. I focused on what problems I was facing.
My dad used to tell me to never shy away from asking questions, even if I think they’re stupid. Because, he said, if I have a question, you can guarantee that someone else has that very same question but is too shy to voice it. His logic was that the only stupid question was an unasked one.
This gave me the courage – as a very shy kid – to speak up in class.
But it also taught me that if I had a problem, others would too.
So when it came to writing my first blog post for Spokal, I looked at what my problems were and I looked at the general topic I had to write about and I tried to see if there was any overlap.
- What was my problem? Writing this first blog post.
- What was my topic? Inbound marketing.
Then I “researched” my idea (which, at the time, just meant Googling the keyword and seeing how good the content on the first page was) and when I found that it was lacking, I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to create something really useful on the topic.
And, luckily enough, that post has become one of our top performers. We still get tons of engagement on it:
And it’s even number 6 in the SERPs:
That’s nothing to turn your nose up for a first blog post!
Of course, it wasn’t my first blog post ever, just like this isn’t my last blog post ever. But it was my first blog post at Spokal, and this is my last blog at Spokal.
I know, I know. Goodbyes suck.
It’s been an incredible year, and I’ve gotten to speak and get to know so many of our readers. I’ve also gotten to learn so many new skills, like how to host webinars, how to put together guides, how to write an ebook, the ins and outs of running a business blog, everything and anything to do with inbound marketing, and I’ve even become a half-decent wanna-be graphic designer (don’t hold me to that one). I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it there.
It’s been an absolute privilege to work here at Spokal, and the skills I’ve learnt here are invaluable and I’ll take them with me as I continue on in my career.
And of course, the blog will continue without me and the content that you’ll see here is surely only going to get even better!
But before I go, I want to thank all our wonderful readers and business owners that I’ve gotten to know over the past year. And a particularly big thank you to Chris Mack, Spokal’s CEO and all-round awesome guy, who took a risk on an English teacher from Ireland. You rock!
So until we meet again in some wonderful and mysterious corner of the web, I wish you all the best in the future! Keep being awesome.
Oh, and that’s how you overcome your fears and write the perfect last blog post! 😉