Last year I saw an Instagram post from Launch Pad Publishing that has stuck with me ever since. The graphic read, “Write like everybody’s reading.” And in the caption, Launch Pad Publishing stated, “Enough of the ‘dance like nobody’s watching’ business… Write like EVERYBODY’S reading and maybe they will.”

Yes! This!

I couldn’t wait to share this with the See Jane Write community, especially those working on books.

But, in a way, I believe this mindset applies even more to blogging. We bloggers need to blog like everybody’s reading.

So often we get discouraged when our blogs aren’t getting the pageviews we want. And so we stop giving our blog our best or we stop blogging altogether.

We say to ourselves, “No one is going to read this anyway” and we throw together a half-assed post or we don’t bother to post at all.

But what’s happening here is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Of course, no one is going to read a post we just threw together. And, obviously, no one can read a post that’s never published.

So, what would it look like to blog like everybody’s reading?

To blog like everybody’s reading means to be consistent.

If you knew people were eagerly anticipating your work, you’d show up. So, why not commit to showing up now in hopes that readers will eventually show up for you.

 How often should you blog?

I get this question a lot and no one likes my answer – it depends.

Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer to this. Many successful lifestyle bloggers publish new content 3 to 5 times a week, while creators of business-related blogs tend to update weekly.

My advice is to decide what works best for your schedule.

If it takes you about two hours to complete a blog post and you know you can only devote three hours a week to blogging, then you should only commit to one post a week. And you’ll need to use that other hour to schedule social media posts promoting your blog.

That whole “If you build it, they will come” thing may work in baseball, but not blogging.

You need to blog like everybody’s reading, then promote your post so somebody actually will.

So be sure to make time for social media, too.

To blog like everybody’s reading means to be creative.

If you knew lots of people were reading your blog, you wouldn’t be okay with posting mediocre content.

New bloggers – and even those of us who have been at this for a while – worry about how to stand apart from the crowd. After all, these days everybody and their dog seems to have a blog. And there seems to be a blog on every topic under the sun.

But none of those other blogs have YOU. The thing that will set you apart is having a distinct voice and sharing your story.

So, no matter what you’re blogging about, be sure to tell a story – your story – and don’t be afraid to show your personality in every post.

 To blog like everybody’s reading means to be community-focused.

While your blog is your space to share your story, your blog isn’t ALL about you. Your blog should be about your readers, too, and how your story can help them.

With every post, ask yourself what value it offers your reader.

I don’t always practice what I preach.

I quit my job last year because I want See Jane Write – the blog and the business – to be my full-time job. I want to spend my days creating content for this site and helping the women of the See Jane Write Collective reach their goals.

But after I quit my job I jumped head first into full-time freelance writing because my mortgage company does not care about my dreams.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE being a freelance journalist. I love getting to know badass women doing badass work and it’s an honor to share their stories.

But if I want See Jane Write to be my full-time job, I need to act like by putting more time into that endeavor.

Likewise, if you want your blog to gain more readers, you need to put more time into creating more content worth reading.

What will you do this month to blog like everybody’s reading?