7 Blogging Lessons From Jon Morrow To Help You Succed

Anyone who has been blogging for a long time will attest to the fact that it isn’t always easy. With the right information and some hard work, you can make your blog more successful than ever before!

As a result, when learning how to start a new business, it’s vital to learn from those who have already gone through the process and developed best practices along the way.

This post contains 7 Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow that will help you make the most of your writing and attract more readers to your website. 

You will learn all about his secret sauce and get your business to the next level!

Jon Morrow, the founder of the popular blog Smartblogger and others, one of the most influential bloggers on the web, has mastered the art of blogging. In fact, he’s been at it for over 10 years now and has seen and done it all, from growing an organic audience to turning his site into an eight-figure business. 

Smartblogger’s Jon Morrow has years of expertise in all aspects of blogging, from writing attention-getting material to growing an email list, and he has some pearls of wisdom to offer with other businesses interested in beginning their own blogs.

I’m going to go over 7 blogging lessons from Jon Morrow of Smartblogger in this article.

Jon Morrow is a terrific example of what it takes to flourish in the blogging world, and learning a few blogging lessons from him can be quite beneficial to you on your road.

7 Blogging Lessons From Jon Morrow

After following him up for a few years. Here are seven of my favorite blogging lessons from Jon Morrow.

1) Put In The Time

One of the first Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow is to Put in the time in your blogging business

If you want to become an expert in your field, you’re going to have to put in some serious time and effort. Read everything you can get your hands on, and go above and beyond what’s expected at work. 

Whether it’s a small local business or a large company, take advantage of opportunities to learn more about how things work. 

You never know when that knowledge will come in handy. 

Starting a business isn’t easy, but one of its most important rules is to make time for it. 

If you’re starting a business while still working a full-time job or taking care of kids, you won’t be able to devote as much time as someone who doesn’t have those responsibilities. 

Try to fit in small amounts of work whenever you can – if you can only get two hours in on Saturday morning, that works better than nothing at all. 

Also remember that it takes more than just time: Your energy and creativity will be taxed at some point, so when your mind is exhausted or your motivation has run out, try taking breaks until you feel recharged. 

In other words: Don’t burn yourself out! 

Take it slow, build up over time, and remember that success comes with patience. 

It can take a few years to build a full fledged Blogging Business, but do trade any of those early years for anything. It was worth it when you reach that level of comfort, before then,keep plugging away even when things are tough. 

The best part about entrepreneurship is knowing that everything is possible; the worst part about entrepreneurship is knowing how long it might take to achieve your goals. That said, there are plenty of ways to speed things along

So keep reading

2) Write To Your Audience

The most important blogging lesson that anyone can learn is to write for your audience. This is one of my favorite Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow.

Start with who you are writing for and how they benefit, then focus on providing value that they’ll want. This will make all aspects of blogging more enjoyable, and in turn, help you to grow faster. 

Many new bloggers overcomplicate things because they try to do everything themselves or worry about following every tactic that works for others. 

They end up spinning their wheels trying to hit every traffic source when it’s just not worth it at first unless you have a dedicated team helping you out. 

In his words ” When I started SmartBlogger, I wrote for my audience (web marketing professionals), focused on providing useful content that would help them, and it worked out great! 

After 3 years, we’ve been able to build an engaged community of over 100k people and become one of Google’s Top 50 SEO blogs.”

Aspire to write content that is useful, educational, and fun: If you want people to read what you write, then make sure it’s not only useful but entertaining too! 

While there are exceptions here and there if I’m looking at a page full of text without any images or anything else to break up all those words… I’m probably going to close out before I finish reading more than a few sentences. 

Make your readers feel appreciated by giving them interesting information in an easy-to-digest format – because we all know how awesome it feels when someone makes us feel appreciated! And remember: more valuable content = more traffic = more customers = more money.

Jon Morrow’s career has been defined by connecting with and writing for his audiences and helping them achieve their goals.

In his keynote speech at Pubcon Las Vegas, Jon shared some key lessons that have helped him build a loyal following and turn his passion into a profitable business. 

Here are the lessons from Jon about writing for your audience

1. Create content your audience wants to read: 

Start out by asking yourself what you would want to read if you were your target audience. Write it down, then do it! 

2. Know your why: 

Once you know what your audience wants to read, figure out why you want to write it for them. 

3. Get readers on board before you start writing: 

It’s hard enough just getting people to read our blogs, let alone get them engaged in commenting or sharing our posts with others. You need readers onboarded before you even start writing so they can get excited about your content when it goes live! 

4. Build relationships first, revenue second: 

When starting out, focus on building relationships first—then revenue will follow. 

5. Make sure you’re solving a problem for your audience: 

We don’t always realize we have problems until someone points them out to us. If you don’t find ways to solve problems for your audience, chances are someone else will come along and take their attention away from you! 

6. Give more than you take: 

This is one of my favorite things about blogging—it’s an opportunity to give back without expecting anything in return (other than thanks).

Don’t be afraid to share other bloggers’ work; help promote others’ businesses; write guest posts on other sites; etc… The more value we give away, the more value we will get back! 

7. Don’t try to please everyone: 

As I mentioned earlier, blogging is a great way to give back. Sometimes that means saying no when opportunities arise because they don’t align with your core values or simply aren’t something you enjoy doing. Be true to yourself and avoid spreading yourself too thin.

3) Nurture Relationships With Influencers

Nuturing relationships with Influencers is another will really skyrocket you’re success in blogging business. It’s one of the Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow

Influencers are your people, who will read your content, share it with their audience, and become brand ambassadors.

If you want to make an impact on your audience and grow a loyal following that shares all your best work, start by cultivating relationships with influencers in your niche. 

Reach out and connect; start a conversation around something you’ve already written. Treat these connections like relationships rather than transactions—you’ll be glad you did! 

When you take blogging seriously, start networking with other bloggers and follow their success. This can help you tremendously when it comes to generating ideas for your own posts, as well as helping you achieve higher rankings through link-building strategies that bring in high-quality links. 

Jon Morrow has built relationships with other big names like Jeff Bullas and John Doherty 

Be sure to pay attention to how he cultivates these relationships on his personal Twitter account. 

The most successful bloggers don’t just get ahead because they write great content. They get ahead because they build genuine, authentic relationships with other bloggers, creating real-life communities around their blogs that give them a competitive advantage. 

Aspiring blogger? Look to who influences you, take an interest in their way of Blogging, help them where they need it, and they’ll likely repay you tenfold. It’s also a great way to generate leads for yourself.

4) Keep It Simple

” When it comes to blogging, simplicity is a strategic asset”, says smart blogger Jon Morrow. This is one of the Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow

This lesson applies to all aspects of your blogging strategy: keep your content simple and relevant, learn how to use images effectively, and don’t try to be everything for everyone. 

When it comes to your website, there’s no need to over-complicate things. Keep things simple by making sure your home page doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of information, and that you don’t bombard your audience with text upon the first view. 

Simplicity is key when it comes to building a reader base; if readers can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll simply move on to another source. The same goes for blogging; keep your posts short and sweet, but still informative. 

Use subheadings to break up content into manageable chunks, so readers can easily scan through your post without getting overwhelmed. 

Your writing should be clear and concise—no one wants to read through walls of text! 

In fact, simplicity may be especially important when it comes to what you post on your site; although you should obviously have plenty of ideas (and different types) ready in case they’re popular, make sure that you only release content that actually has value. 

There’s no point in beating a dead horse or flooding your readers with fluff that doesn’t move them forward. The main thing I do, says Morrow, is ask myself if each piece I write will help my audience get closer to their goals. If it won’t, you might want to hold off until something more worthwhile comes along. 

Here are some other tips to consider: 

Keep It Short – People don’t read anymore. Make sure your posts are as short as possible without sacrificing quality or accuracy. 

Tell Your Story – Use anecdotes and personal stories whenever possible—especially about struggles, mistakes, failures, and success—to add authenticity to your writing. 

Get Social – Let people know what you’re doing by adding social media buttons on every page of your website and blogging regularly so people can connect with you personally through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. 

Be Personal – Your brand needs personality; infuse it into every part of your business by adding some personal touches to every aspect of its presence online.

5) Use Storytelling

” If you want to become a great blogger, tell great stories, says Jon. Storytelling in blog posts is one of the Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow that I learned

Great bloggers don’t just regurgitate information that’s been fed to them by others, they find ways to make it interesting and relatable by weaving their personal experiences into what they’re writing about. 

Stories are an incredibly powerful way of doing that; if you want your writing to stand out, learn how storytelling works so you can incorporate them into your posts effectively!

If you’re like most bloggers, chances are you rely on a steady stream of fresh content to keep your site going. It can be daunting to find new topics—and even more challenging to write them. 

To fill up your schedule with creative ways to showcase your expertise and offer value to readers, learn how master storyteller Jon Morrow takes his niche stories into bite-sized nuggets. 

Learn how he turns posts that would take him hours to research and write into pieces that take him just minutes by using these seven lessons:

1. Think in terms of points, not paragraphs.

2. Start with one main point, then build subpoints around it. 

3. Build mini sections within each subpoint (you can always chop them off later). 

4. Keep sentences short and to the point.

5. Don’t worry about writing perfect sentences; just get ideas down on paper as quickly as possible. 

6. Write the first draft without worrying about spelling or grammar; let someone else edit for you later! 

7. Add in plenty of pictures—they make your content more interesting and easier to read. 

Now that you know how Jon does it, try these lessons out for yourself. You might be surprised at how easy they are to implement—and how much better your content is when you do!

6) Be Consistent

Being consist is another of the many Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow and it’s applicable in all businesses especially if hope to grow your business quickly

Consistency is one of the most important aspects of blogging. If you want to be successful with your blogging endeavors, you need to create a schedule and stick to it. 

This could mean posting at least once a week (perhaps on Tuesdays or Thursdays) or it could mean working up to being able to post every day. 

The point is that you should figure out what works best for you and how often you’re willing/able to post, then hold yourself accountable for sticking with it.

One great way to stay consistent is by automating your blogging efforts as much as possible. 

For example, many bloggers like to use WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack so they can focus more on creating content than tweaking settings in their CMS. 

You can also use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to automate some of your social media sharing efforts. 

If you’re hoping to turn your audience into loyal subscribers, then consistency is key.

Just like you’re likely to stop reading a book or magazine that doesn’t deliver on its promise, your readers will be much less likely to follow along if they don’t have confidence in you and your ability to deliver. 

For bloggers and small business owners, schedule regular weekly posts if possible. 

If not, at least aim for publishing new material whenever you can—even if it’s once every two weeks. Your content may be great, but people are busy and won’t stick around if you aren’t providing something valuable. 

Be sure to keep your social media profiles updated as well. It’s important to stay active so people know where to find you when they want more information about what you do or how they can get involved with what you’re doing. 

A one-time post isn’t going to cut it! On top of being consistent, try to maintain quality control by checking each piece before it goes live. 

Make sure all links work, pictures load properly and everything looks good overall. While spelling mistakes happen (and shouldn’t make or break whether someone subscribes), nothing turns people off faster than grammatical errors or misspelled words. 

When in doubt, hire an editor or proofreader to check over your work before posting anything online. The extra money spent now could mean huge returns later on down the road when you’re trying to build a following (or even just keeping current subscribers happy). 

It’s also worth mentioning that having multiple contributors makes things easier; have others proofread articles regularly to ensure high-quality standards remain intact throughout all aspects of your site.

Just remember: consistency isn’t about numbers—it’s about quality over quantity!

And if you really struggle with consistency, don’t worry—you aren’t alone! Many bloggers have had trouble sticking with their blogging schedules when they first started out. Once you get into a routine though, it will get easier!

7) Be Yourself

In many ways, blogging is about sharing your experiences with others and forming a connection based on shared experience. 

So part of a blogger’s job is to be themselves, not just in their writing but also in their lives. This is one of the Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow that I have really imbibed even in other aspects of my life

It sounds too obvious to mention, but if you’re not being yourself, then it’s time to change. Your personality and your values have a huge impact on how people perceive you. 

Make sure that they match up with what you are doing. Don’t compromise; don’t try to be something you’re not. Be true to yourself and everything else will fall into place. 

This is perhaps my most important blogging lesson. If I had to start over again today, I would still choose to blog because it’s a great way for me to express myself and share my interests with others in an entertaining way. But I wouldn’t do it unless I was passionate about blogging. 

And even now, as much as I love blogging, there are times when writing gets tough and my enthusiasm wanes. That’s when I remind myself why I do what I do—and those tough days become easier to get through. 

There’s nothing worse than getting stuck in a rut or feeling like you’re doing something just for money or fame. Those things rarely last anyway. You need passion to drive you forward and keep you going when things get hard or boring.

Without passion, blogging isn’t worth it. 

When you find your passion, blogging becomes fun. Even when it’s hard work, it feels good to know that you’re doing something worthwhile and meaningful. You feel good knowing that you’re helping other people by providing them with valuable information or entertainment. 

The bottom line: Do what makes you happy. If blogging doesn’t make you happy, then stop blogging!

If you’re trying to create great content on your business or personal website, you might want to follow some advice from Jon Morrow: Be honest. Be yourself. 

Just be real . . . life is crazy and there are ups and downs and everything else in between, so being yourself will allow people to connect with you better. 

And when you get good at that…you can do anything!. It’s important to be transparent as a blogger—the more open you are, the more readers feel connected to you. 

People who feel connected to bloggers tend to comment more often, share blogs they like, and generally engage with content they enjoy.

Make it easy for readers by blogging authentically—write how you live your life without worrying what other people think of it. Your unique perspective is what makes blogging fun anyways

Conclusion

We’re taught to sit in rows, keep our hands to ourselves, and raise our hands if we need help. The world doesn’t work that way and neither does blogging. 

This type of learning is called rote or procedural learning; you have to repeat something over and over again for it to stick in your head. 

If you can learn a few valuable lessons ahead of time, though, you’ll spend less time repeating yourself—and more time making great content. 

It took me a long time to get around to writing this piece, which has been on my to-do list since I first joined Smartblogger over two years ago. I’m glad I did because it made me double-check my understanding of what Jon Morrow has taught me over the years.

It also made me realize how much he has done for me both personally and professionally and I hope you also get these Blogging lessons from Jon Morrow of Smartblogger