Here's How a Builder Can Blog In Just a Few Minutes

So you have a blog tab on your website, and you keep meaning to produce articles. But you don’t know where to start creating content that will captivate your readers and get your phone ringing with great prospects?

No matter how much time you spend chewing the end off your pencil - struggling to pull ideas out of the air - you come away defeated with that “I can’t do it” feeling. Not nice!

In this article I’m going to show you how you can create content for your blog articles or videos in just six easy steps. Guaranteed to reduce gray hair appearances by 90% (as measured by the number of “you’ve got another grey hair” comments you get), to keep your pencil pristine, the ideas flowing and your success feelings tank full.

Ok. Enough of the hype. Here are the steps.

1 Create a Table

On a paper (plasterboard or ply) create a table with 8 columns and 9 rows and block out the top left hand square. Nothing goes in this square.

2 Topics

In the seven remaining spaces on the top row write down all the areas in which you currently work. Don’t get too specific - keep these fairly general. E.g. You might do work on Renovations, Kitchens, Bathrooms, Reclads, Extensions, Pop Tops, Outdoor areas, Tiny Homes, New homes etc.

3 Styles

Now in the remaining squares in the left most column list all the kinds of expression you can think of. For example you might decide that your styles could be the following:

A Rant

This is something that bugs you about one of the topics. E.g. Renovations. You are bugged by the shady builder who wins a charge-up renovation job because they under-estimate the likely costs. Not only do you miss our, but the client ends up paying more than they expected, or maybe, could afford! Or kitchens.

Maybe it bugs you that people pay thousands for a new kitchen design when all they need is a kitchen facelift. Then, once you have ranted, you can go on to short snippet about a useful solution. Something I rant about is builders who hire someone simply to fill a gap and end up getting the wrong person. This can cost thousands. It’s much better to use a reliable recruiting process in the first place.

Q&A

This is a short Question and Answer session where you simply answer a question that you commonly get asked by customers. Simply state the question and develop your answer. E.g. “Who should I talk to to get an estimate of the likely cost of a renovation, so I can decide if it’s worth doing?”

I’m sure that you could answer this with three simple steps. Maybe your steps might be,

1) Get a builder’s estimate on initial suggestions before committing to high design fees.

2) Check the likely value of your property after the renovation is completed.

3) Decide if it’s important for you to stay in your area.

I’m sure that you could then say a few words about each step. Wouldn’t take long.

How to

This is an informative guide taking your client through the steps of achieving something worthwhile. E.g. How to renovate your bathroom without paying bucket loads!

Case Study

Everyone likes in a good story. So, write about an interesting or challenging build you completed. Talk about it from your client’s perspective. What were their concerns/frustrations about their project? What actions did you take? What was the outcome?

Tool

This could be a checklist or a calculator. It might be an online communications programme you use to help your clients keep up to date with their build. Perhaps it’s a checklist to go through before deciding to renovate. Tell them about it.

Mistakes

Write about common mistakes you see people make. E.g. Not allowing enough cupboard space or bench space in a new kitchen.

Keep It Current

Inform your readers about something new in the industry. If it’s about reclads, tell them about a new proven cladding. If it’s about bathrooms, what’s new in showers? This is similar to a case study, but it adds a little extra. Again you might simply tell a story (we did this and we got this result), implying that if you do this, you’ll get a similar result.

Offer

Just keep it very simple. If you have a special offer, you might like to let them know about it.

4 Fill in the Gaps

Now in each of the boxes, write brief notes using the matrix. Using Kitchens as an example, in the box under kitchens and in the row Q&A, write a question you get asked about renovating a kitchen. Go through and do this for each of the boxes. It may take a little bit of time, but once you’ve finished you now have 56 topics you could easily write about. That’s once a week for a whole year!

5 Video Yourself

The key is to keep your blogs simple. Don’t overwhelm yourself or your readers with too much information. You may even find that you are better videoing yourself in front of your cell phone than pushing a pen. Great. Go for it. Have some fun.

6 Schedule

Once you’re done, make a frequency plan for when you’re going to do each blog. And just do it! 

Talk Soon!

Graeme Owen - The Builders Business Coach

P.S. Whenever you’re ready….here are 4 ways I can help you grow your building business:

1. Grab a copy of my free book

It’s a road map of a successful 15 minute sales call that’s guaranteed to increase your conversion rate. Download Here

2. Join Trade Mates and connect with builders who are scaling too.

It's our new Facebook community where smart builders learn to get more income, time and freedom. View our free business resources for builders. Ask questions of like minded business owners and business coaches. Give your knowledge and expertise to help others. Join TradeMates

3. Join My New  Group

I’m starting a new group called “OnRamp” to kick start sales and marketing in your business. If this sounds like you, message me with the words, “OnRamp”, and I’ll get you all the information.

4.  Join Loft Members

If you’d like help to get off the tools, make more money and get your life back...just  message me at graeme@thesuccessfulbuilder.com and put “LOFT MEMBERS” in the subject...tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.