Hey hey hey Reader,
I wanna kick off this week's email by saying THANK YOU for all the well wishes, prayers, and messages responding to my health update last week. Ya'll are fucking incredible, and I really do have the best community of people 😭
And thank you to my clients & students for giving me the space I've needed to be a potato.
I'm doing a LOT better already. My husband has been taking great care of me 🥹 - making me all my meals, taking me for walks around the block to get some fresh air & gentle movement, and making me laugh. (I sound like a dog lmao but honestly, dogs kinda have it made, right?????)
And the good news is that our holiday celebrations are pretty chill this year, so I'm planning on being horizontal for as much as possible for the rest of the year.
(If you're curious as to wtf I'm talking about, you can get the tea in last week's email here!)
But now, let's get into the juice, ok?
Because here's the thing. I KNOW it's the holiday season. And I KNOW you're trying to put work/business on the back burner.
But before you do that, take 10-minutes & do the action step of this email because it's gonna make your Q1 SO MUCH MORE STRATEGIC.
Here's what we're diving into....
Recently I had someone ask me in the DMs "How does blogging help SEO?"
And that's a fair question.
The biggest reason, IMO is that each blog post is a new page on your website, and more pages mean more opportunities to rank for relevant keywords.
When you blog with SEO in mind, you’re multiplying the doors in which your audience can find you.
BUT, that's not all folks...
SEO-focused blogging ALSO helps you:
⚡️ Create HELPFUL content that you KNOW your people are already looking for (bc keyword research data told you so)
⚡️ Increase your authority with search engines AND with your audience because you’re showcasing your expertise over & over again.
⚡️ Create reusable resources for other forms of marketing in your business (Repurpose your blog posts into social media posts, newsletters, etc & you’ll get SO MUCH out of them).
⚡️ Become a known expert for the people in your industry (oh yeah, X prob has a blog post about it…)
⚡️ Improve the user experience on your website – when you have strategic blog posts that people WANT to read, they’ll go down a rabbit hole on your site, which signals to search engines that you’re giving a good user experience (positive ranking factor!)
It's essentially a triple whammy for more visibility, more trust, more traffic.
The 3 types of blog posts that work SO WELL for SEO:
If your goal is SEO (not just “having a blog”), these are the posts worth creating...
👉 The “People Always Ask Me This” Post
Think of this as your entry-point content that gets people unstuck in real time.
It's more reactive. It starts with a specific question someone asks you in real life.
- Usually short-to-medium depth
- Often framed as a direct Q → A
- Great for catching people mid-confusion
Ask yourself:
- What do people DM or email me about?
- What do I explain on calls every single week?
Examples:
- “Do I need a blog for my business?”
- “What’s the difference between a coach and a therapist?”
- “How long does SEO actually take to work?”
- “Is Squarespace or WordPress better for SEO?”
- "When should I hire a wedding photographer?"
These posts help you:
- Match real search behavior
- Pre-qualify your audience
- Reduce friction before someone buys
👉 The “Problem → Solution” Post
These posts start with a struggle your audience is actively searching for.
Ask yourself:
- What’s frustrating for my audience right now?
- What’s not working for them?
- What problem do I help solve every day?
Examples:
- “How to workout a tight psoas muscle” - (Personal note: I literally Googled this myself 6 months ago and bought a course from the person that had a blog post answering this LOL)
- "When to repair vs replace your HVAC system"
- "How to tell if electrical wiring was installed incorrectly"
- "Why does my neck hurt after sleeping"
- "Why does my organic Instagram reach suck ass" - (okay maybe you wouldn't Google this exact thing, but I would lmao)
These posts help you:
- Show up earlier in the customer journey
- Build trust with cold traffic
- Position yourself as the obvious solution
👉 The “Foundational Resource” Post
Think of this as your anchor content, like "here's the guide on this!" type vibe.
It's proactive, deeper, and something you want to be known for.
- Longer, more comprehensive
- Often linked internally from multiple places
- Built to age well and compound over time
Ask yourself:
- What do I wish people understood before working with me?
- What topic do I want to be KNOWN for?
- What would I happily link to in emails or other blog posts?
Examples:
- "What to expect during your first physical therapy visit”
- “What to include on a high-converting services page”
- “What’s included in a professional house cleaning service”
- “How to Setup Google Search Console”
- “How to prepare for a residential plumbing inspection”
- “How to choose the right haircut for your face shape”
These posts help you:
- Answer high-intent informational searches
- Support your service pages without competing with them
- Give search engines & AI bots clear signals about what you do, who you help & what topics you’re an authority on
- Are PERFECT to link in emails, DMs, booking pages, FAQ sections, Google Business Profile posts, etc.
Quick note before you overthink this 👀
These “types” are not strict categories you have to follow perfectly.
A single blog post can absolutely be:
- People Always Ask Me This post and Problem → Solution post
- Problem → Solution post and a Foundational Resource post
- People Always Ask Me This post and a Foundational Resource post
It can be all of them, at once.
That’s normal. That’s fine. We just want *actually* HELPFUL content.
The goal here isn’t to obsess over "what kind of content this is"...
The goal is to create pages that:
- Answer real questions people are already Googling & prompting AI for
- Give clarity before someone hires or buys
- Make your website more useful than the other results
If a blog post helps someone understand a problem, feel confident in a solution, and makes it easier for search engines to know when to recommend you?
THAT'S WHAT WE WANT BABYYYYYYYY.
Helpful ass content, that supports YOUR audience.
(NEWSLETTER SPONSOR) -- This newsletter is sponsored by Holly Marie Haynes; helping women grow their businesses with strategy, systems, and sanity.
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👇 Action step for this week (10 min MAX):
Open a notes app, Google Doc, or whatever you already use to jot things down.
Set a 10-minute timer.
Write down 3 blog post ideas you want to create in Q1:
One for each of these buckets:
- “People always ask me this” post → a question you answer on repeat.
- “Problem → solution” post → something your audience is actively Googling because they’re stuck.
- “Foundational resource” post → the post you’d love to send someone when they need a deeper explanation on a topic.
That’s it.
We’re not outlining them.
We’re not researching keywords.
We’re not writing the post.
We’re just CHOOSING the ideas.
Because once the holidays are over & once you come out of your cookie coma, you can actually sit down and start creating helpful content without staring at a blank screen like:
“wtf am I even supposed to write about?”
Because that part, will already be solved ✅
AND IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN "OLD" BLOG POST ABOUT THIS TOPIC, DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL...
Just go back into it and update it with fresh content!
Here's a look into my 3 posts for Q1:
- “People always ask me this” post → Creating a new post about Google Search Console errors & what they mean. These confuse the hell out of people and I prob get 4+ emails EVERY month JUST about this.
- “Problem → solution” post → Creating a new "How to write an SEO friendly blog post" blog post (how meta of me LOL) because this is a PROBLEM that a lot of people have. They don't understand how to create content for the web. I found this idea via keyword research!
- “Foundational resource” post → Updating my Google Search Console blog post so it's WAY more in-depth. I already send people to this ALL the time, but it's kinda sad right now lol. Note I'm not creating a new one. I'm updating this old one & once I do, I'll update the publish date too!
So what are ya waiting for???? Take the 10-min, brainstorm your ideas, and then enjoy ALL THE HOLIDAY COOKIES YOU CAN SCARF DOWN.
