If you’ve done the research, you probably know that blogging for your business is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers. Maybe you’ve even added a blog to your business website, or have it on your to-do list. The question now is – content.
While the design of your website plays an important role in catching a visitor’s attention, when it comes to blogging for your business, content is king.
How Blogging For Your Business Helps
Blog articles are synonymous with the term “content,” but content can come in many different forms, including infographics and videos.
It works for you, educating your audience about your products or services and building your credibility as an expert in your industry.
As a bonus, regular updates to your company blog can help increase your search engine rankings, making it easier for potential clients or customers to find you.
The better your content, the better your blog. Here are a few tips to help you get off to a good start.
Table The Sales Pitch
Your company blog is not a place to advertise. It’s not a sales tool. It’s a place for potential customers to get to know you and your business. It also serves as a platform for you to position your business as a valuable resource for the audience you are trying to reach.
The value of blogging for business is that it helps you build trust and credibility with your audience. Those are two things that can ultimately convert prospects into customers or keep existing customers coming back for more.
Post With Purpose
Though blogging may have had its start as a place for dreamers to post deep thoughts, when you are blogging for business, it’s different. You want every single blog to have a purpose, and potential for the reader to benefit from it.
Your posts need to be relevant to your audience, and be something that they actually might read. If not, what’s the point of putting it online in the first place? Spend a little time brainstorming some topics. A good place to start is by thinking about common problems that your customers or clients face and offering your expert advice or pro tips for solving them.
For example, if you are a massage therapist you might put together a list of stretches for relieving neck tension associated with sitting behind a desk all day. A life coach could post articles with tips for finding motivation to achieve goals. Own a café? Do a blog post on your favorite herb and how you like to use it. You get the drift.
Brainstorm and come up with a list so you will never be short of ideas when you have the time to write. Try to post at least once a month, more often if you are able. When you have time to write, even if it’s not time to post yet, go ahead and write your article. You can schedule it or hold it for later.
You Don’t Have To Do It Alone
If you’re too busy to write blog posts yourself and don’t have a staff member who can do it for you, there are ways you can still have an active and engaging blog.
You can hire someone to write for you. Quality freelance writers are skilled at becoming “experts for a day” on whatever topic you would like them to write about. Find someone in your local area or consult websites like Upwork to find a writer who can help. Ask to review samples of their work before you hire them for the job.
It’s also possible to purchase content that’s already written. Services like Constant Content offer pre-written articles for a small fee. You can also order custom articles on topics of your choice for a higher fee.
Whatever route you choose to keep your blog updated, make sure what you are posting passes a quality check. Poor content and poorly written articles will undermine any potential that your online presence has. Misspellings and poor grammar will make you AND your company look amateur at best, and that is NOT what you want people to think of when they think of you. Proofread before you post.
If you’re just starting out, the idea of making regular updates to your blog on top of everything else you need to do can seem a little overwhelming. But blogging for your business can be an effective and inexpensive way to get the word out about what you have to offer. It is well worth the effort. Stick with it and just keep in mind that content is king.
