One of the most cost-effective and powerful ways to promote your business is through a blog! A successful business blog will drive traffic to your website, establish you as an expert in your industry, and ultimately increase your sales. So how do you start and maintain a successful blog? Here is a list of pro tips for successful business blogging!
Write for Your Audience
Remember that your blog is for your customers, and not for you! Think about what kind of questions or issues your customers are facing surrounding the services you offer, and provide them with fresh information and insight that they will find valuable!
Plan Content in Advance
As a business owner, it may be hard to fathom committing to a blog, but a little bit of planning ahead can be enough to keep your blog running for weeks or even months! If you are having a hard time picking topics, head over to your FAQS section, and start there. You can also take advantage of Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool to find keyword phrases that your potential customers are searching regarding your industry. Adding keywords into your blog post titles and body paragraphs will increase your visibility on Google as well.
Produce Quality Content
The key to a successful blog is producing quality and valuable content that will establish your brand as an authority in your niche. Your readers will likely come back as returning visitors to your website if they feel like they can find trustworthy and useful information there… which may ultimately lead to further sales! If you do not have someone skilled enough to write your blogs, you can outsource a writer who can post under your company’s name.
Stick with a Frequency
Choose a posting frequency that you can realistically maintain, without leaving too much of a gap between articles. Consistency is key, and abandoning your blog halfway is not a good look! Consider posting weekly, or even monthly, to maintain a steady schedule. In addition, search engines tend to like fresh and frequent content, so the more often you update your blog, the more likely your site will rank higher on Google and gain your audience’s attention.
Pick a Blogging Style
It’s important that your blog reflects the face of your company, and blogs are typically meant to be informal. Try to avoid sounding “salesy”, and add some personality to your content! Now more than ever before, customers are looking for companies they feel are relational and come across as conversationalists rather than always offering a sales pitch.
Make It Shareable
Make it easy for your readers to share your blog posts. For example, use social networking icons to make it convenient for your readers to share your blog to their personal accounts in order to drive your potential sales and website traffic upward!
Measure Its Performance
Use a web stats tool to measure your blog’s performance, such as Google Analytics. As time goes on, you will get a clear picture on whether or not people are finding your blog useful, as well as which topics they liked the most.
Business blogging comes with so many benefits, and by applying these tips, you will be well on your way to creating and maintaining a successful blog that will greatly strengthen your brand awareness and sales!