Are you wondering why so many businesses are scared of blogging? Well, it’s because they don’t have enough time or resources, fear negative feedback, and are uncertain about the return on investment.
They also feel like they lack expertise and struggle to create engaging content. But don’t worry, in this article, we’ll explore these reasons and provide solutions to help businesses overcome their blogging fears.
So, let’s dive in and conquer those fears together!
Lack of Time and Resources
You don’t have enough time and resources to effectively implement a successful blogging strategy. Running a business requires your full attention, and blogging can be time-consuming. Writing blog posts, researching topics, and promoting your content all take up valuable hours that you simply don’t have.
Additionally, you may not have a dedicated team or the necessary expertise to handle all aspects of blogging. Hiring professionals to create content or manage your blog can be costly, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.
Without the time and resources to invest in blogging, it’s understandable why you may feel hesitant or overwhelmed. However, it’s important to consider the potential benefits of blogging, such as increased brand awareness and customer engagement.
Finding creative solutions or outsourcing certain tasks can help you overcome these challenges and still reap the rewards of a successful blogging strategy.
Fear of Negative Feedback
Although it can be intimidating, facing the fear of negative feedback is crucial for personal growth and improvement.
As a business owner or professional, it’s natural to want to receive positive feedback and validation for your work. However, negative feedback provides valuable insights and opportunities for growth that you may not have otherwise considered.
Embracing negative feedback allows you to identify areas for improvement, refine your skills, and ultimately become better at what you do. It helps you understand your weaknesses and work towards overcoming them.
While it may be tempting to shy away from negative feedback, facing it head-on shows resilience and a willingness to learn and grow. So, don’t be afraid to receive negative feedback; instead, use it as a stepping stone towards personal and professional development.
Uncertainty of ROI (Return on Investment)
Dealing with the uncertainty of ROI can be a challenge for businesses considering the investment in blogging. You might be wondering if the time and resources spent on creating and maintaining a blog will actually pay off in the long run. Will it generate enough leads and conversions to justify the investment? These are valid concerns.
However, it’s important to remember that blogging has proven to be a powerful marketing tool for many businesses. By consistently creating high-quality content, you can attract a relevant audience, establish your brand as an industry expert, and ultimately drive more traffic and sales.
While it may take time to see tangible results, the potential benefits of blogging far outweigh the uncertainty of ROI. Give it a chance and watch your business grow.
Perceived Lack of Expertise
Don’t underestimate the potential of blogging to overcome the perceived lack of expertise by showcasing your knowledge and insights to a wide audience.
Blogging allows you to establish yourself as an expert in your field, regardless of your background or credentials. By consistently sharing valuable and informative content, you can demonstrate your expertise and build credibility among your readers.
Additionally, blogging provides an opportunity to engage with your audience and address their concerns, further establishing yourself as a trusted source of information.
Through blogging, you can share your unique perspective, share industry insights, and offer practical advice that can benefit your readers.
Difficulty in Generating Engaging Content
You can overcome the difficulty in generating engaging content by conducting thorough research and understanding your target audience’s interests and needs. By investing time and effort into understanding what makes your audience tick, you can create content that resonates with them.
Here’s a bullet point list of different ideas for blog post types:
- How-to Guides & Tutorials: Step-by-step instructions on a specific topic. Screenshots, infographics, or videos for clarity
- Listicles: “10 Best Ways to…” or “7 Things You Didn’t Know About…”
- Personal Stories & Anecdotes: Sharing personal experiences or life lessons
- Interviews: Featuring industry experts, influencers, or anyone with a unique perspective
- Reviews & Product Comparisons: Analyzing and comparing different products or services in a niche
- Case Studies: Deep dives into specific examples, showcasing results and strategies
- Opinion Pieces & Commentaries: Personal viewpoints on current events, trends, or controversies
- Infographics: Visual representations of data or information on a topic
- Guest Posts: Content written by someone other than the regular blog author
- News & Updates: Sharing the latest developments in a specific industry or niche
- Research & Data Analysis: Sharing original research, surveys, or data-driven insights
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions): Addressing common queries about a topic or industry
- Behind-the-Scenes: Giving readers a peek into the day-to-day workings of a company or process
- Problem & Solution: Addressing a common problem and proposing a solution
- Resource Roundups: Curated lists of resources, tools, or links relevant to a topic
- Book/Movie Recommendations & Summaries: Sharing thoughts on notable books, films, or other media
- Event Recaps: Highlights and takeaways from a recent event or conference
- Predictions & Trends: Speculating on the future of an industry or topic based on current data
- Interactive Quizzes & Polls: Engaging readers with fun, interactive content
- Photo Essays: Telling a story through a curated collection of photographs
- Video Blogs (Vlogs): Sharing content in video format, possibly with accompanying text
- Podcast Show Notes & Transcripts: Accompanying content for podcast episodes, helpful for SEO and accessibility
- DIY & Crafts: Sharing creative projects with instructions and photos
- Travel Journals & City Guides: Personal experiences or recommendations for places to visit
- Monthly/Yearly Recaps: Summarizing the top posts, achievements, or events from a specific time frame
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it provides a variety of starting points to suit different niches and audiences. Choose the types that resonate most with your target readers and your personal or brand voice.
Start by conducting surveys or interviews to gather insights about their preferences and challenges. Use social media listening tools to monitor conversations and trends related to your industry. Additionally, analyze your website analytics to identify the most popular topics and keywords that drive traffic.
Armed with this knowledge, you can create content that addresses your audience’s pain points, offers solutions, and provides valuable information. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different formats, such as videos or infographics, to keep your content fresh and engaging.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can Businesses Effectively Manage Their Time and Allocate Resources for Blogging?
You can effectively manage your time and allocate resources for blogging by creating a schedule. This schedule should outline specific times and days that you will dedicate to working on your blog. By setting aside dedicated time each week, you ensure that you have a consistent and focused approach to your blogging efforts.
Another strategy is to outsource or hire a content creator. If you find yourself struggling to consistently create high-quality content, you can consider hiring someone to help you. This could be a freelance writer or a virtual assistant who can assist with various blogging tasks. By delegating some of the work, you free up time for other important aspects of your blog.
In addition to outsourcing, utilizing automation tools can also be beneficial. There are various tools available that can help automate certain blogging tasks, such as social media scheduling or email marketing. These tools can save you time and effort by streamlining repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic aspects of your blog.
What Strategies Can Businesses Adopt to Handle Negative Feedback on Their Blog?
When dealing with negative feedback on your blog, it’s important to approach it constructively.
Respond promptly, acknowledge their concerns, and offer a solution.
This shows your commitment to customer satisfaction and can help turn a negative experience into a positive one.
What Are Some Ways to Measure the Return on Investment (ROI) of Blogging Efforts?
To measure the ROI of your blogging efforts, track website traffic, conversion rates, and customer engagement.
Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of blogging efforts is crucial to understand the effectiveness of your content strategy. Here’s a bullet point list of ways to assess the ROI:
- Traffic Analysis: Using tools like Google Analytics to track website visitors. Monitoring page views, sessions, and unique users for blog posts.
- Conversion Rate: Number of blog readers who take a desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. Using tracking pixels or specific landing pages to assess conversions.
- Lead Generation: Number of leads generated directly from blog content, tracked through forms, downloads, or sign-ups.
- Sales Metrics: Track sales directly attributed to blog traffic. Analyze the average order value from blog-sourced customers.
- Time Spent on Page: Higher average time indicates that readers are engaged with the content.
- Subscriber Growth: Monitoring the growth of email or blog subscribers over time.
- SEO Ranking Improvements: Improved positions in search results for targeted keywords. Increased organic search traffic.
- Social Shares & Engagement: Number of shares, likes, comments, and mentions related to blog content. Use social media monitoring tools for more insights.
- Backlinks Earned: The number of external sites linking back to your blog content. High-quality backlinks can boost SEO and domain authority.
- Customer Feedback & Testimonials: Direct feedback from customers mentioning blog content as a factor in their decision-making.
- Content Lifespan: Analyzing evergreen content that continues to generate traffic and conversions over time.
- Cost Analysis: Comparing the costs of producing and promoting blog content against the returns generated.
- Affiliate Revenue: If you use affiliate marketing, track the revenue generated from blog-driven affiliate links.
- Ad Revenue: For monetized blogs, track the ad impressions, clicks, and revenue.
- Brand Awareness & Reach: Use tools like Google Trends or brand monitoring software to assess brand search and mentions.
- Return Visitors: Monitoring the percentage of visitors who come back to your blog after their initial visit.
- Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. A lower bounce rate may indicate more engaging content.
- Customer Retention Rate: Assess if blog readers have a higher loyalty rate compared to other visitors.
- Referral Traffic: Track visitors coming from other sites that mention or link to your blog.
- User-generated Content: Monitor the amount and quality of content generated by users in response to your blog posts (e.g., comments, guest posts).
Remember, the metrics important to one business may not be as relevant to another. Choose and prioritize metrics based on your business goals and blogging objectives.
Analyze data from tools like Google Analytics and social media metrics.
This will help you understand the impact of your blog on your business’s success.
How Can Businesses Overcome the Perception of Lacking Expertise in Their Blog Content?
To overcome the perception of lacking expertise in your blog content, focus on providing valuable and well-researched information. Show your knowledge, address common concerns, and engage with your audience to build trust and credibility.
By consistently offering valuable and well-researched information, you can demonstrate your expertise in your blog content. This means conducting thorough research, citing reliable sources, and presenting information in a clear and concise manner. Avoid making unsupported claims or sharing inaccurate information, as this can undermine your credibility.
Another effective way to showcase your expertise is by addressing common concerns or questions that your audience may have. This shows that you understand their needs and are knowledgeable enough to provide helpful solutions. Consider conducting surveys or engaging with your audience through comments or social media to identify these common concerns and tailor your content accordingly.
Engaging with your audience is crucial in building trust and credibility. Encourage comments and feedback on your blog posts, and make sure to respond to them in a timely and thoughtful manner. This not only shows that you value your readers’ opinions but also allows you to further demonstrate your expertise by providing additional insights or clarifications.
What Are Some Effective Techniques for Generating Engaging Blog Content That Resonates With the Target Audience?
To generate engaging blog content, there are several key strategies you can implement.
First and foremost, it’s important to focus on your target audience’s interests and concerns. By understanding what topics they find relevant and valuable, you can tailor your content to meet their needs.
In addition to choosing the right topics, it’s crucial to use storytelling to capture your audience’s attention. Storytelling is a powerful tool that can create a connection with readers and make your content more relatable and engaging.
Visuals are also a great way to enhance your blog content. Including eye-catching images, infographics, or videos can help break up the text and make your content more visually appealing.
Lastly, incorporating interactive elements can further engage your audience. This can include things like quizzes, polls, or interactive infographics that encourage readers to actively participate in the content.
Overall, don’t be afraid to showcase your expertise and provide valuable insights. By demonstrating your knowledge and expertise on a particular subject, you can establish yourself as a trusted source of information and build credibility with your audience.
Conclusion
So if you’ve been hesitant about starting a blog for your business, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Many businesses are scared of blogging for various reasons, such as lack of time, fear of negative feedback, uncertainty of ROI, perceived lack of expertise, and difficulty in generating engaging content.
However, it’s important to remember that blogging can greatly benefit your business by increasing visibility, building relationships with customers, and establishing yourself as an industry expert.
So don’t let fear hold you back, start blogging and reap the rewards.
Blogging is an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy. Not only does it help you to engage with customers, but it also increases your online visibility and drives traffic to your website. In this article, we’re going to look at the top reasons why every business should be blogging daily.
By regularly sharing content related to your products or services, you can increase customer engagement and build trust with potential customers. Daily blogging also allows you to establish yourself as an authoritative figure in your industry and attract more visitors to your website. Read on to find out more about the benefits of blogging daily for businesses!
Increased Customer Engagement
Blogging daily is a great way for businesses to increase customer engagement. It provides customers with regular updates on the business, new products and services, and any other changes that may be occurring. Through blogging, businesses can also give customers access to helpful content such as videos, infographics, tutorials, and more valuable resources. This helps to keep customers engaged with the brand and encourages them to keep coming back.
Blogs are also a great way for businesses to connect with their customers through conversations in the comments section. This provides an opportunity for customers to ask questions and get direct answers from the company itself. Additionally, it allows businesses to build relationships with their customers by responding directly to their feedback or inquiries. By actively engaging with its customers on a blog, a business is able to show that it cares about them and values their opinions.
Improved Visibility And Traffic
Blogging daily can improve visibility and traffic for businesses. It allows them to reach potential customers who may not have been aware of their brand or product before, as well as those who know the business but may have forgotten about it. The more content a business puts out, the more chances they have of being seen by people looking for related products and services. Additionally, when businesses continually post new content on their blog, it shows search engines that their website is active and relevant, which can help them appear higher in search results. This increased visibility leads to increased traffic: more people become aware of the business and its offerings, leading to increased opportunities to convert readers into customers. As long as businesses provide quality content that’s informative and useful to readers, blogging regularly can be an effective way to gain recognition and attract new customers.
Here’s an example of blogs that have been delivering us residual traffic for years.
Establishing Authority In Your Industry
Blogging daily is a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. By consistently providing valuable content that educates, informs, and entertains, you can position yourself as an expert on topics related to your business. This can help you build trust with potential customers and partners and even attract new talent to your team.
When it comes to blogging, consistency is key. Make sure you post regularly and keep up with the latest trends in your industry so that your content stays relevant and interesting to readers. You should also make sure to respond quickly to comments from readers, as this will show them that you are engaged and attentive. Additionally, be sure to share your blog posts across all of your social media channels for maximum reach. Taking these steps will help ensure that every blog you post establishes you as a leader in your industry.
Boosting SEO Rankings
Blogging provides an excellent opportunity for businesses to improve their SEO rankings. By creating content that is tailored to the target audience, businesses can ensure that they are reaching potential customers with relevant topics. This kind of content will also help to populate search engine results pages and can even appear in featured snippets. Furthermore, blogging helps to establish a business as an authority in its field and gives it credibility.
In addition, blogging can help to increase customer engagement through comments and interactions with readers. It also allows businesses to connect with their target market by providing valuable information and engaging content. This increased engagement leads to more visitors and a higher likelihood of conversions for the business. Moreover, regular blog posts give businesses the chance to showcase their products or services in a unique way and highlight any advantages or benefits they have over competitors.
Enhancing Brand Recognition
Undoubtedly, blogging is an incredibly effective tool for enhancing brand recognition. Not only does it enable businesses to cultivate an online presence, but it also allows them to engage with their customers directly by responding to comments and queries. Additionally, blogging can help businesses boost their search engine rankings by providing optimized content and backlinks. This can result in more organic traffic and visibility in the digital space.
Moreover, regular blog posts allow businesses to showcase their expertise in a particular field. By sharing useful, relevant information with their target audience, businesses can establish themselves as thought leaders and gain trust among potential customers. Furthermore, blogging is a great way for businesses to connect with influencers who can help spread the word about their products or services. All of these factors contribute to increased brand recognition and make blogging an invaluable asset for any business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Best Blogging Platform For Businesses?
For businesses looking for the best blogging platform, there are a number of options available. WordPress is one of the most popular and user-friendly platforms, offering a variety of features such as custom themes, plugins, and analytics tools. It’s also highly customizable, making it perfect for businesses of any size. Squarespace is another great option as it provides a range of templates and drag-and-drop editing capabilities that make it easy to create professional-looking websites without any coding knowledge. Both offer excellent SEO integration, so you can easily reach potential customers through organic search results.
How Much Time Does It Take To Create A Blog Post?
Writing a blog post can be a time-consuming task, but how much time it takes to create one depends on your level of expertise and the type of post you are creating. Generally, a well-thought out blog post can take anywhere from an hour to several hours to complete. It also depends on if you need research for the topic or if you are using existing content from elsewhere. If you are just starting off, plan on spending more time in order to get familiar with the process and find your voice. Researching keywords for SEO optimization can also add to the total amount of time needed for each post.
How Do I Measure The Success Of My Blog Posts?
Measuring the success of blog posts is essential to understanding the impact of your content and pinpointing areas for improvement. It’s not enough to simply publish content; you need to track your performance to assess whether or not you’re reaching your goals. There are several metrics you can use to measure blogging success, such as the number of visitors, shares, comments, and conversions. Additionally, consider using analytics tools to gain insights into how users interact with your content and identify what topics are resonating with them. By monitoring these metrics regularly, you can better understand the effectiveness of your blog posts and make adjustments accordingly.
How Do I Make Sure My Blog Posts Are Engaging?
Creating engaging blog posts is essential for any business that wants to attract and retain readers. To make sure your blog posts are engaging, focus on telling a story rather than just listing facts. Try to incorporate visuals, such as infographics and videos, to make the content more interesting. Also, use active language that speaks directly to the reader, ask questions throughout the post to keep readers engaged, and don’t forget to include a call-to-action at the end of each post!
Should My Business Post On Multiple Platforms?
Posting on multiple platforms can be a great way to maximize your reach and draw more eyes to your business blog. It can help you capture more potential customers, and be the gateway for them to discover your brand. However, it’s important to make sure that you have the resources and time available in order to effectively manage all of your social media accounts. If not, it might be better to focus on a few platforms rather than spreading yourself too thin.
Conclusion
It’s clear that blogging is a great way for businesses to reach a wider audience, build relationships with customers, and improve their search engine rankings. But it’s not always easy to know where to start. By understanding the best blogging platform, how much time it takes to create content, and how to measure success and engagement, businesses can get the most out of blogging. It’s also important to consider if they should be posting on multiple platforms or just one. Ultimately, blogging daily can help businesses increase their visibility and engage with their audience in meaningful ways. So don’t hesitate; start blogging today!
Imagine you’ve just created a beautiful landing page for your business with all the correct elements – great visuals, an engaging headline, and a clear call to action. But there’s one thing missing – traffic. Now, what are you supposed to do?
Will you sit there and wait for people to come to you? Of course not! You must be proactive and go out there to get the traffic flowing. And one of the best ways to do that is by writing blog posts.
Yes, you read that right – blogs can help improve traffic on your landing pages. Here’s how:
1. Blogs are great for SEO
It’s simple! Including relevant keywords in your blog posts makes your landing page more visible in search engine results pages. And the higher you are on those pages; the more likely people will visit. But wait, there’s more! Not only will blogs improve your visibility, but they’ll also help you attract organic traffic.
For instance, if someone searches for a keyword you’ve used in one of your blog posts, and your post comes up in the results, they’re more likely to click on it and be led to your landing page. For further information to ace your SEO game, read this to know more about the secret sauce to SEO.
2. Blogs give you a chance to show off your knowledge
Do you think people will take you seriously if all they see is a landing page with no content? Probably not. A blog allows you to show that you know what you’re talking about. By writing informative and engaging blog posts, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Write helpful and informative blog posts that offer value to your readers. If they see that you know what you’re talking about, they’re more likely to want to learn more from you – which could eventually lead them to your landing page.
Also, don’t forget to include a link to your landing page in your blog post so people can easily find it! The most clicked element on a blog post is usually the Call-To-Action button or anchor text, so make sure it stands out.
3. Blogs help build relationships
Who doesn’t loves a good story? By sharing your company’s story and values on your blog, you can connect with your readers on a more personal level. And when people feel like they know and trust you, they’re more likely to do business with you.
So use your blog as an opportunity to build relationships with your readers. Write exciting and engaging posts, and be sure to respond to comments so people feel like they’re being heard. Now that’s the kind of relationship that can lead to conversions! Relations also require some give and take.
You may also share other relevant blog posts (from non-competing businesses) on your blog – it’ll show that you’re generous and want to help others, and people will appreciate that.
4. Blogs can be used to drive email
Blogging is a powerful tool that should not be underestimated. And now that you also know how it can help improve traffic on your landing pages, there’s no excuse not to get started! Unless you’re a natural-born writer, it may seem daunting at first.
But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. If you aren’t a wordsmith, crafting blog posts can be time-consuming. If that’s the case, we suggest you outsource this task to a content marketing agency that can help you create high-quality blog content optimized for SEO.
5. Blogs provide social proof
When people see that you have a lot of engagement on your blog posts (likes, shares, comments), they’ll be more likely to think you’re an authority on your topic. And when people see that others are engaging with you, they’ll be more likely to want to engage with you as well.
The formula is simple: social proof + blog posts = more traffic to your landing pages. Now that you know how blogs can help improve traffic on your landing pages, it’s time to get writing! Yes, it takes time and effort to maintain a blog. But it’s worth it, we promise.
6. Blogs help you generate leads
If you’re not generating leads from your blog, you’re missing out! You can turn readers into leads by including a lead capture form on your blog. And once you have their contact information, you can start nurturing those leads and eventually convert them into customers.
Yes, you wish you already had a list of leads to work with. But don’t worry – your blog can help you build one from scratch. All it takes is a little effort and time, and pretty soon, you’ll have a list of leads you can start marketing to.
7. Blogs allow you to show your personality
Wait! Don’t leave yet! We know you’re not a writer and don’t have time to blog. But hear us out. Blogging is about more than just writing. It’s also about showing your personality and connecting with your readers personally. And that’s something anyone can do. And it doesn’t matter if you’re not a writer – your readers will appreciate your authenticity, which is essential.
All you need to do is be yourself and write as you would talk to a friend. Soon enough, you’ll build a rapport with your readers, and they’ll be coming back for more. Remember, the online world can be a cold and impersonal place. But your blog doesn’t have to be. So show your personality, and watch your traffic – and your conversions – soar.
8. Blogs help you build relationships with other businesses
You’re not the only one blogging- millions of other businesses are doing the same thing. So why not use your blog to build relationships with other businesses? It’s a great way to get your name out there and network with other like-minded individuals.
Not to mention, it can also lead to some great business opportunities down the road. So don’t be afraid to reach out to other businesses and start building relationships. You never know where it might lead.
9. Blogs help you establish trust
Trust is important – especially when it comes to businesses. But unfortunately, trust is hard to come by these days. With so many scams and fake news stories, it’s no wonder people are skeptical of businesses.
But you can use your blog to help establish trust with your readers. How? By being transparent and authentic. Show your readers that you’re a real person, and let them get to know you and your business. The more they know about you, the more likely they will trust you, and that trust can go a long way in conversions and sales.
10. Blogs can also help with your sales
You’re missing out if you’re not using your blog to sell! Your blog posts can drive traffic to your product or service pages. And if you do it right, you can use your blog posts to close sales. Just make sure that your sales pitch is subtle and not too pushy. You don’t want to turn your readers off by trying to sell them something they don’t want.
Conclusion
Understanding what your audience wants to read is key to a successful blog. Once you’ve figured that out, it’s just a matter of creating quality content that will help you achieve your business goals – whether that’s generating leads, establishing trust, or making sales. So what are you waiting for? Get writing! And that’s a wrap!
Blogs can benefit an organization in many ways, but blogs can also provide SEO advantages. Below are 12 reasons why you should (or HAVE TO) be blogging regardless of what type of business you have.
1. Increased Visibility
When you start blogs, you can be more visible and reach a more significant number of potential visitors. For example, if a person is searching “Why blogs are good for SEO,” the search results are likely to result in blogs similar to this one. This marketing philosophy can be applied to all industries. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Fortune 100 company or own an ice cream stand at the beach.
Blogs are a great way to get your site’s name to be displayed in search results for which the main pages on your site can rank.
2. Easy to rank for Specific Keywords
If you’re trying to rank on certain keywords, for instance, “benefits of blogging,” the most effective way to get noticed is to make sure your title and subject are centered around that keyword phrase. When people search for keyword-seeking information, they’re searching since they’re not sure about the benefits of blogging. This is how inbound marketing works.
Here’s an example of 10 entrance pages to our website where 8 of them are blogs that have delivered almost 20k visitors to our website over the course of 6 months. This is just a small sample. There are many more.
The benefit that blogging offers is the ability to attract those who are looking for information and then turn these leads into customers by providing special offers like an absolutely free SEO site audit.
3. Additional Indexed Pages
Websites that are indexed by search engines need to be reliable and trustworthy. They need to provide trustworthy information to users, and one method they use to determine this is to determine the number of pages that websites have.
In general, having a bigger site is correlated with having more reliability for information. However, search engines are aware that this may not be to be the case. That’s why smaller websites are in a position to rank higher than larger sites.
If your company follows a consistent strategy for blogging If so, you’re able to index more sites in the future.
4. It Makes it Easier to Acquire Backlinks
There are many methods businesses employ to create backlinks. One strategy is to write a higher-quality blog on a topic that has been blogged by others and then conduct outreach to those who are linking to your site.
5. Improved Internal Linking
The entire idea of the concept of internal linking is that it helps help web navigation, create the hierarchy and distribute the link juice. It’s more difficult to develop an efficient internal linking strategy without blogging.
As you begin developing the content plan, you’ll discover it challenging to create internal links. Over time, however, you’ll be able to create an internal linking plan that will optimize the performance of your site for the search engines.
6. Fresh Content
Google is a fan of up-to-date useful, relevant, and informative content.
Through your blog, by regularly blogging, you will be able to provide new content to search engines.
Studycrumb and their experts will help you with writing original content, as well as almost any type of academic writing!
7. Better User Experience
One of the most important aspects of SEO is the user experience, and it will play an important role in how your website is ranked.
Search engines are looking to provide users with an experience that is unique and draws attention to visitors. Blogs allow companies to create this experience and to be innovative in the content they publish. One method to make your blog more creative is to create an infographic-based blog. These blogs appeal to the users and are the main goal of the SEO efforts.
8. Helps Build Authority
If blogs it’s teaching prospective customers about a specific subject.
If you keep blogging and build your reputation, you’re becoming an experienced expert within your area of expertise. This builds confidence and a greater level of familiarity with search engines because they can see that other users find your content to be valuable.
9. More Valuable Content on Your Website
Every blog post can be a chance for a new visitor, that visitor can become a customer or a lead.
It’s a chance to draw new visitors, focus on specific keywords, and provide information that your visitors will love. The more time you invest in creating content that’s relevant, the more likely visitors are to visit your site again.
10. You Can Answer Your Customers’ Questions
Rarely do you have the chance to address the concerns of potential customers and concerns before speaking with them? Through the creation of blogs and responding to questions prospective customers may have, and answering their questions, you’re doing exactly what you can do.
This is a great strategy not just to increase sales but increase the number of users who are engaged.
11. Increase Your Social Media Efforts
If you integrate your social media and blogging strategies, it becomes easy to interact with your fans and build relationships. The more active your followers are and the more they engage with your company.
12. Increased Traffic!
Suppose you can bring more people to your website by creating a new point for interaction for your company. It increases brand recognition and encourages repeat visits.
Many popular websites also enjoy a lengthy time frame, making it possible to draw visitors from a natural search for many years.
Blogging has exploded in popularity over the past couple of years and there are more than 500 million blog sites worldwide today. There are countless reasons why someone might want to start a blog, but one thing all bloggers have in common is that they want to find success.
By investing time and effort in your blog, you will make it more valuable and appealing to both readers and potential buyers. This is important if you want to know how to sell your blog in the future. So without further delay, let’s get into what you can do to find success with your blog.
SEO hosting
Everyone who owns a website knows the importance of search engine optimization. Without SEO, it would be impossible to draw in people and find success. And while there are many steps for creating a solid SEO strategy, there is one thing very few people know about. And that is SEO hosting.
This type of hosting isn’t common knowledge, but those who have it know how valuable it is. SEO hosting is ideal for people who have multiple websites and want to assign unique C class IP addresses to each of them.
When multiple websites are hosted in the same C IP block, Google and other search engines can see these websites are related to one another. Having related sites isn’t a bad thing in the eyes of search engines, but when these sites create backlinks to one another, issues can easily occur.
This type of backlinking is known as link-farming and Google often penalizes websites that have too many links that are within the same C class IP. But you can avoid this issue altogether with SEO hosting because it provides you with unique C IP blocks for all of your websites.
With SEO hosting, link building will be easier and safer than ever before and you can include as many links to your other websites as you want without the fear of penalization.
Find the ideal topic
Choosing the best topic for your blog can be a challenge for some people. But if you want to find success, your readers need to know what your blog is about as soon as they see it. Nobody wants inconsistency, so before you start publishing, decide what you want to write about.
Your ideal topic has to be something that your readers want to engage with and something you wouldn’t mind writing about every week or even every day.
Here are a few things you can write about:
- Hobby. Many people have a hobby they are passionate about. You don’t have to be an expert to write about the things you enjoy doing. There are countless blogs online that are fueled by the love people have for their hobbies, such as cooking, music, and fashion blogs.
- Life experiences. Life experiences teach all of us some valuable lessons, and those who have been through some experiences have a lot of useful advice to share with the world. Life experience blogs can offer advice, support, and build a tight-knit community.
- Yourself. Some people love to write personal blogs that are all about themselves. This is a great choice for those who don’t want to stick to one topic and are eager to share their thoughts are experiences with the world.
Once you have your topic, it’s time to choose a blog name. This name should be descriptive and allow your visitors to conclude what your blog is all about just from reading the name. For example, a food blog can include words such as “cooking”, “meals”, and “recipes”.
Write amazing content
As much as 73% of people admit to skimming blog posts, and the biggest reason for that is that they don’t find the blog posts very engaging or interesting.
If you want to provide your readers with amazing content, here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Stick to your topic. Once you choose your topic and define a niche, you need to stick to it. Your readers will come to your blog to read about that topic, not something else. If you stray away from the topic too much, you won’t be able to build a community of loyal readers.
- Add value to your articles. If you want to attract quality readers to your blog and ensure they stick around, your posts need to provide them with some kind of value. Depending on your topic, this could be good advice, a way to solve their problems, or simply a very interesting story.
- Make your posts easy to read. Blogging isn’t just about typing out a wall of text. Your posts need to include elements that make them easy to read, such as interesting pictures and text that is broken into paragraphs.
- Be yourself. The best thing you can be when writing is yourself. Your authenticity will help your blog stand out and show your readers your true colors they can relate to.
Final thoughts
Anyone can start a blog, but not everyone can turn that blog into a successful website. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, it won’t be long before readers start to flock to your blog and engage with your posts. Just remember these tips and you’re good to go.
As an active marketer, you probably know that you should be blogging. After all, the content marketing strategy is beneficial for both – your personal growth and business promotion. However, when it comes to actually writing the blog post, most people find it easier to make excuses.
We don’t have time!
We are not good writers!
We don’t have anything interesting to say!
Will anyone read our blog?
And the list of alibis can go on and on!
Yes, at the end of the day, these are understandable reasons, and often even the most proficient marketers struggle with creating engaging content. However, blogging is a lucrative strategy. In fact, the content marketing technique is expected to be an industry worth $412.88 billion by the end of this year. And if you are spending more time making excuses instead of polishing your writing skills – then you are in for a significant loss.
Luckily, we won’t let this happen to you. In this guide, we will tell you what makes a good blog post and how to craft one that brings in a lot of traffic. So without further ado, let’s dive in!
Research Your Audience
Brian Clark once said that “Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that’s great for your readers.”
This means that before you start writing your blog, you need to have a clear understanding of your audience and the content that will engage them. If you can’t answer the question: “why would my readers care about this topic?” then you need to continue brainstorming topics that will resonate with them.
In this case, you need to create a buyer’s persona that will help you reflect on the interests of your readers. With a buyer’s persona in hand, you will have a better understanding of your reader, which in turn will ensure that your content is about the topics your audience wants and needs.
Explore Topic Ideas
Most aspiring writers assume that they don’t have anything new to say. And with 40 trillion gigabytes of data, this is somewhat true. However, in the World Wide Web, you just have to find a way to talk about the same topic in a better way.
While the topic may already be covered before, you should offer something unique to the audience in order to make it more engaging.
When exploring topic ideas, think about what you want to say and find out how it has already been covered. Consider the questions that were left unanswered and how you can bring insights on the material that has not been covered by other authors.
Organize Your Content
Often the writers are overwhelmed with the amount of information you can provide in a blog post. This is where an outline comes in handy.
Before starting to actually write the article, create an outline regarding the information you plan on offering to the readers. Do you want them to take your blog post as an:
- Inspiration?
- Narrative of your experience?
- Insight into the latest trend?
- A step-by-step tutorial?
With an end goal in mind, you will be better able to understand the points you want to cover. When writing the actual blog post, all you will have to do is expand on the points as required.
Come Up With A Title
While most writers don’t give it much attention, remember that the title itself is your most important marketing tool. In fact, most readers take titles as the deciding factor of your blog. If the title doesn’t attract them, they usually avoid reading the rest of the article.
This means that you should give your titles some extra thought. Play around with a few alternatives that are not only attractive but also tells the readers precisely what the article is about.
The title of your blog post should also spark curiosity in the readers. It should be suspenseful and provoke the audience to want more.
Craft A Captivating Intro
In the internet world, you have about 10 – 20 seconds to capture the reader’s attention. In case you lose the target audience’s attention in the first few sentences, you will potentially lose out on a lot of conversions.
This means that the introductory part of your blog post should be captivating – enough to keep the audience glued and continue reading. However, you cannot address the main query in the introduction part. Instead, open up your blog post with a joke or be empathetic about the audience’s pain points. You can also suggest relevant statistics or facts to grip the reader’s attention.
Write the Blog Post
Now that you have finally established the nitty-gritty details of the blog post, it is finally time to write the actual blog post. Here, use the outline you drafted earlier as the blueprint and fill in the blanks.
When writing about a particular topic, expand on the ideas that you already know about. Conduct additional research and gather more information and examples to back up the insights.
It is also essential that you add data such as figures and statistics to establish your main points. However, make sure that you provide proper attribution to the third-party information you add to your content. It is also a good idea to use only accurate and compelling data in your blog post to establish authority.
Don’t Forget To Tie It With A Conclusion
Similar to the introduction, the conclusion of your blog post is an essential element. With a captivating ending, you can encourage your readers to take the desired action.
In most cases, the writer summarizes the article and lists the key takeaways to re-educate the audience. However, there are many other ways to end the blog post.
For example, you can ask the readers a question and ask them to comment below. Or you can add a call-to-action (CTA) and encourage the readers to either buy from your brand, share your blog post, or subscribe to your email newsletter.
You can also provide links to other blog posts written by you and try to attract more readership to your website.
Add Relevant Images
Albert Einstein once said that “One picture is worth a thousand words!” And with today’s population of visual learners, his words cannot be less authentic.
In fact, blogs with relevant visuals get 94% more views than those that lack imagery. This means that if you neglect adding pictures to your article, you will potentially see less effective results.
To make your blog post stand out, choose a solid and relevant feature image. The good thing is that you don’t need to go for custom images for your blog. Instead, you can easily buy stock photos and make your post visually appealing in an affordable manner.
However, when using stock photos, check their licenses and make sure they are available for commercial use. Give credit/attribution where it’s due. And don’t forget to aim for relevancy with the content of your blog post.
Besides the featured image, look for photos to use throughout your blog post. As a general rule of thumb, go for one image every 300 words. Make sure to save the pictures using keywords of your blog post. It is also a good idea to use small-size images as large dimensional images can impact the load time of your blog post.
Proofread And Edit
Grammar mistakes can kill your credibility as a writer, so make sure that you don’t overlook the task of proofreading your blog post. Go through your article, first manually, and secondly, using an automated grammar checking software. You can also ask a grammar-conscious friend to go through your blog post and check the readability to ensure that the content is going in the flow.
It is also advised to check for essential SEO elements before publishing your blog post. This includes:
- Adding the main keyword at least once in your blog post.
- Internally linking your article with service pages, previous blogs, or landing pages.
- Writing a meta description of 150 characters with the main keyword included for the search results.
Publish And Share
Once you have proofread and edited your post, it is finally time to publish your post on the relevant medium.
Be proud of your writing and share it across all the social media networks to get the word out. And don’t forget to repeat the sharing process once every few days to keep the ball rolling. Remember that the internet never forgets, so continue aiming for the targeted traffic even after moving on to the next blog post.
Conclusion
With this article, we hope that you have understood the basics of writing a blog post. With a compelling blog, you can gain brand awareness, come out as a thorough leader, and attract more leads. So don’t let the opportunity go to waste and follow the above tips to enhance your writing and create the perfect blog post. Good luck!
If you have a business you might have asked yourself numerous times whether blogging is still a relevant promotional tool. The short answer is an emphatic yes, provided you do it the right way. There will always be a demand for blogs that provide the information people are looking for, and that answer their questions.
Writing a regular blog has many benefits for a business, including:
More leads
Statistics show that companies with an SEO optimized blog that is regularly updated get up to 67 percent more leads than their competitors without one. Plus, 47 percent of prospective buyers first read between 3 and 5 pieces of content before they decide to engage with a sales representative of a company.
People don’t like old news
A blog is one of the best ways to make sure your website regularly gets fresh content. It’s also a great way to keep visitors coming back next week, next month, and next year. Ask yourself this: if there are two companies that offer a particular service or product – you and company B, who would people trust more: the one whose website has last been updated in 2000 or the one that regularly posts a blog with fresh industry news?
Hard selling scares off potential buyers
Hard selling is becoming increasingly more unpopular. Everyone knows and hates that feeling of being pushed into a corner by a salesman. The moment you get a chance to run, you will. That is why research shows that nearly 80 percent of businesses nowadays opt for advertisements in the form of useful content instead of following the old-style “You’re not leaving before you’ve bought something” approach.
If you want to sell in today’s world, your company needs a human face. And blogging is a great way to do that. Adding a blog section to your website and sharing the blogs on blogging sites and social media will also give you a way to promote your business in a creative, user-friendly way.
Soft-selling to your email list
The same principle applies when you are sending information to the subscribers on your email list. If you are going to simply send them product lists three times a week, you’re unlikely to have much success. A genuinely interesting and useful blog is a much softer and more effective way to break the ice. And a blog is also a proven way to get more email subscribers in the first place.
Quality beats quantity every day
Blogging is about playing a long-term game. It’s about gradually building relationships between you and your current and future customers. How would you feel about a sales representative who knocks on your door at 8 am on a Monday morning and promptly tries to sell you an encyclopedia you’ve never heard of? What if he does that every Monday morning? Annoying, right?
That is not how long-term relationships are forged. You have to spend time talking to prospective buyers about the topics they are interested in. You have to provide useful advice. You have to establish yourself as a source of trustworthy information (and if you can’t write, there are plenty of blogging services that can help you with this).
If you use the same strategy and logic in your blog, your chances of success will go through the roof. Blogs with top quality, original content will work today, and they will most likely still work next year and the year after that.
Focus is important
There are clear benefits to be derived from using your company blog to deliver in-depth content about a particular topic. According to Digital marketer Eric Enge sites that offer in-depth quality content fare much better in search engine rankings than those that only skim the surface of a particular topic.
You can do this by writing longer blog posts that allow you to explore a topic in depth. Use the extra space to look at the topic from different angles. This will go a long way to give your readers the assurance that you are not just pushing a particular angle, and it will be a hit with Google and its colleagues.
Another way to use a regular blog to establish yourself as an expert in your field is to write a number of ‘Ultimate Guides’. This will force you to go into more detail, which is great for SEO rankings, and readers who are genuinely interested in the field will love these blogs and begin to view you as the go-to source of information on the topic. Guess who will they turn to when they want to switch from reader to buyer?
Who are the businesses that succeed in the modern world of blogging?
Blogging is as good a marketing tool as ever. In fact, it has become more effective. A study carried out by Data Box recently revealed that 68 percent of marketers believe that blogging has become more effective over the last two years.
You might say that the internet has been flooded with blogs. That might be true, but the trick is that the successful ones are those that have adapted their approach.
Your big blog idea was amazing and as time went by, it took on a life of its own. You started putting an increasing amount of time into it and were left with no time for yourself. You feel overworked and exhausted. Friends and family complain that you’re always stuck to your laptop.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
In the words of Be A Better Blogger, “The more time you put into your blog, the more successful it becomes. The more successful your blog becomes, the more it demands of your time.” And so the cycle continues.
Luckily time management doesn’t mean desperately rushing through everything trying to get it done. Most of it is just getting organized enough to free up blocks of time when you can actually work. Organizing your schedule, organizing your thoughts and organizing your posts.
Whether blogging is your career or a part time gig, the question remains, how to make sure that managing your blog doesn’t take over your life? Fret not, because we’ve got you covered. Follow these 10 simple tips to ensure constructive and organized blogging time:
1. Set S. M. A. R. T. Goals
Remember when you first started out your blog? You knew exactly what you meant to do with it. You had a clear vision for it. And now it just seems like a mishmash of posts thrown together. So sit down, clear your head and figure out the goals for your blog. When setting goals, use the S. M. A. R. T. method i.e. your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely.
So e.g. if your goal is to increase traffic on your site, your S. M. A. R. T. goals would be:
- Specific – Increase website traffic by 20%.
- Measureable – Tracking the rate through Google Analytics.
- Attainable – Derive traffic via increased number of posts, social media and email marketing and guest posting.
- Relevant – Increased traffic will lead to increased exposure on social media.
- Timely – Increase the number of posts in next 6 months, which will result in increased website traffic by 20%.
Keep in mind that these goals won’t be achieved in a week or two. This is your game plan for the next 6 months to 1 year.
2. PYOP – Plan Your Own Posts
An easy way to stop your blogging activities from taking over your life is to have a blogging planner or blogging schedule. Blogging is no longer just writing and publishing a post. It’s a whole industry of online publishing now. Plan when to research, when to write, when to edit, when to reply to comments, when to promote your content, when to read other blogs, when to comment on other blogs.
Now that you have your schedule sorted – stick to it! Focus on the task you’ve set for yourself and get it done. You can watch those captivating food videos later. There’s no use of creating a schedule if you choose to ignore it and do what you please.
3. Jot Down Those Ideas
Got an idea for a blog post? Write it down. Always keep a pen and notepad handy. Although many people now prefer note taking apps instead of the paper and pen route. If you’re a part time blogger, chances are you won’t have time to sit down and brainstorm ideas. Your best ideas are going to come to you when you’re making tea, eating out, commuting to work or buying groceries.
Use that camera shortcut key on your phone wisely. See something you could blog about? Take a picture! It doesn’t have to be perfect, with the best lighting – it’s a reference of what you saw and liked. Having an interesting conversation? Record it with your phone’s voice recorder. Although, be careful about this one. Many people may not like being recorded.
4. Research Starts With Friends
So you’ve chosen a topic to write about and are sitting down to do some research. Although the Internet serves as a good resource – fast and easily accessible, everything online is something someone has already read. In my opinion, nothing matches the quality of first hand feedback. One thing I like to do (and annoy my friends with!) is call up a couple of friends, ask them what they think of a specific topic and jot down their replies.
This way, your content will always have a fresh angle. Of course, if your friends threaten to cut all ties with you like mine have, it may be better to switch between various friends and members of the family to annoy, I mean, question.
5. Cut off All Distractions
Sign out of your email, close your Facebook and put your phone on silent. To focus, you need to cut off all distractions. Don’t get up when the doorbell rings, let someone else handle it. Turn off the TV, or close the door to tune it out. Don’t cook the healthiest dinner and order Chinese food instead. Don’t clean up the mess your kid made on the kitchen floor – let your husband (or wife) do it.
Basically, unless it’s an emergency, don’t leave your work mid-way. You only have a limited amount of time allotted for your blogging activities, don’t give it up.
6. Don’t Edit, Just Write
Finally, it’s time to write. Arguably, the most difficult part is how to craft that perfect opening sentence. The answer? Don’t. Wasting time and energy at the start will leave you demotivated for the rest of the post. Instead, focus on writing as much as you can – leaving the editing for the end. Nitpicking will only hamper your writing.
How I like to start is by creating an outline or template of what I want to write about. Then I focus on writing the rest of the post. Somewhere in the middle of it, I come up with the right sentence on how to start the blog post.
Write your posts in a way that makes even you want to read them. Relatability and ease in understanding is the key here. Of course, every blogger has their own voice and however objective or intense it may be – it isn’t worth anything if people don’t read your blog.
7. Don’t Try to Do It All
Don’t try to be the Jack of all trades. It doesn’t work. Focus on what you are best at – creating quality content. Instead of trying and failing to manipulate pictures, or edit video content, outsource it. Use freelancer.com, elance.com and fiverr.com to get the best quality work at the lowest price. You can even set up a virtual assistant who will take care of any projects you throw his way.
Of course if you’re a newbie, this may seem expensive. But since more and more people are opting for blogging as their side gig and a day job as their main source of income, more and more blogs get neglected just because people don’t have time to do it all anymore.
8. Schedule & Automate
Schedule that social media and automate whatever processes you can. For social media scheduling, a number of paid options are available like Hootsuite, Everypost and Buffer. These tools require you to sign in with your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr etc.) and then schedule what you want to post.
They have features for shortening URLs, pulling pictures from various online resources like Instagram, Tumblr etc). You no longer have to jump between Facebook and Twitter and Google+ – you can do it all in one place! If you want a free option, then TweetDeck is best for Facebook and Twitter – however it only has limited features for Facebook posting.
Got freelancers working on your blog? Automatically track their time and progress on your project with Minterapp or Toggl, tools meant for freelancers and startups.
9. Guest Blogging
Running out of blog ideas? Got writer’s block? Didn’t finish that post you meant to publish today? The answer: guest blogging. Invite your readers and other bloggers of your community to send in their views and posts. Once a week, feature a post sent in by your readers or other bloggers. Guest posting allows you to get a fresh perspective and new content on your website. This is an excellent strategy for extending your reach and boosting your reputation online – as writers will usually post these to their own social channels. Alternatively, you can get user generated content by inviting readers to send memorable pictures from their travels or of a favorite book and a small paragraph saying why. These save time and keep your content fresh.
10. Keep up with the Competition
Last, but not the least, remember to read what other bloggers are writing about in your niche. Reading other blogs will open you up to new ideas and help you develop your own writing style. While copying and plagiarism is strictly prohibited, you are allowed to check out what works (and what doesn’t!) with the help of your fellow bloggers. You never know, reading other blogs might give you your next big idea. It also helps you connect with like-minded people and we all know how important networking is, when it comes to blogging.
Author:
Kamil Riaz is a Writer and Digital Marketer. He has completed his masters in Administrative Science from the University of Karachi. As a writer, he wrote numerous articles on management, technology and health. You can find him on LinkedIn
Blogging is no longer an option. It is a calculated business exercise to build a brand image and to develop long-term customer relations. Your business might be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., but the eventual goal is to drive your followers to visit your website. Blogging provides a customized and unique approach to present content to your target audience. While blogging is essential to drive the online marketing strategies of your business, focusing on content is integral to the success of the blog. Let’s see how it works.
Personalized social media platforms
One of the advantages of having a blog is that the content in it can be personalized to suit your needs. In third-party social media platforms, you are at the mercy of any changes made by them. Also popularity of these platforms keeps changing, which requires you to constantly monitor where your audience is migrating.
A blog with strong content will help your business build their followers gradually and maintain popularity by constantly updating the content. Targeted content on blogs built on trending topics, comments and sharing will help you position your brand in the industry according to your focus group. The comments or articles on your blog will last longer than Facebook or Twitter. With designer content, blogs can be your own social media platform with a gradually increasing base.
Turn consumer needs into content for your blog
Marketing content should not be patronizing. It should address a particular need or desire of the target audience. Once that need is identified, design your content around that theme. Build tutorial videos, walk through, FAQ’s and visual images to maintain it in all your content marketing campaign.
The content in the blog should be constantly evolving and updating. Be in sync with the current technology and encourage a two-way communication to keep your blog in vogue. Customer perception can be monitored or altered through content that constantly aims to address specific customer need.
Incorporating a blog into your business website
You can send e-mailers or post tons and tons of costly paid ads to make your online presence felt, but an ideal way for businesses to build a direct sustained relationship with their customer base is via blogging. Blogging creates more index-able pages that increase your search viability. Blog content can keep the social media on the go, making a relevant presence online. Content designed to develop trust between the entity and audience can mark the success of the blog. It can attract new visitors and aid in conversion. For all these benefits and more, it is imperative for businesses today to incorporate blogging and organize the content.
Support for search optimization by using keywords
Fresh content introduced at predetermined time intervals is a sure-fire way to beat your competitors in search-engine rankings. By listing out keywords, topics and categories, and designing content around it, your business can be in the online limelight. Unlike social sites, your blog can be easily found on the company website. Blogging on a regular basis about your business, products or services with focused content will only add more search keywords. This is bound to improve the SEO/SERP of the website.
Planning blog content to enhance communication
Creating a blog is a responsibility. And a growing blog requires intensive micro-planning. You need to define your audience and go deep into their psyche. And all the content for the blog should revolve around them. It is imperative for the success of the blog that the content is mapped according to the buyer’s journey.
Depending on the target audience dedicate content at the most opportune buying cycle of the customer. The content can oscillate between articulate articles on your services or to become a forum for consumer interactions. Create a content matrix to and at every stage add predetermined links or informative pieces or ads to encourage the customer to the next stage of the buying cycle.
Planning the content, its variation, frequency and event calendar drives the success of the blog. A blog that is gaining popularity must also assess and plan for scaling content usage to meet the demands of the consumers.
Platform for direct customer feedback and interaction
When blogs become your personalized social media platform and garners followers, one of the biggest advantages is direct consumer interaction. A decisive customer engagement cycle needs to be put in action to positively reinforce the brand image to the consumers. You need to address the questions or problems of the consumer in their own words to resolve
them. Even the content for queries should be prepared using keywords that engage consumers and result in conversions.
Content promotion and distribution
Just posting content on blogs is not enough. A proper delivery channel needs to be determined to ensure it reaches the target audience. Businesses should leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn etc., by adding share buttons. Developing a variety of content to deploy for various channels and devices is also a necessary exercise.
Blog content delivery can be automated by sending posts via e-mails or newsletters. Syndication with other blog posts also allows the content to circulate with new readers and add create an impact via popular websites. Include an influencer or connecting with a peer group to promote your content, can take your blog high on popularity charts. It also helps to establish further authority and increase awareness. A detailed plan must also be laid out for reuse of popular old content and integrating your brand image into every blog-post.
Allocate human and financial resources to your blog to make it a successful content delivery platform. It is important to track the marketing results and identify the any loops that result in loss of conversions. Hitting on a right formula that derives extra mileage for the blog-post is a tedious exercise. Certain amount of experimenting with formats and ideas to get it right. Ultimately, it is the content that drives your blogs and quality of that should never be compromised on.
About Author:
Vibhu Satpaul is a Chief Operation Officer and a Search Expert at Curve Jumps. He loves to write on digital marketing and technology related topics. Follow @VSatpaul for more online marketing related updates.
Corporate Blogging is a tool you can use to educate your audience on subjects relating to your product or service. Google is now the number one source for finding out solutions to problems; your customers are searching for the answer to their problems online, and their first stop is the search engine.
With the right blogging strategy, your blog posts will turn up in the search engine results at just the right stage in the buying journey. Your potential customer needs a solution, and there you are, providing it and adding value. A name we can give this method is ‘value based marketing’ – a very-customer centric form of marketing. You are placing your customer’s needs ahead of your sales, and this will always lead to a stronger business, which grows in reputation and standing.
One of the greatest things about blogging is its ability to scale and grow, in line with your business growth. When you start out blogging, it is completely free, but when you hit a certain point of critical mass, you can easily outsource it to a blog management company and ramp up your content output and results.
It is no surprise that more and more companies are picking up on this tactic. But there is a killer lurking in the mist; a killer to blogging success which can make or break your results.
That killer is…
Inconsistent Blogging
Consistency is very important when it comes to managing your company blog. Statistics show that most professional bloggers are publishing at least once per week (53%). Source These are the guys whose business is content creation, and for this reason, these are the guys who rank well in Google.
If you want your company blog to succeed, then a regular publishing schedule is absolutely vital. With your resources split, we know it can be tough, but this is important and needs to be prioritised.
One of the reasons to blog consistently is that there is a direct correlation between the number of posts you publish and your traffic. A study by Hubspot found that companies who had 401+ total blog posts had about twice as much traffic as those who has 301 – 400. Source
This is the tipping point for traffic and leads, when you can start to see exponential growth. Let’s look at some figures.
In order to get to 401 blog posts at a monthly posting schedule, it’s going to take 33 years. On a weekly posting schedule it will take 7 years, and on a daily posting schedule, just over a year.
When we look at the figures like this we can really see the value in staying consistent with our blogging efforts.
Another reason is that consistency grows trust. As this blogger aptly puts it
“Consistency makes it look like you know what you’re doing.”
Customers feel more comfortable working with a company who has some sticking power, and has shown that they are reliable. Just think about the voices you know and trust online – why do you decide to trust them over others?
Familiarity is likely one of the fundamental reasons, even if you don’t recognize it yourself. Our brains like consistency; we are creatures of habit and we don’t like too many surprises!
For this reason, consistency is particularly important for online businesses, who have to work extra hard to gain the trust of their customers. According to a study by Evercoach, 81% of US Online Consumers trust the information they read on blogs.
Use blogging as a tool to grow trust with potential buyers and convert those buyers into a consistent stream of sales long into the future.
Don’t let your corporate blog fall into the death trap of inconsistency. If you are going to add blogging as a marketing tactic, we recommend that you write at least four blog posts upfront so that you have a buffer of content ready and waiting be published.
Most CMS systems allow you to schedule your content into the future. This is a great way to ensure you always have content going out on the same day and time each week. You could even block one or two days per month just for your blog writing and scheduling. This way, you have the time prioritised, but it doesn’t take over your other business activities.
Author:
Yva is the Director of Boost Business Support a blog management company helping small business’ drive traffic & sales through blogging.