You’ve seen them on countless websites: brief yet substantive articles pertaining in some way to the websites’ respective business or area of expertise. These articles – or blog posts – are an engaging feature of many websites, ideally with several benefits to both the business and the consumer.
What are the goals of a blog? They improve search-engine optimization, making your website easier to find, while positioning you as an industry expert. When consumers can find you through your blog, it can bring you leads and open lines of communication. Blogs provide readers with practical information that they can apply in their own situations.
If you’ve thought about posting a regular blog, or want to sharpen your skills and increase your posting frequency, the best time to get started is now. Below are five steps to guide you in writing a blog for your business.
Define Your Audience
Marketing communication is all about your consumer: who they are, what they like, what their goals, hobbies, and interests are. Do you primarily serve other businesses? Or do your customers and clients come from the private sector? Determine answers to these questions and formulate customer personas to define and connect with your target audience more effectively. Â
Narrowing down your customer demographics will help you choose topics, guide your writing style, and find the best avenues to promote your content. You spend valuable time writing excellent content, so make sure it speaks to the leads you are trying to generate.
Choose Beneficial Topics
Now that you have identified who you want to speak to, it’s time to choose something to write about. Think about some issues your customers are likely to encounter, and how your knowledge in your field can help them. These are fodder for topics. Naturally you’ll want your blog to be a vehicle for promoting a product you sell or a service you provide, but remember to keep your business blog conversational and not entirely product- or service-oriented.
Potential clients are researching a solution to a problem. With a few well-chosen keywords, they’ll come across your blog post. When they click on your link, they’re expecting answers to their queries – not to be bombarded with messages about your product or service. Focus your content on offering useful information that adds value to the lives of your customers, and a few strategically placed references to your service or products will be welcome.
Research, Organize, Condense
You’ve figured out who your audience is, and what topics to cover. Now comes the part that some find daunting: writing, organizing, and condensing your content so it is easy to read and retain.
Start with research. You’re well versed in the products and services your business offers, but it’s also helpful to research what others are doing and search for industry updates. This allows you to see how you stand out from the competition and helps you find new, unique, and interesting ways you could connect with potential clients or solve their problems.
After research, organize your information for optimal readability. Try breaking up the information into three to five sub-topics that would be most beneficial to the reader. This helps to keep your blog full of valuable information but organized in a way that the reader can easily retain.
Remember to keep it short and sweet. Your blog doesn’t need to reference every single feature and benefit – just something to answer potential clients’ questions and get them interested. A good starting point to go by is a maximum of 1,000 words, but every blog goal is unique, so do what works best for you.
Write a Killer Headline and Intro
The first draft of your blog is written; now you need a standout headline.
Content with substance is key when it comes to a marketing strategy. In a world full of businesses, influencers, and gurus of every kind – and more appearing seemingly every day – your content must stand out from the rest. To do this, you will need an epic headline and an intro that not only captures readers’ attention but promises answers to their questions and solutions to their problems.
A headline should set expectations and let the reader know what they’re about to learn. Some of the characteristics of a strong headline are relevant keywords, emotive language, and brevity. Try to get the gist of your content expressed in about 10-12 words to increase the chances of your blog post being found and read, and make it as clear as possible how your blog will benefit the reader.
Your introduction is your opportunity to connect with your audience and outline in more detail what they’ll learn by reading your blog. You don’t need to elaborate much in your intro paragraphs, but rather just hint at the gems of wisdom to be discovered in the sections that will follow. The headline grabs attention, and the intro is what draws your customers and potential customers in.
Proofread, Post, Promote
Your blog is written, and you have your killer headline and intro. It can be very tempting to post the blog at this point, but it’s wise to step away from it for a few hours and give yourself some time to focus on something else. When you come back later to view it with fresh eyes and reassess what you’ve written, you might find that reorganizing and editing your content sharpens the message.
It is paramount that your content flows well and doesn’t contain errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling, which can reduce the blog’s credibility. Always allow an outside set of eyes with grammar, punctuation, and spelling strengths to take a second look and make necessary proofreading corrections.  Be sure that the flow of your content is logical, on point, and fulfills the promises you made in the introduction. Tie it up at the end with an outro and a call to action.
When everything looks good and you’re satisfied with the finished product, you’re ready to post and promote your blog. Writing it is only half of the equation; for potential clients to find your content and benefit from it, it is vital that you consider the best places to reach your target demographic, both online and through social media platforms.
Building and writing a business blog can seem like an overwhelming task if you aren’t one of the few who loves to write, or if you can’t set aside time to do so; however, maintaining a blog can make a significant difference in the success of your business in today’s research- and consumer-driven market.
Let us check this task off your to-do list with our team of professional content creators, who love to write engaging and shareworthy content. Meet the team today by reaching us today.
