There’s no end of reasons why you should start a business blog – using a free marketing tool to enhance your presence across relevant social media platforms is one of the most effective and low cost tools available. This increases your visibility, promotes audience engagement, and posting regular updates fuels your SEO. Very few businesses can afford to not have a blog these days, especially as you can establish yourself personally as a trustworthy and reliable professional, open to communication with your audience so they feel they know and trust you, and will automatically seek out your services.
1. Use Online Tools and Resources
If a blog will only be a part of your business, then you may be preoccupied with day to day performance to carve out enough time to regularly post high quality blog content. If you do have time to write, then you may not have the time to properly edit your content to make sure your pieces are as good as they can possibly be. Fortunately, there are several resources that can provide amazing quality writing and editing services. Depending on how you like to work, you may choose different services. For example, if you want a personal approach and an open channel of communication with your editor, then you may want to go with a freelancer from Upwork or Freelancer, where you can interview potential candidates, and be clear in your requirements. If you want to use more of an automated service, then you can select what you’re looking for and have a qualified writer assigned to the task by using UK Writings, while a similar service specific to business marketing is available through Scripted.
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If you want to write the blog posts yourself, then you may benefit from using the online tools that can simply improve your writing. These tools include language and grammar guides from Australian Help or even full writing courses from Academized. When writing a blog it’s imperative to be cautious about your word count and your originality, as this can all impact the effectiveness of the project. Easy Word Count can help you ensure your content remains above 300 words for SEO, while Cite It In can make sure that any sources you used are properly credited, to avoid any accusations of plagiarism.
2. Outline Your Posts
This may sound simple, but knowing your beginning, middle, and end before you start typing can save you masses of time. You essentially only need to fill in the gaps once you’ve established this, and you won’t waste time by digressing or going off on tangents. This will also be more appealing to your audience as your posts will be clear and concise.
3. Keep A Spare Post Handy
There’s no doubt that there will be times that you won’t have time to write. There’ll be whole weeks so chaotic that it’s simply impossible to sit at the computer, switch off from what’s going on and write a post. This is understandable, however it’s also a slippery slope, and very easy to get into the habit of skipping blog posts. This can be damaging as having regular content is essential. Combat this by writing a couple of extra posts in the weeks you do have time, and uploading it when you don’t.
4. Find Structures That Work And Follow Them
There are tried and tested structures available, that are appealing to readers and can help you plan and write a post quickly and effectively – these are useful as there’s no need to reinvent the wheel for every blog post. Remember that littering your post with questions will make it more conversational, and establish a closer relationship with your reader.
5. Keep A List Of Ideas Handy
There will always be times when you sit in front of the computer, staring at a blank screen, and draw a blank. Keep a list of ideas for blog topics handy, so when you are lacking in inspiration, you have a post ready to be written. Using questions from your audience is a great starting point for a title.
6. Decide On Your Purpose
Are you marketing, selling, or creating an email list? Are you expanding your audience, or improving relationships with your current customers? Figure out exactly what you want your blog to accomplish, and focus on that while you’re writing.
7. Remember It’s OK To Have An Opinion
There is no obligation to remain neutral just because you’re a blogger. While you don’t want to alienate your whole audience, you can risk alienating a minority if you agree with the majority, and may appeal to more people with similar beliefs.
8. Know Your Competition
You can learn a lot from reading the blogs of other businesses similar to you. You can see how to set yourself apart from the crowd, and learn from their successes and their mistakes. This can be a great place to draw inspiration and learn, or even network and interact with others in your field.
9. Work When You Feel Good
You want to engage, inspire and motivate your audience through your writing – so writing when you’re exhausted, distracted, or having a bad day is a really terrible idea. You need to write when you’re feeling positive and full of energy, as this will be clear in your writing.
10. Be Personal But Focused
A lot of blogging is establishing personal relationships, so it can help to share titbits about you and your life – but only tiny anecdotes. Remember that the blog is not about you, it’s about what your business can do for your reader. Having your audience feel connected to you will help your business, but a self-centred blog post could lose you readers.
Quality content is key – but the above tips and tools can help make sure your content is visible, far-reaching, and effective.
