Blogging is a fantastic way to get your business noticed. You can present yourself as an expert in your field, be a thought leader in your industry, and turn readers into customers. As a professional content writer in Sheffield, my job is to create this sort of content every day, so I thought i’d put together my top 5 tips on blogging for business.
Before you start, it’s a good idea to have a look at what your competitors are up to. Do they have blogs? If they do, what topics are they writing about?
If you have a look at the categories on their blog, you’ll be able to identify the key topics they are talking about and assess whether they would be relevant to you too. Take a look at which posts have had the most comments and try to figure out why this is. For example, does the post answer a question that you are faced with regularly in your line of work? Does it address a topic that has recently received media attention?
I’m not suggesting at all that you should be a copycat, just that it is important that you make yourself aware of what your competition are doing, what they are doing well, and what they are doing not so well. That way, you can strive to be better in the areas that they are falling short on, and also identify ways the ways in which you can be unique.
Make a Schedule and Stick to It!
Making an editorial calendar is a great way to keep focused. You’ll have a set schedule and know exactly when you are going to publish blog posts, and on what topic. You can plan as far ahead in advance as you like; often it’s nice to know that you have a few topics penciled in in advance.
Be realistic about your editorial calendar. Don’t schedule in that you’ll write 3 blog posts a week unless you are absolutely sure you can find the time and stick to it. Give yourself a target of one a week, for example. You’re much more likely to succeed if you have a realistic expectation of yourself.
It’s also a good idea to have a schedule if there is more than one person in your business contributing to the blog. A schedule of topics will make sure that your ideas aren’t duplicated in any way, and you can assign topics to the person most equipped to talk about a particular subject.
Keep an Idea Note Book
If you’re feeling daunted by the thought of coming up with a new idea for a blog post every week, don’t despair. Inspiration may come to you when you least expect it, which is why it’s a good idea to write down any ideas that come to you, wherever you are.
If you’ve got a relatively fancy phone you can always keep a record of your ideas in the note section, or even send yourself a reminder email. Don’t forget there’s nothing wrong with a good old fashioned notepad, or a sticky note stuck on your desk!
Research Your Key Words and Phrases
Good content is well researched and informative, that not only reads well for a page viewer, but also features selected keywords and phrases that will help a website rank highly in search engines.
By researching and identifying which words and phrases are being searched for, you can then include them in your blog posts. This means that people searching for those terms are more likely to come across your blog. By concentrating your efforts on key words that are likely to be used by potential customers, your business is more likely to be found in search engine results pages for those terms!
Publish to Your Social Networks
When you write a blog post for your business, you’re really only doing half a job if you don’t share it. By sharing your content on social networks, you are broadening its reach, and more people are likely to click, like and share.
So if you have a Facebook page for your business, why not post a little teaser sentence to your page, including a link to the blog post itself, for your fans to see?
If you would like a blog for your business, but don’t have the time to dedicate to writing articles and replying to comments, I can help. If you would like to find out more about my blog and article writing services, please contact me in the office on 0114 383 0711