Blogging For Online Businesses
Blogging is an essential part of any business online these days. Your blog helps drive traffic to your website, gives your customers valuable information, and establishes you as an authority figure in your industry. Without a blog, you’re missing out on a big marketing opportunity.
If you look around the web, you’ll see most sites have some form of a blog, whether it be labeled a blog or not. Many times companies have it labeled news or updates, but that’s essentially their blog. Not all blogs should be the same. They need to fit the company and serve a purpose. Still, there are some general guidelines for all blogs.
3 Dos of Blogging
Do Post Regularly
One of the most important things you can do with your blog is post regularly. This can be every day or once a week, but it has to be consistent. You don’t want people wondering when the next post is coming. You don’t have to announce your posting schedule, just stick to posting on the same day and about the same time.
Do Have a Focus
Too many blogs out there focus on a wide topic. You need to narrow your topic down. According to Melyssa Griffin, an online business and blogging expert, by writing about fewer items, you’ll actually have an easier time growing your audience. People will know what your focus is and come for information on that specific topic.
Do Provide Value
You can’t just blog for the sake of blogging. There are many websites out there that have useless content on their blog. Don’t do it. If the information isn’t going to help or inform someone, there’s no point in saying it. You need to give your readers value so that they think highly of you.
3 Don’ts of Blogging
Don’t Use It Like a Personal Blog
The company blog isn’t the place to post personal issues and happenings. It’s for company-specific and industry-specific topics. If you want to use a personal story, find a way to connect it to the business and the industry. Once you’ve made that connection, you can use the narrative to drive home a point or information that people need to know.
Don’t Just Sell
There are a lot of blogs out there that spend all their time selling products. This isn’t an effective way to run a blog. Instead, it’s better to discuss relevant news, information, and issues on your blog. Give out advice, make commentary on some news, and let people know you care about their well-being before you try to sell them something.
Don’t Write For Search Engines
Keyword stuffing and writing just to please Google and Bing doesn’t work. It’s better to write for the people who will be actually reading your content. Visitors to your blog can tell if you’ve written something for them or for a search engine algorithm. If it’s the latter, you can bet those visitors will simply leave your website.
If you need help with your company’s blog or would like to start a blog, reach out to the Creative MMS team today.
