A great blog is an invaluable business development tool, and a lousy one can damage your brand, your reputation and stall sales. Walking the fine line between the two can be a challenge for some companies. Sometimes the rewards of a great blog are increased website traffic. Other times the rewards come indirectly through partners, advertisers or sponsors who want to work with you and your business. Either way, follow these tips to revitalize your business blog and find a balance on that skinny little line:
1) Create engaging content – What do all great business blogs have in common? They provide their readers with insightful, compelling and fresh content that keeps them coming back again and again. This doesn’t mean that every posts needs to be Pulitzer Prize worthy, but it does need to be enlightening and informative.
2) Update your blog regularly – Visitors will stop visiting your blog if you fail to regularly provide updated blog posts. If you’re too busy with running your business to be regularly involved in managing web content, hire a blog content writer who can post daily stories to your blog.
3) Discuss the latest trends – By providing information on the latest trends in your industry, you’ll let your blog visitors know that your blog is the place to go to for the most recent information. Staying on top of trends also helps you stay ahead of your competition.
4) Choose an attention-grabbing title – Tired of reading the same old “How to” and “List” headlines? Add some new blood to your headline-grabbing arsenal. For examples, try:
- “Here is a Method that’s Helping …”
- 4 Things You Can Learn from [celebrity]”
- “The Secret of …”
5) Create an intriguing opening – Even the most enticing title will fail if your blog post opening is lame. When writing your blog post, your goal is to pull the reader deeper into the content. Some tricks to engage the reader in the introduction is to ask a question, provide a statistic, share a quote, produce a mental image, share a story, use an analogy, simile, or metaphor.
6) Add personality – You can never have too much personality when it comes to your blog post. No one wants to read stiff, rigid text from a blog content writer with the personality of a computer keyboard. Make it funny, make it exciting, make it emotional—just make it seem like it’s a real person trying to speak to other real people.
7) Include a captivating picture – Why only tell a story with words? A striking image can take your blog post to a new level. Images appeal to the senses and emotions while adding a more personal touch to a blog post. Be wary of stock photos though with generic scenery and people—try taking your own photos of something concerned with the blog.
8) Share blog posts with social media – An important part of managing web content is increasing traffic and page views. When you post a new blog post, notify your Facebook fans and Twitter followers to drive more traffic to your blog. Ultimately, getting more traffic on your website is the goal of a business blog, so shamelessly advertising within your own social media accounts isn’t really shameless at all.
9) Make a commitment – Well-trafficked, high-quality blogs require persistence, dedication, and love—much like a relationship. So get down on one knee and make the leap to becoming a successful business blogger.
Elizabeth M is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments. WriterAccess is powered by ideaLaunch.
