Business Blogging:
7 Tips!
Maybe you are a first time visitor, maybe you drop by on a regular basis. Either way you are welcome here at seven2success, where we provide you with an inspiring blog. Every Thursday, like clockwork!
This blog is my passion, because I believe in creating a better world by empowering women to their happiness, awesomeness and success. Making knowledge and inspiration available and accessible to all women of the world via seven2success! And though I run this site, it is not mine. It’s ours. It’s not about me. It’s about us. Your experiences and your wisdom are just as meaningful and useful as mine. So if you want to make a contribution with your knowledge, please do! So we can learn from each other!
But what exactly is a weblog or blog and how can it be a benefit for you and/or your business?
A blog is [a part of] a website where new articles [posts] appear regularly. You’re reading one right now! The writer or blogger, provides a log of information that s/he shares with his readers.
Keywords of a blog are communication and interaction. Interaction because a good blog always gives you the possibility to comment on the post.
Why business blogging?
For your business to be successful you have to close this full circle:
First you want to make strangers into friends. Friends of your brand.
Subsequently, you want these friends to become customers, and you’re doing really well if you know how to
make these customers your ambassadors.
Because after all, ambassadors will recommend you to new strangers, that can become new friends…
and so on.
In friendship [real or business friendship] it is all about building trust. And if you established trust in your business, in your brand, a friend can become a client. Blogging is all about building a relationship with your reader. Building trust by sharing valuable information. Blogging is about building trust ‘in the long term’. It’s no shortcut to business success. A blog takes time, dedication, commitment, care and patience.
Start a blog!
Setting up a blog requires two things:
1. create compelling content, interesting articles on your blog and
2. efforts to promote your blog [marketing] so your readers become dedicated group, a community
Today: seven valuable tips on business blogging.
#1
Start reading blogs yourself!
Read three blogs a week and take an active part in the conversation on these blogs.
> Read a good blog from a fellow entrepreneur in your field
> Read a blog that focuses on the same target audience as you and
> Always read a blog about entrepreneurship and business!
By reading these blogs you’ll get a feel for blogging. You also become an instant expert in your field by reading blogs from colleagues. Participating in the interaction on blogs increases your your visibility on the world wide web. Focus on growing your expert status consistantly. Remember: your comments, which of course always contain valuable information [and sometimes maybe even a link back to your blog articles], are also seen by the readers of the blog you visit and comment on!
#2
Set some goals
What do you want to achieve with your blog in six months, one year and three years?
Do you want work on your expert status in your field?
Do you want to promote your business?
Or do you want to share your ideas or express you opinions?
#3
Create content
Setting up a blog starts with creating compelling content, interesting articles on your blog. Where will you get this?
Other blogs [after all yo are already reading three!]. Look for the four hot topics. On which posts is the most interaction? These are also topics you can use!
Visit forums in your field and again, look for the four hot topics.
Read the last 4-6 issues of some magazines on your expertise. On which topics were the longest articles? These are also your topics!
This way you already have a stock of 12 topics you can write about.
# 4
Use a fixed template for your articles.
For instance:
* A title
Arouse curiosity. For inspiration, look at headlines on the cover of the tabloids: nobody believes it, but everyone wants to read!
* A short introductory paragraph
What is this article about?
* The body or content
The core of the article.
* A short concluding paragraph.
A conclusion, summary.
* A call to action #1
Something like ‘Post your tips or comments in the comment field below.’
Make your reader [hitherto a spectator] a participant.
* A call to action #2
A request to share your article in the social media
The icons of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+
Use the networks of your network!
#5
Be consistent
Your blog is your trademark. It sends a specific message and a specific imago. Your message and your imago! The design and content of your blog, communicate what you stand for. Be consistent and create expectations. Create a digital place your readers want to return to again and again [read: loyal readers!]
#6
Create expectations
Make sure that there is always something happening on your blog. It is essential to update your blog regularly. Select a frequency that suits you, for example:
Weekly, Tuesday at 9:00 am
Two-weekly, every even week on Tuesdays at 9:00 or
Monthly, every third Tuesday of the month at 9:00
And stick to that!
The best way to get more readers to come back to you is to ‘feed’ them something new [and meaningful!] constantly. Give! Be of value and create expectations!
#7
Be visible!
A large part of the success of your blog is mainly based on your efforts to market your blog. Also a blog needs marketing. Let them know you are out there!
Let your mailing list know what you are doing, that you blog and what you blog.
Market your blog on social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Find like-minded bloggers and comment on their blogs.
‘Sharing is caring!’
Do you have a [business] blog?
Share your url, so we can be a part of your community!
Maybe you even have valuable tips for us?!
Please leave them below in the comment box!
Thank you!
Mirjam Stoffels
Founder of seven2success, author of ‘Daily Little Secrets to Success’ and guest blogger at Project Eve and 365 dagen succesvol. In my mission to make seven2success the biggest platform of knowledge and inspiration for women, I want to inspire you with our content! Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! I’d love to connect! And do you want to inspire other women? Write for us!
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Awesome tips! I’ve recently contacted a web design team in Phoenix to help in creating a business blog for my online store. Although they offer to have a ghost writer to keep my blog updated with posts every week I can’t help but feel that my blog should have a personal touch. I’m not saying that this is applicable for all, but business blogs should consider what tone their blogs will have. As for me, I want my audience to have the sense that they are directly talking to the brand, instead of a marketing representative.
Thanks for stopping by Cailyn and I think you are right! It is not that you have to write all the blogposts yourself, but the writer definitely has to ‘feel’ the brand.
seven2success welcomes guest posts, but handles a strict policy for those blogs. You can check that at ‘Write for us!’ And of course we moderate all our guest posts. If we think they don’t suit the readers of seven2success, they will not be published. I think a similar set of rules is applicable for ghost writing!
Goals and deadline aren’t exactly my strongest point. Do you have any suggestion how I can work around that? I do understand that business blogging is very important not only for SEO, but also to create conversion within the page. I read from an Arizona SEO blog that business blogs are a good way to talk to your audience without sounding like you’re over selling.
Thank you for stopping by Carmela!
Blogging is one of the best ways for readers and consumers to know what a company is about. Blogging is about building trust. If your readers know what your company is about they gain trust and can become a client. Blogging is all about building a relationship with your reader. Building trust by sharing valuable information. And sharing valuable information certainly is not [over] selling!
If goals and deadlines aren’t your strong point, try to find a blogging modus that works for you. You don’t have to blog daily or weekly. If two-weekly of monthly works for you, that is fine. Select a frequency that suits you and stick with it! Create expectations!
More about goal setting in the articles ‘Why Set Goals? 7 Reasons‘, ‘How to Set Goals in 7 Steps‘ and ‘What Goals to Set? 7 Areas‘