If you are a small business owner and have not started a blog yet, do you have an idea of what you are missing out? In today’s content-driven world, having a blog for your business is as essential as oxygen is to humans. Be it big or small, every business should tap the potential of a good content blog. Marketers these days count blogs as a powerful tool for propagating relevant content.
In this era of digital marketing, content is the king and blogging is a must-recommend in any marketing strategy. Every ecommerce business is switching to a digital plan or making modifications to its existing marketing strategies to incorporate blogging and other ways of content marketing.
8 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS BLOG A SUCCESS STORY
Since relevant content has the power to influence a reader or a viewer and convert them into customers, you need to make sure that the blogs you publish are useful to the readers. If you have already started a blog for your startup and are wondering what can make it tick among your consumers, then here are 8 tips that are sure to make your business blog a success.
- Maintain a Schedule
“When maintaining a blog, the most common mistake that most entrepreneurs make is the inconsistency in the pattern of publishing”, says Emilia Thorne, the content strategist of MyAssignmenthelp. Although there is no hard and fast rule to post blogs, a recent survey has shown that posting blogs and articles 3-4 times a week helps you achieve leverage and brings in more traffic. So, having the blogs ready is not really enough. You also need to make sure that you have a plan to go on with. If you feel that you are too busy to post 4 times a week, you can post less. But make sure that you maintain a consistent gap between your posts. Do not make the mistake of posting all your blogs together in a week and then posting again after a month or two. When you stick to a schedule, your readers will know when they can expect new content from your end and will look forward to reading it. If you find it difficult to make time for the blogs, I would suggest that you hire a marketing strategist who will take care of all the publishing work and will update the blogs according to the plan.
- Understand your Audience
Most of the time, blogs published by businesses go unnoticed and are deemed irrelevant because it is not targeted to the right audience. Now, imagine a situation in which your business deals in active sportswear which is mostly used by the young generation and the middle-aged crowd. How many times have you actually seen children or old people hitting the gym and doing a heavy workout? It is a rare sight, right? Since your line of sportswear is for a particular age group, you need to blog according to the tastes and preferences of your target audience. You can take up topics like the latest trends in “athleisure wear” or how to dress perfectly for a tiring workout. Your audience is more likely to identify with such topics than with blogs on arthritis and likewise.
- Provide Relevant, Useful and Valuable Information
Since content is the king, you need to remember that when you publish a blog, it should be informative, so that the users find it to be useful. Your blogs should be rich in data. When you provide information, try to back it up with actual proof. This way, your blogs will be more convincing and your audience will believe in what you say. It is not the length that matters. There are several rules that will tell you that a blog should be of a minimum of 500 words. But do not write blogs keeping such rules in mind. Rather than writing unimportant things to lengthen a blog, keep it precise and relevant. The biggest problem with online content is plagiarism and content spinning. So, make sure that the blogs you publish are original. And if you have taken information from another post, make sure that you either mention it in the reference list or hyperlink the portion used.
- Make it SEO friendly
If content is the King, then SEO can certainly be the king’s right-hand man. What I mean to say is that it is not enough to just write relevant blogs and post them. At the end of the day, the success of your blog depends on how high you rank in the search results. You need to make your blogs SEO optimized. For this, you must conduct keyword research so that you can include the relevant keywords relating to your business to drive in more traffic to your blogs. For example, if you deal in baking goods like cookies, an article with the title “How to bake an eggless chocolate cake” can be linked to the range of eggless cakes you have to offer. Using the relevant keywords in your blogs will let your users find your content easily and therefore ensure a better ranking on search engines.
- Decide on a Format
Create a format that you would follow for your posts. Although we are talking about blogs here, I would still tell you to break away from the norms and mix and match things. There is no harm in blending different things together. Instead of posting just blogs, you can also post info-graphics and informative visuals. Since 2024 has seen the emergence of the trend of Vlogging, which is another word for podcasts, you can take a break from the usual and create short videos and post them under the section of Vlogs. It does not hurt to do a little experimenting, right? Too much of one thing is never good and I am sure your audience will respond positively to the change. Also, while creating a format, make sure it is a flexible one so that you can incorporate new things easily to keep pace with the ever-changing tastes of your users.
- Make it Engaging
It is only when your readers can connect with the blogs that it will serve its purpose. So, make sure that the blogs are engaging enough. End your blogs with a question that will keep them wondering. You can also get your readers to take a poll and participate while reading your blogs. That way, you will also get an idea of the viewpoints and perspectives of your readers. Always have an open section in your blog where you can invite your readers to share their opinions with you via comments. But most importantly, you must remember that when a reader comments on your business blog, you must acknowledge the comment and reply politely even when you do not agree with his or her standpoint.
- Measure the Success
It is important to know whether your blogs are working in favour of your business. There is no point in going on publishing blogs if they do not get the desired response, is there? So you must measure the metrics to understand how well your blogs are performing. Check the traffic and page views and keep an eye on the bounce rate on the landing page of your business blog. To avoid having a poor SERP, you must track the bounce rate for the content on your site. Check the metrics separately for each blog. This will give you an idea of what is working and what is not, so that you can make the necessary changes to the blogs and publish better quality of content.
- Make it Personal
A good blog should be able to strike a chord with its readers on a personal level. Yes! Your business blog should be primarily about the business, but that does not mean that it cannot be personal. To make your writing personal, give your point of view and talk about what you feel about the topic. Use your blog to share your personal life experiences so that your readers can resonate with you. Start your blog with a question or a short anecdote so that your readers get attached to you. You can also share the links of your business blog on your personal social media accounts to show people how you personally believe in what you have written. Use hashtags that are trending and maintain a semi-formal tone throughout.
In the end, all I want to tell you is that you must have patience. Having a successful business blog is not an overnight success story and it is surely going to take time for a business blog to attract readers and create a loyal following. So, have faith in yourself and do not lose hope when things seem to be slow. Be the slow and steady tortoise (and not the sluggish hare) to usher in the desired success.
So what are you still waiting for? Employ the above 8 tips before you publish your next blog and watch your small but ambitious business soar high! I wish you all the luck!
Nathan William extends study help through MyAssignmenthelp.com and assists students who are wondering, “Who can do my assignment for me?” He is a marketing specialist who also acts as a guest lecturer in several business schools. In case you are pursuing Marketing, he might be the best person to guide you.