You know your business can benefit from a blog, right? If you’re not yet convinced, check out these 5 reasons why a blog will help your business.
Ok, now that we’re all in agreement that a blog is a good idea, here are cures to the 4 common questions to get you publishing articles in no time.
1- What to post
This is the most common question, right? Sure a blog sounds great, but what the heck do you write about month after month?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- What are common questions your customers or prospects ask you? This brainstorm could give you months of content!
- What’s unique about your business that sets you apart from your competitors?
- What do your raving fans say about you? Share a testimonial!
- Along those same lines, what results have you gotten for your clients? Consider a case study.
- What bugs you about your industry? Tell your customers how you’re different.
- What’s in the news relating to your industry? Give your insight or opinion.
- Is there something going on in your community or a cause that you support? Share about it!
- You don’t have to write! Try shooting a video or create an animated video.
- Highlight a specific product, brand, service, or even an employee!
- Show your company’s personality. For example, use humor and write a post simply to entertain every once in awhile.
- Is there more to your business than meets the eye? Let your customers see how your business runs behind the scenes.
- What concerns could stop a prospect from trying your product or service? Put them at ease by addressing it in a blog post.
2- How often to post?
This is the next logical question!
Quarterly, monthly, or weekly works. Quality and consistency are key, so post as often you can commit to writing well thought-out posts. You can always start quarterly and increase frequency as you get more comfortable.
Bonus tips:
- Consider batching your work. Instead of stressing over writing a new post every Monday, sit down and write a few at a time once you’ve brainstormed ideas. You’ll be set for the month all in one go!
- Spread the workload. Have your colleagues each take a month or week to write an article. Your blog will benefit from the varied perspectives, and keeping on schedule will feel less overwhelming for everyone.
3- How long should your blog posts should be?
This is a little tougher to answer. Some find that 500-700 word blog posts are sufficient and easily-digestible for readers. This was the overriding advice a few years ago. However, recent research tells us that longer blog posts, 1,500-2,500 words, get shared more often and have more engagement. According to Medium.com, the ideal length of a blog post is one that takes the reader 7 minutes to read.
We suggest testing this out and seeing what your audience responds to! Which blog posts get the most interaction? Check your website analytics and see the average time a visitor spends on each post.
This may vary by industry and topic.
4- How do you ensure someone is reading your hard work?
Once you put in the effort to write a blog post, you want to make sure customers are reading it!
Here are a few places to promote your blog posts:
- Post on all social media channels.
- Create social media ads.
- Send your blog posts to your email subscriber list.
- Point customers and prospects to your blog when they ask a question you have answered in detail.
- Include relevant blog posts in client proposals and press kits.
- Re-use information in the blog posts to make videos, social media posts, brochures, or infographics.