I’m sure you’ve been told over and over again that your website needs a blog in order to keep your customers on your page. You want to be seen as a resource for your audience and gain their trust, blah blah blah. Well, this is all true, and you should pay attention to the blahs. But if you dump a bunch of whimsical nonsense into your site every week and call it a blog, you’ll drive a lot of those readers away. You want to create useful written content, and although I have full confidence in you, you might need some direction before delving into the blogging world. Here’s how to get going.
Use Your Customers as Inspiration
The worst blogs are the ones that are forced, and your audience will notice. Consider your daily work situations to find inspirations. If you own a retail store and a customer comes in asking the difference between cashmere and pashmina, write a blog about that. You probably have other customers wondering the same thing. Listen to what your customers are talking about, and use them as sources for topic inspo. Your main goal with blogging is to create readable content that will be useful to your audience.
Write about Relevant Topics
Like everything else in business, preparation is key! Before starting your blog identify a list of topics you will be covering. If you’re a landscaping company, for example, your topics could be landscape maintenance, design, types of plants or trees to use, and pest control.
Know your audience and don’t stray too far from your industry. However, don’t be afraid to get creative. When holidays, like Halloween, arrive, take the opportunity to write articles like, “how to turn your backyard into a spooky graveyard without compromising your plants.” You want to be on brand, but offer something your competitors do not.
Always Have a Compelling Message
Your blog must start with a clear and compelling title. What good is your content if your title underwhelms? In order to read your blog, your readers typically have to first click on the title. If your title feels lackluster, you can guarantee that it feels lackluster to your readers. Your message is everything, yes having great keywords and optimizing for SEO is important, but without an engaging message, your blog will fall flat.
Your word count should be between 350 and 500 words. While this is a good ballpark to stick to, don’t stuff your blog full of pointless words just to reach that threshold. If you’re falling short, do a little research and give your blog some bulk with useful and interesting information.
For more tips on all things social media, follow us on Facebook.
