Does staring at a blank computer screen have you feeling down? Having a blog is important to long-term success, but it’s difficult to know where to start. If you don’t enjoy writing, this task gets even harder. How do you come up with topics that people actually care about? How do write in a way that’s fun and conversational? How can you be sure that people will find your posts?
We cover the answers to your questions in these six steps to building a blog for your business.
1. Be Honest About Your Resources
Blogs come in all shapes and sizes. You may want those long, professional posts with all the bells and whistles, but they require more time and money. Be honest about the resources you have. Some of the things that will require budget include social media advertising, plugins, web hosting, marketing expenses, and creating the content itself.
2. Determine Your Main Objective
There are many ways to use a blog. Do you want to generate brand awareness? Obtain more leads? Drive traffic to your website? By setting your professional blogging objectives, you can create content to support them. Generally speaking, businesses use their blog for multiple reasons, so don’t limit yourself to one.
3. Identify Your Target Audience
To help you pick the best topics to write about, know who you’re writing to. Identify your target audience, or the people you are trying to reach. These individuals have a want or need for your product, and they are more likely to become customers. By answering their questions with helpful, relevant content, you can move them through the funnel.
4. Check Out the Competition
A great place to find inspiration for your blog is through your competitors. As you review their blogs, identify their strategies and what you can do differently. Also, pick up on the things that work and don’t work for other businesses in your industry (i.e., layout, communication style, keywords). This can save a lot of time in the long run and give you a head start as you begin your blog.
5. Create an Editorial Calendar
As tempting as it is to jump into writing, create an editorial calendar first. Identify holidays or special dates that tie into your writing as well as trending topics that relate to your industry. Also brainstorm the topics you want covered to ensure you are using the right keywords and meeting your goals. Having a well thought-out strategy helps you stay on track so that your content is always consistent and original.
6. Use Analytical Tools
Analytical tools help you understand how your blog is performing. Which posts see the most traffic? What do they share in common? Analytical tools come in many forms, so take advantage of them whenever possible. For example, Google Analytics breaks down traffic to your blog, while Facebook Insights lets you target specific audiences.
Your business deserves a blog that shares exclusive information about your products and services. If you don’t have the time and resources to maintain your blog, reach out to a professional content writer who can help you achieve your goals. These content writers can be found through digital marketing agencies like SEMGeeks.
