5 Business Blog Tips

How to start a successful business blog

A business blog can be a powerful tool to enhance your company’s brand. It allows you to connect with your target audience on a deeper level. It showcases your expertise and positions your brand as a thought leader. Let’s explore how to effectively set up and leverage a business blog to bolster your brand’s reputation and drive growth.

The first blog was written by Justin Hall and can be traced back to the year 1994. Back then, it was referred to as a personal homepage. 2006 was when the blogging revolution really took flight, and today business blogs are a leading form of content marketing.

Regular blogging increases your chance of getting found on the Internet. With so much competition out there with regards to SEO ranking, keywords, etc., it isn’t enough to just have a blog. You need to find the time to put together a blogging strategy, which will allow you to create high-quality content.

This will allow you to gradually position yourself as a thought leader in your industry and increase your ROI in the long term. Blogs will also allow you to drive more traffic to your website and can be repurposed as content on your social platforms. So, without delay, here a 5 tips for you to start a successful business blog.

1. Know your audience

Having a blog is great, but you need to have a focused approach. “Spray and pray” refers to the broadcasting of generic messages to large numbers with the hope that a small percentage will convert. It makes no sense and doesn’t provide an ROI on your time and investment. So take some time to ask yourself these questions before you begin blogging:

• Who will read this blog?
• What are you trying to share with them?
• Why will it help them?
• What story supports this purpose?
• What outcome do you want from it? (Your CTA – Call To Action)

2. Look at your competitors

Make a list of 5 of your closest competitors, see what they’re doing, and see how you can do it better.

You don’t want your customers going to the competitor, so ensure that your blogs contain the information they are looking for to keep them on your site.

3. Do Keyword Research

Which keywords are you targeting? Write down a list of 10 keyword groups that you want to rank for, together with their associated long-tail keywords.

Your keywords should relate to what you do, and more importantly, the words people are using to find you. Spend some time researching the types of keywords your customers are typing into search engines.

Also, look at the keywords your competitors are using, and then write and promote better content for those keywords.

High ranking articles have good traffic, so you know there is a demand for the information. Use this knowledge as market research for what your audience is interested in.

4. Choose a good blog format

When writing a blog article, make sure you get the template right. It may be the Information Age, but people are reading less. So, write your content in a way that will encourage the reader to read on. There are different types of blogs, here are some popular formats.

» The “How to” Blog Post

People are constantly searching “how to” do things on the Google. Help them out with a “how to” blog post by providing them with a step-by-step guide on the information you think they require. Providing this information without asking for anything in return, positions you as a trustworthy, selfless brand. “How to” posts can help your blog rank for Google’s feature snippet.

» The “What is” Blog Post

Here’s another chance to be chosen for Google’s featured snippet. Provide factual answers to the questions readers are asking.

» The “Infographic” Blog Post

Infographics are a great way of condensing heavy content into a user-friendly reading experience, paired with attention-grabbing visuals. Most of your copy will be included on the infographic. Include content before and after images, to elaborate on the ideas within the images, and to help the post rank on search engines.

» The “List” Blog Post

List posts are another great way to create a user-friendly reading experience for readers where you can break content up into smaller pieces of information. They can range from anywhere between 3 to 100. Here’s a popular example of a list blog with our 100 questions to ask for a Brand Audit.

» The “Newsjacking” Blog Post

Newsjacking is the practice of using current news stories in such a way as to promote or advertise one’s product or brand. A lot of people are reading the news online. Piggyback of a trending news story related to your company.

There are two different approaches to newsjacking: the immediate rundown of what’s happening and the look back of what happened (alongside what to expect after the initial news break settles). Alternatively, you could publish an initial post to alert readers of the breaking news, and then edit once more details arise. Be careful how you write your story, as you do not want to hurt your brand.

» The “Pillar” Blog Post

A pillar page is written to inform a reader of everything they would ever need to know about a topic. Support your pillar page with related blog posts that will link to it, known as cluster posts.

Your pillar pages should be the most in-depth writing you’ve ever compiled on a subject on your blog to date. This is because you’ll have multiple places on the post to work in your keywords and backlink from reputable sources, showing search engines you’re the place to point to for a given topic.

5. Promote your business blog content

Now that you have high-quality blogs to position you as a thought leader in your industry, it’s time to start promoting them.

Pull out attention-grabbing snippets from each piece and optimise them for your social platforms.

So there you have it. Now that you’ve read our 5 tips, try it out, and let us know how it works for you!

Think we’d work well together? Then reach out and let’s chat!