A study by HubSpot shows that 81% of companies find their blog “critical”, “useful” and “important”. If you’re not part of that percentage, you’re definitely missing out.
While many businesses finally have a great grasp of blogging, others still seem to struggle. Considering there’s another wave of Google Penguin this year, it’s high time you learn how to blog effectively.
So here are some useful tips for the modern day business blogger, like you!
Use your current customers :
Maybe the reason why you’re having a hard time blogging is that you want to reach more people too quickly. In effect, you end up forgetting about the existing market you can work on first.
Your current customers can be your gateway into converting more potential ones and deepening your relationship with them. Whether it’s to ask them for a newsletter subscription or to follow your blog, start by tapping into what you already have.
Revisit your content :
The goal of your blog is to help you become a thought leader in your industry. With this in mind, you need original quality content.
First, take into account thin content. Google Penguin despises those content that have very little following (clicks/views) and it’s a definite qualifier to push you down the SERP. So if you can merge it with posts that are related and are valued higher, go ahead.
Second, you need to create content that’s of optimum quality and originality. Copy pasting just pushes you deeper down the drain. If you need to cite sources, do so. Moreover, you should to copyright your blog so thieves won’t pry.
Third, optimize it properly. Build your external and internal links well, integrate your keywords carefully and alt tags to your (original) images.
Research, research, research :
You should never get tired of this because the backbone of a fantastic blog is great research. Without relevant things to talk about, trust that your market will not find you interesting or even worthy of their time.
There are numerous ways to conduct research. First is to newsjack thought leaders what the latest and hottest news are in your industry. Second, you can check trending topics on Twitter in relation to your blog topics.
Other than that, there are also real life experiences, addressing customer feedback, posting a question and even talking about your business difficulties.
There are so many things you can write about. Forget about corporate jargons and start blogging like a human being.
Know how a good blog post looks like :
You know how an impressive, good-looking web design can instantly get a user to click deeper and deeper? Well, the same can happen to your blog— if you’re able to present it well.
First, take a look at your headlines and titles. Are they keyword-driven and enticing enough for your readers to go on reading? Next, have a look at your paragraphs. Are they too long that the eyes of your readers aren’t given a break? Unique name ideas for digital marketing companies
Third, counter-check your grammar and punctuation. This is one of the most important elements of a successful blog post that are often taken lightly. Understand that your viewers won’t consider you a thought leader, much less a professional one if you can’t write well.
Use Google Authorship :
When you type in your query into the Google Search bar, notice how certain results yield thumbnail photos of the author beside their posts? Studies have shown that these results are more clickable than the rest.
So establish your Google Authorship and let your face be seen. This definitely adds more credibility and trust, which of course you need as an online marketer.
If you’re not blogging, you’re wasting time online. Consider these tips in order to become an effective business blogger. You’ll be surprised just how much web traffic and market/profit growth you could experience.
Samantha Nicole is a Content Specialist for Webcada, an eCommerce company in Singapore. She spends the rest of her time guest-blogging for various websites.
