The 5 Best Practices of Business Blogging
Blogging can be a great way to leverage social media to position yourself as an expert–the “go-to” resource whenever someone has a problem you can solve, but to blog effectively you should follow the best practices of business blogging.
I know that a lot has been written on this subject, but I’m putting up what I consider the top 5 Best Practices in Business Blogging for your review–if you feel I’ve missed something or I’m off the mark, please let me know!
The 5 Best Practices in Business Blogging
- Write with a specific audience in mind — Who is your audience? As you’re writing, pretend like they’re sitting down right next to you. What is going to get their attention? What can you write about that’s going to help them solve the problem that’s been keeping them awake at night?
- Focus on the content and help your readers solve a real problem–Chances are, you know how to help your customers solve a real problem, or else you wouldn’t be in business. Your article (or blog post) should fulfill a real need, or else it is not relevant.
- Be educational not promotional–Blogging is not broadcasting, so educate your readers, don’t pander to them. This is your chance to show them you know what you’re talking about… by helping them solve a real problem you are establishing yourself as an expert, and you increase the likelihood that when they have a need they’ll call you first.
- Write for readability–”Pretend like I’m in 8th grade“–that’s what one of my old bosses used to say. You impress people the most when you get your message across. In most cases, your writing should be made to be simple so that your readers follow you, and understand what you’re writing about. Write in plain english and avoid foreign languages and jargon. (This post was written at an 8th grade level--which means that most 13 and 14 year olds can understand it–you can check your own readability at http://www.read-able.com)
- Create ways for your readers to engage with you–Comment forms, polls, social media buttons, live chat buttons encourage your readers to interact with you. Your objective shouldn’t be to get a purchase right now at this moment–but rather interaction, engagement, and feedback. Engagement deepens relationships.
When you boil it down to its very essence, Blogging is just another way to communicate–a very powerful way, because like all “real” communication– it’s a two-way street, an opportunity to engage and build relationships with others–by commenting on blog posts you can show off your active listening skills, and offer value to the conversation.
Make your content so good that people want to share it
If Social Media is about (1) connecting with others (2) collecting information that’s important to you, then blogging is about making your content relevant so good that your readers will want to collect it and share it with their connections, friends, and followers. If you follow these 5 Best Practices for Business Blogging, your content will be so good they’ll want to share it with their friends.
So those are my 5 Best Practices in Business Blogging, and I’m sticking to them! I’m sure there are other best practices out there, so if you have any you’d like to share please “make my day!”
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Tagged with: Best Practices • Business Blogging
Filed under: Big Ideas • Blogging • Practical tips • Small Business Marketing
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Dear Les,
I think you pretty much nailed it. I would like the emphasise the personal relationships and connection you can gain from your blogging.
You should know who your target audience is but you should write as if you are talking to only one person only. Get your perfect customer in mind and tell him/her how you will solve his/her problem in simple language.
Remember that your blog is a conversation.
Dank u wel, Gerhi…
It is all about relationships isn’t it? And relationships take time and effort… you can’t just “go out and build a bunch of relationships”. Each one is unique and you need to put time and effort into cultivating it.
Hence, blogging and social media success is “a process not an event.”
Just one single thought though. Maybe you have made composing your blog as your profession or do you do this in your spare time? Just curious..
Good point. But blogging is just one way to generate leads and create a competitive advantage–by establishing thought leadership and positioning yourself as an expert at what you do. I’ve developed a comprehensive list of ways to generate leads right here: “How to get great leads.”
Nice Blog. Keep up the good work!
I’m working on being graceful: “Thank you!”
Great ideas. I will want to use all of them when I start blogging!
Tina, you’re the one with the great ideas… you have so much wisdom and life to share!
Blogging is new to me. Iam learning about social media.