Commit to a schedule
The first thing to do is commit to a regular schedule of updates. You can update your blog daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, the choice is yours. My recommendation is that you choose a frequency you can stick to though, because people will come back to your blog expecting to see new material. Once you’re in a routine it will be easy and your visitors will be coming back for more.
Stay informed on the latest happenings in your industry
Content is king when it comes to having a successful blog. The best way to make sure you have something to write about is to keep informed about your industry or area of expertise. By doing so, you’ll avoid the blogger’s dilemma of running out of stuff to write about. If you’re in accounting for instance, take time to read other blogs, industry websites and other publications focusing on that topic.
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and give them value
Blogging isn’t just about establishing trust and rapport. It’s also about building yourself as an expert in the hearts and minds of your readers. To do this, the content you blog about must answer the common questions your readers have about your field. Whenever you put pen to paper, pretend to be a reader and ask yourself, “What do I want to get out of this blog?
Engage your readers
Too many bloggers, even those with the best intentions, fail to engage the reader. In other words, they make that horrible mistake of talking at their readers rather than to them. When you write your blog posts, write them as though you’re having a conversation with your readers. After all, your blog will enable your visitors to leave comments in response to your articles allowing conversation to happen.
Promote your blog
Once your blog is operational, be sure to promote it through your email signature, your social networking profiles (Facebook and Twitter) and also any marketing material you distribute in your business – your newsletters and brochures for instance. Remember, you can also promote your blog by participating in a useful (i.e. non-spammy) manner on other blog and forum websites.
Persist, persist, persist!
Remember, it takes time to grow a blog and get some serious traffic happening! That’s why it is so important to adhere to all of these tips, and to persist. Stick to your blogging, have fun and you will see positive results.
Do you have any tips to share? Join in the conversation below!
“ When you write your blog posts, write them as though you a’re having a conversation with your readers. ”
Jo Macdermott from Next Marketing works with Business Owners in Melbourne who require ongoing Marketing support. If you are a Business Owner with a Marketing budget who is too busy to ‘get around to marketing’ then Jo Macdermott is here to help. Jo specialises in tactical Marketing plans that are pragmatic and make a lot of business sense.
