On today’s web - a static ‘brochure’ site doesn’t cut it anymore. If you provide a service, sell a product, or want to generate traffic, you have to produce fresh content that engages your readers on a regular basis. One of the best ways to do this? - Blogging.
What is a blog? You can read the Wikipedia Entry for that. What I want to do is give you 7 steps to making a blog work for your business.
What are the potential benefits to blogging about your business? They are numerous: search engine traffic, blog search traffic, positioning yourself as an expert in your field, engaging your customers, creating a community, positive PR, RSS subscribers, easy content creation and archiving, and, most importantly - gaining new customers.
Just see what it did for one lawyer here. (requires a free signup - sorry!)
Step 1 - Do some research and planning.
Look at your business. What sets you apart? What are you an expert in? What subjects do you feel comfortable writing about? Go to Google and type in some keywords related to your business. Are people blogging on the same subjects? What are they talking about? Can you add value to the conversation? Answer all of the above questions, and find your niche.
Step 2 - Choose your platform.
There are a number of services out there, from free blog sites to very expensive systems. Each has drawbacks and positives, so you have to decide what’s most important for you. Ideally, you want a blog system that is easy to use, customize, and will allow you to have your own domain name pointed to it. If you can find one that offers web stats, even better!
Step 3 - Get started.
An empty blog can be intimidating, and the best way to get through it is to just get started. As you post more, you can discover your voice, and it will get easier as you go along. Remember, you don’t have to impress Harvard scholars here (unless they are your target audience) - blogs are supposed to sound like you wrote them.
Step 4 - Keep going.
Once you start, set out a schedule of posts that you try to keep to. 1-2 per day is best, but make sure to try to post at least a few times per week. If you keep the content fresh, people will find you, and come back.
Step 5 - Interact.
The magic of blogging is that they create communities based around them. Read other people’s blogs, and comment on their posts. Allow readers to comment on yours. Respond to those comments. Provide links to others (and they will reciprocate).
Step 6 - Rinse, and Repeat.
Once you get rolling, keep the momentum going. With a few months of effort, you can create a very valuable web property.
Step 7 - Get help.
As a business owner, you’re busy - and we get that. Sometimes, it makes sense to get some help executing these steps. If you hire a professional consultant, you can use their expertise in this area to kick-start the success of your blog, get ideas for content, change the look and feel of your blog, stay up to date with new plugins and technology, and have expert help in promoting your blog.
And, you’ll find that many consultants are reasonably priced. Contact siteEDGE for more information on how we can help you build a successful blog to get you new customers.