Company blogging is really taking off.
Small and large companies are looking at blogging as a long-term customer acquisition solution. Every blog post created becomes an investment in the future. It’s an asset that can work for the life of your company to bring in new people and earn their trust eventually converting them into paying customers.
It’s proving to work for businesses in various industries and whenever there is success others follow.
Here are a few secrets to company blogging to get you started with your own business blog.
Company Blogging Secrets for Business Owners
Secret #1: Start with an Ideal Reader
When I’m working on a new blog of my own or with a new client we always start with the concept of the ideal reader. This is the person you want to target with every post you write.
Some companies may have multiple customer types, but with a blog we really want to focus on a single target if possible. We do as much research as we can early on and learn as things grow with the blog.
Having the right reader is key. It’s good to have traffic, but when you have the right traffic you’ll get conversions. There are people that will just read your blog content and that’s fine, but what you really want are the people that will read the blog and make purchases.
Define who your ideal reader is and from there move into figuring out where that person is spending their time online. It could be other blogs, sites, etc. We’ll talk later about getting access to where they are spending time online.
Secret #2: Create an Editorial Calendar
An editorial calendar is really something that can save you time when blogging. And since the biggest issue business owners have with blogging is not having time this is important.
At GBW we create editorial calendars for every client. We like to put in time to come up with blog titles. Then when it’s time to write we simply grab the title from the calendar and get to work.
Blogging is a much faster process when you don’t have to find and idea, research the topic and do the writing. Break those tasks up with an editorial calendar.
We use Google Drive for our calendars so everyone is working on the most up-to-date version and we have all revisions saved.
Here is an example of a blog editorial calendar.
Secret #3: Link to Other Bloggers (Big and Small)
Here is a secret that will get you access to other audiences.
When you start blogging you won’t have an audience. You’re starting from nothing. In order to grow your audience you need access to audiences that are already established.
I like to use country music as a good example of this audience building strategy.
When a new artist comes on the scene they’re looking to build their audience. They need access to people. The new artist will try to sign on as an opening act for another artist. The new act might even do this for free.
Why?
Because they’ll be getting access to an audience that’s already established. The new artist has the chance to win over fans and start building their own audience.
The new acts also work the radio DJs trying to get their music played on radio. The stations have audiences already built and getting access to that audience is a big way to grow as a new artist.
The Internet has provided even more ways for new acts to build an audience with online reviews, video sites and music sharing sites.
Business works the same way.
You can do guest blogging or give interviews. You can work to get mentions in online media.
Another way is to write about other bloggers. Link to their posts and their blogs. You can create lists. You can use a point they have made and expand on it.
All of this gets the attention of others that have audiences and works to build your audience.
Secret #4: Try Different Things
Many of the strategies for building a success business blog are universal, but it’s important to remember that you don’t want to copy someone else’s blogging model. You can use a model for inspiration, but make sure you’re innovating on top of that model by making it better.
You have to be different to stand out. You have to offer something different that people can’t get anywhere else.
This isn’t something that you can coast on once you have it either. Others are always innovating too and it’s up to you to stay ahead so your audience remains interested.
The goal also is to keep bringing in new people to your blog. Sometimes the things that helped you build your audience today aren’t the things that will help you grow tomorrow.
Final Thoughts
These are just four of the biggest secrets to blogging success. Over the years I’ve found these are common factors among successful blogs. They’ve worked for my own blogs and those of Ghost Blog Writers clients. It’s a strategy we use today with each of our clients.
The last secret is perhaps the most important. Every company is different and we work with our clients to really create a business blog that is different from anything else out there. You have to give readers a reason to follow your company.
Today’s business model starts with great merchandise or services and then utilizes inbound marketing to attract new business.