Blogs for small businesses have earned a well-deserved place in today’s digital marketing world. As major lead drivers, business blogs offer a prime opportunity for growth, whether you’re looking to expand your online search visibility, boost engagement with potential customers, multiply your sales, or increase awareness about your brand.
So, where do you start? Creating content for blog posts can be daunting without a background (or interest) in writing. Some of us weren’t born natural writers and wordsmiths — we can’t all be Shakespeare. The good news is that you don’t have to be good at writing to learn how to run a successful blog.
If you’re reading this Hyport Digital blog post, you are likely a small business owner interested in learning how to write blogs for your company. So, while you may not be a professional writer, you are a professional in your respective industry. As an expert in your field, delivering an impromptu sales presentation about your products and services to a group of prospective buyers would be like second nature to you.
Consumers want to know that the brands they’re buying from are reliable and trustworthy, and blogging can be a great way to relay your expertise in your field. Keep reading to discover ways you can improve your blog writing strategy.
Write down your blogging goals
While you don’t have to be a seasoned writer to write blogs for small businesses, your new blog will most likely not see much success overnight, especially if you don’t create a plan of action. One of the keys to blogging for successful business growth is to do it with intention; writing blog content just for the sake of blogging is never a good use of your time. Instead, spend some time mapping out goals to help reveal your blog’s purpose.
Brainstorm content ideas
Let’s get to the fun part – writing! The first step to writing blog content is to know what you want to write about. If you’re unsure about blog topics, consider asking your social media followers what content they’d like to see. Another great way to gather topic ideas and get an insider’s perspective is to have your own team come up with content pitches.
Here are a few prompts to kick-start your brainstorming:
Which topics are relevant to my brand?
Which topics or issues should I avoid?
What tone do I want to convey?
How do I subtly tie my products or services into my blog content?
When thinking about potential content, keep in mind the 80/20 rule. According to this rule, businesses should devote no more than 20% of their content writing strategy to promoting their services or products. The remaining 80% of marketing content should be dedicated to entertaining and educating the target audience.
Instead of bombarding customers with overly promotional content, enrich their experience with your blog by adding value to their lives. This can open a dialogue and create a stronger community.
Decide on a blogging platform
To publish your content online, you will need a content management system (CMS). A CMS is a tool that allows you to create, organize, post, and edit content on a website. WordPress is arguably the most popular CMS for blogging due to its ease of use and robust features.
Each management system for blogging has its shining benefits. For example, WordPress and Joomla are open-source systems, meaning their source code is open and available for anyone. An open-source CMS can be more cost-effective because the software is free to download. If you are creating a basic website with minimal customization, an open-source CMS can be cheaper than a closed-source option.
On the other hand, systems like Wix and Duda are proprietary systems, meaning no one (other than internal developers) has access to the source code. In terms of security, closed-source software is the safest option. The appeal of open-source software is that anyone can alter the code, which makes it more vulnerable to hacking.
Optimize your blogs
Have you ever visited a beautifully designed homepage only to discover an unattractive blog area that is nearly impossible to read? Your blog’s design should give your readers a rewarding and valuable experience. This, in turn, will increase your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages.
Promote your blogs
Never assume that people will discover your blog posts organically after publishing them. Social media is one of the most effective ways to promote your content. Let your followers know when you publish a blog post. Rather than just posting the link, include a brief but intriguing summary of the content so people know exactly what they’re clicking on.
Participating in niche forums and on other businesses’ blogs and social media pages will also increase your visibility and encourage clicks, shares, and conversions. Additionally, be sure to link to other high-quality blogs within your content. This is a great way to reach out to other bloggers and potentially get links back to your site.
The bottom line
By putting in the time and effort to map out goals and formulate a plan, you’ll find it’s much easier to navigate writing blogs for small businesses and get into a groove. Soon, blog writing will be a part of your routine, resulting in more traffic, higher-quality leads, and increased credibility.
Do you already have a blog for your small business? We’d love to check it out. Share it with us on Facebook or Instagram!
