As a business owner, blogging has many benefits. It can set you up as a thought leader in your field, helping you build a relationship with your target audience. It can also help your website get found through search engines, since you have a better chance of showing up on the results pages when you update your website frequently. These are just the top few benefits that should persuade you to add a blog to your business website. But before you take that step, here are some questions you should answer.
What Will You Blog About?
Consider what your audience would be interested in hearing about. For example, if you design websites, you’ll probably want to write about subjects that would help potential clients. Topics might include how to choose a web designer, the benefits of a unique web design, and the basics of web hosting. When your business blog features information that helps readers, they’re likely to come back for more, allowing you to build up an audience for your blog. Plus, your job will be a little easier when your potential clients know some information about your field, even if it’s just the proper terminology or some best practices. So before you start your blog, make a list of subjects that your audience will want to read about.
Who Will Write Your Blog Posts?
Few business owners have the time or desire to write their own blog posts. So unless you enjoy writing, it may be best to outsource the job to other people. If you have employees, find out if they’re interested in each writing a few blog posts per month. You can also hire a freelance writer for the job. Keep in mind your blog posts don’t all have to be wordy. In fact, visual blog posts-such as infographics and videos-are extremely popular. Posts with visual content get 94 percent more views than those that are solely text based.
How Often Will You Post?
As you build up a base of readers, you’ll need to get on a regular posting schedule so they know when to expect your next post. You could have the best content in the world, but you’ll still lose readers if you rarely post, or if you make five posts one day and no more for two months. In general, it’s recommended that you post one to three times per week. If you can’t post that often, at least keep your schedule consistent, such as every other Wednesday. If you feel inspired one day and write three blog posts, feel free to schedule them ahead of time. In fact, many businesses schedule their posts weeks ahead of time, since WordPress makes this easy to do.
What Will Your Blog Look Like?
Before you add a blog to your website, think about how you want it designed. It should match or at least complement the rest of your site, using the same colors and business logo. You can hire a developer to implement a custom theme for your website blog, but if you want to keep it simple for now, WordPress also has lots of blog themes to choose from.
Note that you can use these tips no matter what field you’re in, since most businesses can benefit from blogging. In fact, if you’re still setting up your business to begin with, try to have a blog on your site from the start. It’s just another way to set yourself up for success, much like getting business insurance before you start taking on clients. Regardless of the field you’re working in, it’s best to make sure your business is set up with everything you’ll need from the beginning.
Description: No matter what kind of business you own, you can benefit from putting a blog on your website. Here’s what to think about as you plan to start blogging for business.