Marketers who invest in a business blog have a 13x greater chance of a positive ROI ( Hubspot ). Blog posts are a modern way to communicate with customers that benefits both parties.
It's not enough to just have a blog, but to publish regular and useful content for your readers. The only way to get the most conversions from your blog is to have a clear marketing strategy.
If you haven't created a business blog yet...
- Choose a blog topic
Choose a topic you want to work on. Topics should be specific to your industry and niche, but also have enough information to publish.
- Choose a host and domain
This step is already completed if you have your own website – it's best to use its host and domain.
- Choose who will manage and write on your business blog
In order for your content to be interesting, relevant, and informative, you need the right person or people.
Professional blogs are usually maintained by freelance copywriters or by agencies such as CopyVibes.
- Write interesting and meaningful content
Publish meaningful content that has real value for your readers. You need to post regularly, but you also need to have something to say.
- Pay attention to the design
You should opt for a simple design that is not distracting to the eye and is easy to navigate. You should have a desktop and mobile version. Your articles should be tailored to the characteristics of online users – bullet points, emphasis, simple language and short sentences.
- Determine the posting frequency
How often do you want to post to your business blog? Once or twice a week, twice a month, or less often? It depends on the specifics of your content, your audience, and your budget. There is no right formula.
Once you have a business blog…
You now have the foundation to work on. Now we start thinking together about marketing the strategy, on which the success of the blog depends. It will help you direct the right efforts to the right people.
- Always think about the buyer persona
When planning, writing, and organizing content on your business blog, always think about the buyer persona first.
This is the target group you are trying to sell to and who will read your articles. By knowing people's behavior, you will adapt your content to their needs, which will increase the conversion rate.
Take the time to analyze your buyer persona. For the purposes of the research, you can use:
– Q&A forums (Quora, Yahoo!);
– Social networks (Facebook Analytics, LinkedIn Groups, Twitter Advanced Search);
– Online content analysis tools (Google Analytics Audience Reports, BuzzSumo, Topsy);
– Other blogs – comments and discussions on blogs; competitors' business blogs.
- Keep an eye on your competitors
Competitors can be your indispensable assistants. Make a short list of competing blogs and monitor their activity. You will get ideas from them, you may learn useful techniques, and you can also take advantage of their weaknesses.
- Do SEO research and keyword analysis
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a topic with an endless source of information. Keep educating yourself because algorithms change and research keywords. Whatever you do, don't neglect SEO.
- Choose where to distribute your content
To get more readers to learn about your business blog, you need to share your posts. Here's where:
– Social media profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter). You don’t have to use every single one of these channels. You need to consider where your target audience is located;
– External sites and forums;
– Through influencers – you can reach out to industry leaders to share your content with their audience on social platforms.
It is recommended to have a presence on social networks, while other media are optional.
- Update your old content
Don't forget to update and republish your business blog archive articles. Replace outdated statistics, examples, infographics, quotes, product details, and anything that sounds old-fashioned. Add missing keywords .
You have good reasons for doing this:
– Search engines like up-to-date content;
– Save your effort – it will take weeks for a new article to rank on the front page.
