Entries Tagged 'blog' ↓

Let’s get one thing straight from the start – corporate blogs don’t have to be boring.

It’s great that so many companies have woken up to the fact that they need to blog to:

• Boost their SEO and link building activities
• Position themselves as experts and market leaders
• Provide excellent customer service

The problem is that many companies fall at the first hurdle, namely their content. For some unknown reason, businesses still feel that their blog posts have to be formal, technical and downright boring.

Well I’m here to tell you there is another way to blog.

The following 12 points will help you create and maintain an entertaining and interesting blog that people will want to read.

1. Personal

Despite what you think, a corporate blog should be personal. After all, it is a person writing the post so make sure your personality comes through.

Writing your post in the second person (like this post) will help you connect with your reader, because that is what you want to do. A blog post that simply talks at the reader won’t be well received, but if you write to your audience, it becomes much more personal.

Of course, to be able to write to your audience you have to know who they are, so make sure you do your research first.

2. Technicalities

Don’t, whatever you do, write in technical jargon. Your post has to be easy to read and that means leaving all technical terminology out. If it is absolutely necessary, make sure you define it clearly so everyone can understand.

One of the keys to writing a good blog post is to use simple language and plain English.

3. Length

Most people read blogs during their coffee break so make sure you keep them relatively short. Somewhere between 400 – 1000 words is ideal. If you think your post is likely to be longer than that, split it into 2 separate posts.

4. Scan-ability

Because people are unlikely to read every word you write, it’s essential your posts are easy to scan. Using effective headings, sub headings, bulleted lists and short paragraphs will help your reader dip in for the information they need.

5. Interesting

Above all your posts has to be interesting and relevant to your reader. Make sure you write something that will be of use to them and add value to your relationship.

6. No awards

I mentioned earlier that you need to keep your language plain and simple. You are not writing an award winning novel, it’s just a blog post to impart a useful tip or bit of information to your readers. The last thing they want is to have to sit and decipher your incomprehensible language.

They won’t be impressed by big words, so keep it simple.

7. Strong headings

As with every form of writing, your title has to be strong and compelling enough to make them want to read it. Likewise, your opening paragraph has to grab their attention and pull them in.

If your post is weak in either of these areas, you’re unlikely to attract readers.

8. SEO

Yes, it’s those horrible initials again. If you want your posts to be found, you have to use SEO techniques. Include your keyword in your heading and sub headings. It will also need to be in your body text (along with associated words and terms), but not to the extent that it makes it unreadable.

9. Show don’t tell

The underlying aim of your blog post will be to show how great your company is. But coming straight out and telling them you’re the best thing since sliced bread is not the best way to do it.

The best way to highlight your company’s greatness is through case studies and examples.

10. Variety

You can keep your blog fresh by mixing up its content. If you just constantly churn out industry news, it will get boring. Instead, offer articles on manufacturers, customer interviews, industry news, happenings within your company, top tips and how to articles.

11. Images

Blog posts are always enhanced by appropriate images. They can also act as an enticement to get people to read your post.

But make sure they are relevant and good quality.

12. Call to action

After spending (potentially) hours writing your post, make sure you make the most of it by adding a call to action.

It could be something simple as a request for comments, a link to sign up for your newsletter or white paper, or it could be a ‘call now for more information’.

You would never send out a sales letter without a call to action, so why waste this opportunity?

You see, corporate blogs don’t have to be boring. Make sure you understand who you are writing to, keep your language simple and make the blog look attractive (by using subheadings, bulleted lists etc.).

Your blog is an important sales tool and should be given as much importance as you main website and other sales materials.

Over to you

Do you run a company blog? If so, what have your experiences been?

Leave a comment below with your thoughts and questions.

Sally Ormond – Freelance Copywriter, blogger and social media addict

There are oodles of blogs out there covering just about every subject under the sun.

In your niche, there are probably thousands of people blogging about the same subjects as you.

So how do you make yours stand out above all that noise?

How do you get your blog noticed?

Obviously you need to post great information that is relevant to your audience and well-written.  But you need to go further than that if you want to start forging relationships with your readers.

The key to getting your blog noticed is adopting a distinct voice, one that is instantly recognisable as you.

When writing your blogs, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of writing in the same style as your favourite bloggers.

Don’t.

Someone isn’t going to be interested in reading a copy-cast style blog when they can have the real thing. You have to be different and be yourself.

So how do you achieve that?

1. Personality traits

Think about who you are. Then decide what personality traits you want your blog to have.

Do you want to come across as being?

• Formal or informal?
• Conversational and chatty?
• Amusing?

2. Be you

The best way to stand out from the crowd is to let your personality shine through.

The easiest way to achieve that is to write your posts as though you were writing them to a friend. This will automatically change the style in which you write and phrase things.

Showing your personality is the best way to get people to recognise you and engage with you.

3. Review past posts

Every blogger will have posts that do better than others. The trick to maintaining that level is to review those posts, take a look at the voice you used, the angle you wrote about, the topic and point of view you covered.

Then replicate that style.

4. Check the details

Everyone writes differently. It could be your use of punctuation that singles you out, your turn of phrase or your vocabulary and layout style.

Whatever it is, it’s going to set you apart from other writers.

Over to you

How have you developed your voice?

Are there any particular nuances that you’ve established to create your own distinctive style?

Leave a comment below and tell us how you have made yourself stand out of the crowd.

 Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter and blogger

This post follows on from a talk I recently gave at my local WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprise) group in Ipswich (it’s quite long so you might want to grab a coffee).

If you search through this blog, you’ll find numerous posts about various aspects of blogging. There are so many things you need to think about it can become overwhelming. So, for this post, I am concentrating on what to do once you have your blog set up.

There you are, sat in front of your computer staring at the Dashboard of your blog. What do you do next?

Let’s start at the beginning…

Why are you blogging?

You’ve decided to take the plunge because you know blogging is:

• Great for your search engine optimisation activities
• A way of positioning yourself as an expert in your field
• A way of continually adding fresh content to strengthen your web presence

That’s great, but before you launch into writing, you must establish a blogging strategy that’s going to work for you.

Getting started

First of all, you must think about how often you’re going to blog. The frequency you choose must be sustainable.

As your readership grows, people will get to know how often you post and they’ll expect to see posts at that frequency. If you suddenly stop for some reason, or reduce the number of posts you make (or just post at random intervals), your readers won’t know where they are and go and find another blog to read.

Secondly, you have to find your niche and stick to it. Writing about copywriting one moment and landscape gardening the next is going to leave your audience very confused.

Thirdly, consider the types of posts you’ll write. Mix them up a bit and use:

• ‘How to’ posts
• Top 10 lists
• Hints and tips
• Comment on industry news
• Comment on relevant news items

Now all you need is some ideas.

 Generating ideas

Inspiration for ideas can strike at any time, so it’s well worth keeping pen and paper close to hand. Great ideas can strike at the most unlikely times:

• Walking your dog
• Watching TV
• Reading a newspaper or magazine
• Conversations with friends and colleagues (and even customers)
• While you’re browsing your social media channels

Just remember, if you are using other blogs, newspapers or magazines as the source of your inspiration, always link back or reference the original article/post.

Writing great blog posts

The first thing to remember is you are writing for the web. People browsing blogs don’t have loads of time to sit down and read ‘War and Peace’. Keep it punchy, keep it concise, keep it relevant and make sure it’s interesting.

Before you start to write, make sure you inject your own personality (don’t try and copy someone else’s style) and write from the heart.

Then, make it easy to read:

• Create a great headline – this is your hook, but also think about SEO and make sure your keywords are in there too
• Make your headline relevant to your content – don’t promise something and then fail to deliver
• Use sub headings and short paragraphs to create a lot of white space to make it easy to read and make it scanable
• Use bulleted lists to add interest and highlight important points
• Always use simple language – absolutely no jargon
• Write for your audience – in terms of content and using the second person (i.e. lots of you and no we)
• Check and re-check before publishing to make sure there are no typos
• Add a call to action at the end – such as leave a comment and have your say
• Link out to other relevant articles or to your website, but only if the link adds value to the reader, otherwise you’ll be seen as blatantly self-promoting

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  So why isn’t your traffic increasing?

Common blogging mistakes

No one is perfect (no, not even you) and we all make mistakes. So, if you’re merrily blogging away but you’re not seeing your traffic grow and you’re not getting any comments, here are some of the mistakes you might be making:

• Not knowing your audience – you’re not giving them what they want
• Blanket writing – you’re ignoring your niche
• Being inconsistent – don’t let your standards slip, always focus on quality not quantity
• No commitment – if you’re not sticking to your blogging schedule, you’ll lose readers
• Writing for yourself – you have to write what your reader wants, not what interests you
• Poor headlines – if they aren’t strong, no one will read your posts
• No engagement – don’t talk at people, involve them and write as though you were having a conversation with them
• Unresponsive to comments – if someone takes the time to comment, reply to them and show them you care
• No promotion – you have to let people know your blog’s there, so put links to your posts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

Blogging is hard work, but it can be rewarding if you stick with it. If you generate great content on a regular basis, you could be picked up by one of the many websites and pro-bloggers out there who love to produce their ‘top blog’ lists. One link from a website like that can do wonders for your rankings.

Why not give it a go? When you get into it, blogging is also great fun.

Over to you

Are you a seasoned blogger? If so, leave a comment below and let us know why you do it and what you get out of it.

If you’ve not taken the plunge yet and have any questions, post them below as a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Have you ever wanted to guest blog for someone?

Do you know how to go about it?

Well, what you are about to read is how not to do it.

Why guest blog?

For many people, writing as a guest blogger is a great way to raise their profile. They are motivated by wanting to add value to the blog in question and its readers.

Very noble.

For others, guest blogging is all about links and promoting their products and services.

How to kill your chances

The best way to screw up any chance of getting your guest post accepted is to:

1. Send a spam pitch

You should always email the blog owner to find out if they are open to the idea of accepting a guest blog post.

But many people send something that is obviously being sent to numerous blog owners in the vain hope that one of them will bite.

If you want to stand a chance of being accepted, make your pitch personal. Show them you’ve studied their blog and understand their audience.

2. Get the name wrong

There’s nothing more infuriating than getting an email addressed to Sammy when you’re name is Sally.

Using the wrong name is another great way to get rejected immediately. But if you want them to consider your proposal it’s a good idea to do a bit of research and address your email using the right name.

3. Waffle

Don’t worry about the length of your email; the blog owner is bound to have loads of time to wade through your ramblings.

But if you want them to take you seriously it’s wise to keep it short and sweet and just come right out and ask.

4. Don’t research

This one is great for guaranteeing a rejection. You don’t have time to read through all those blogs to find the one that’s best suited to your writing and subject. Who cares if you write about insurance and you offer your post to a home furnishings blog?

Mind you, if you did want to get it published it might be a good idea to have a read through the blog so you can get a feel for the type of thing its readership wants.

5. Lashings of soft soap

Starting your email with loads of flannel about how amazing the blog owner is, how amazing their writing is, how amazing they are as a person…is bound to work. After all, who doesn’t respond well to flattery?

Mind you the only thing they want to know is that you’ve researched their blog and are offering a post that would enhance it. So maybe the grovelling should be forgotten about.

How to get rejected

We’ve looked at how to kill your chances of being asked to guest blog, now let’s take a look at how to get your post rejected.

The following 5 tips will ensure your post gets rejected:

1. Stuffed links

Most blog owners are happy to provide a link to your website in your author bio or maybe even one in the body text.

So if your post arrives stuffed to the rafters with links it will be rejected.

2. Typos

The blog owner will read your post before deciding whether to publish it or not. Sending it in full of typos is a pretty good way of getting it thrown right back at you.

3. Bad information

Writing inaccurately or about, shall we say, dodgy content (such as promoting black hat SEO techniques) will get you rejected.

4. Poor quality

The blog owner isn’t stupid. If you’ve written the post purely to get back links it’s going to be obvious. Your writing has to be of a high quality otherwise – you guest it – it’ll be rejected.

5. Bad fit

Researching the blog you want to write for is more than just taking a quick peek at one post.

If your article bears no relation whatsoever to the general subject matter of the blog it’s going to be rejected.

So there you have it – if you write badly, fail to research or are motivated purely by back links, you’re unlikely to make it as a guest blogger.

But if you want to discover how to write guest posts and how to get asked back you might want to take a look at this post.

Blogging is great for positioning yourself as an expert, boosting your profile and, of course, search engine optimisation.

It’s really easy to get started – all you need is a blog (preferably self hosted with your own unique URL), some ideas and a bit of time.

But despite it being that simple many people are getting it horribly wrong.

Here are a few of the most common mistakes made by would-be bloggers:

1. Not understanding your audience

This is a fundamental requirement if your blog is to be successful.

How can you write stuff your audience will want to read if you don’t know who they are? Granted, anyone could find your blog but you have to keep in mind the people you are writing for and trying to attract.

What is important to them?

In this blog I write about all things copywriting, marketing and social media because the audience I’m writing for are (in general) small businesses looking for some advice when it comes to marketing their businesses. If I suddenly started blogging about my favourite recipes or what my dog did at the weekend, my readers would get fed up and look elsewhere for the information they want.

2. Ignoring your niche

A lot of bloggers want to be all things to all people.

That’s not going to work.

As I mentioned earlier, a powerful blog is one that knows its market and what they want. Writing about something you understand will result in informative blog posts that are relevant to your readers.

Find your niche and stick to it.

3. Blanket writing

This is what happens if you don’t stick to your niche.

Suddenly your blog becomes awash with posts about all manner of topics, none of which gel. You might think you’re doing your readership a great service by taking this ‘all encompassing’ approach but all you’re doing is confusing them.

If you start out writing a blog about photography and start to build a regular readership, those loyal readers will come back time and again because they know they are going to get great information on photography. But if you suddenly start adding posts about cats, cars, insurance etc., the continuity is lost. Because they don’t know if your next post is going to be relevant to them they won’t bother coming back.

If you want to write about 2 very different subjects, get 2 blogs.

4. Being inconsistent

Every post you write has to be written well. The quality of your work can’t slip.

When you start out, fired up with enthusiasm, your posts will be top notch. But as time goes on and you squeeze your blog writing between other things, you might become a little careless; errors will start to creep in and the general standard of your writing might slip.

That is the first sign of a dying blog. Quality is everything so you have to keep your standards high.

But as well as quality, you also have to be consistent with your frequency.  Your readers are creatures of habit. If you blog 3 times a week, they’ll grow to expect a new post from you at that frequency. If you suddenly change it or miss a week they’ll be left wondering what’s going on and, ultimately, go and find a different blog that will meet their expectations.

5. No commitment

Just like a dog is for life, not for Christmas, your blog is for life and shouldn’t be started on a misguided whim.

When you’re sat in front of your computer writing your blogs you probably see each post as an unrelated entity. But your readers see them as a series of factual and interesting posts. They expect great things from you and on a regular basis which requires commitment on your part.

If you make the decision to blog, you must be 100% committed otherwise it won’t work.

6. Focus on quality

As I mentioned in number 4, the quality of your posts must be consistent.

To make your blog work well you should ideally be posting at least 3 times a week. Every one of those posts has to add value to your reader and must be thought through and written well.

The mistake many bloggers make is they are so conscious that they have to keep generating posts, it’s not long before quantity becomes more important than quality.

If the quality of your work slips you’ll get known for your bad writing rather than your great information and you really don’t want that to happen.

7. Writing for yourself

You are bound to blog on a topic you know well but you mustn’t lose sight of what’s important to your readers.

Writing about stuff you find interesting is OK but not if no one else is interested in it. If you want your blog to be successful, identify your audience, discover what they want to know and write about that.

8. Poor headlines

No matter how great your writing, if you come up with a lame headline for your blog no one’s going to read it.

Most people will just look at your post’s title. If it doesn’t immediately grab them they won’t read on. So make sure you come up with strong headlines for every post; something that will draw your reader in and make them what to find out more.

9. Blatant self-promotion

The whole point of a blog is to add value to your relationship with your reader.

If every single post you write is a thinly disguised advert for you and your products, your readers will see through you and walk away. So don’t write about your products and services; provide information that your readers can use to their benefit.

Sure, you can link out to your main website from your posts but only if it adds value.

At the end of the post you can always add an author bio with a link to your site.

10. No engagement

Every post you write must engage your reader and make a connection.

Don’t worry that’s easier to do that it sounds. All you have to do is write conversationally and in the second person (using you and your – just like I have done in this post). Your post will then be ‘talking’ directly to your reader, making it personal.

11. Unresponsive

When you start getting traffic to your blog you’ll start to get a few comments coming through.

You have a choice; you could ignore them and come across as someone who couldn’t care less about their readers. Or you could respond and interact with your readers.

It doesn’t take Einstein to work out which is the best option.

12. No promotion

How is someone going to read your blog if they don’t know it exists?

If you want your blog to succeed you have to promote it. Push an RSS feed through to your website, promote your blogs through Twitter and forums.

Basically shout very loudly to anyone and everyone about your blog and they’ll start to take notice.

There you go – 12 of the biggest mistakes new bloggers make. If you manage to avoid them you’ll be well on your way to being the owner of a successful blog.

Have I missed anything?

If you can think of anything else that could prevent a blogger making it big? If so please leave a comment below.