Entries Tagged 'blogging for business' ↓

The purpose behind blogging is to create a readership, give value to those readers and position yourself as an expert in your particular field.

But if you have excellent content, if your blogging package isn’t right your posts won’t get read.

Many people will write hundreds of blogs, one or two of which might go down a storm and generate a lot of interest. But the rest fall by the wayside. Yet there are people out there who score time after time after time.

So how do they do that?

What makes their posts so readable?

Well, it all comes down to how you package your blog posts.

Where’s your focus

When writing about a personal interest, many people write in the first person – “I think the only way to generate great quality traffic to my site is through professional SEO copywriting”.

So what?

But if you change your focus to the second person and actually address your reader directly – “Your website needs traffic to feed your sales. You can either pay through the nose with PPC or you can make the smart move and invest in professional SEO copywriting.”

Just a small change—going from ‘I’ to ‘you’—instantly makes your post more relevant to the reader.

Can I help?

Most people read blogs because they’re searching for a solution to a problem. So make sure your post doesn’t disappoint. No matter what you’re writing about, make sure you relate your content to a common problem that you then solve.

Whether you are talking about reducing a marketing budget, how to whiten your clothes first time every time, or how to reduce wrinkles, providing a solution is vital if you want your post to resonate with your reader.

Don’t over stuff

Just like you would never try to sell multiple products with one sales letter, keep your blog post to one idea.

If you try to incorporate several ideas your post will lose its focus and leave the reader somewhat bewildered.

One idea covered in detail with a great solution will pull in readers.

Easy on the eye

Writing a winning blog post is one thing, but if it doesn’t look good people aren’t going to bother reading it.

Keep your paragraphs short so the page doesn’t look ‘stuffed’ with text. Use headings and sub headings to break things up and show your reader what you’re covering within your post.

Also get a few well chosen images in there too.

Write for your reader not for you

The art to achieving a good and regular readership is to write about things your audience cares about.

Research is vital if you are going to provide your readers with what they want. Just because you find a particular subject really interesting doesn’t mean your audience will.

It’s supply and demand; give them what they want.

Be natural

Many people think if they are writing about a subject in a blog they have to be very business-like and stiff.

Think again.

The best blogs are those written in a natural, conversation style that resonates with the reader.

As you write, imagine yourself sat in your local coffee shop with your best mate. Think about how you would speak to them and then replicate that style within your blog post.

Reading your blog should be like slipping on your favourite slippers. Your reader should get that warm and fuzzy feeling—returning to you blog will be like meeting up with an old friend again.

And that really is all there is to it. Of course, you’ll also need to come up with some great ideas.

At the end of the day write naturally, write to your reader and make it attractive on the eye.

Deciding to start a blog is the easy part. Coming up with consistently great ideas for posts is another matter entirely.

Let’s take a step back. What got you interested in blogging in the first place?

You probably have a few blogs you read regularly and it’s more than likely their content that has inspired you to have a go. But how can you emulate the success of your blogging heroes?

OK, let’s stop there for a moment. You can’t and shouldn’t emulate them. If you want to create a following for your blog you must make it your own through its content, style and voice.

No one is going to want to read a copy-cat blog.

For many new bloggers the intense desire to be the greatest blogger known to man can stifle creativity and natural flare. You are you (there’s nothing like stating the obvious) so make sure that comes through your writing.

Five ways to become a better blogger:

1. Whatever you do, don’t compare yourself to others

If you try to write in the same style as your favourite blogger you’ll create something that barely registers on the ‘OK’ scale.

Every one is different and everyone likes to read different styles. You only have to look at your local bookshop to realise how many different genres and styles of writing there are out there.

You are an individual and your blog posts are your opportunity to show that individualism. Use your personal style to carve out a niche for your work. You won’t please everyone but those that do enjoy your writing will become dedicated followers.

2. It’s not a closed club

If you take a look around the blogosphere you’ll spot several big hitters who seem to be everywhere. ‘How can I possibly be as good as them?’ you may ask. Well don’t. As I said before you are you, so make sure that comes across.

The blogging club is not closed to new members and there’s nothing to stop you from becoming a ‘name’ too. Bloggers come and go all the time so get your name out there and see what happens.

3. Be unique

There is only one you so use that to your advantage.

No one else thinks like you, writes like you, or conveys a message like you. It is that uniqueness that is your blogging secret weapon so use it.

Your experiences, personality and ideas will shape the way you write in a way no one else can emulate. By making your work your own you will attract readers.

4. Fresh topics

Looking at the millions of blogs out there you may think it is impossible to come up with a constant stream of fresh topics no one else has written about. And you’d be right.

But the trick is not to be led down the path of repetition. If you want to write about SEO find an angle that no one else has covered before. Relate your topic to your own world and experiences to be sure your information is completely unique.

It is this constant re-shaping of information that makes the world of blogging so interesting.

5. Stand out

There is one simple thing you can do to make your writing stand out from the crowd—incorporate your own personality. If you naturally write in a humorous way use that to your advantage. Most people read to be entertained in some way, so keeping your writing light will help convey your message.

Be true to yourself.

Is it tough constantly coming up with new angles and topics?

Yes.

Is blogging for you?

If you want to get your ideas ‘out there’, if you enjoy writing, if you want to have a worldwide voice, yes, blogging is for you.

Give it a try—you’ve got nothing to lose.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter and blogger

What better way to make your voice heard than blogging?

It gives you a platform from which you can spread your expertise across a global audience. You can engage people in conversations, generate a regular following, get people excited about your company—the possibilities are endless.

But one thing putting many people off embarking on a life of blogging is the time and dedication that it takes.

Dedication

One of the main characteristics of a good blogger is their dedication. If you want to engage with readers consistently you have to generate quality content time and again.

Your posts should be useful to your readers, thought provoking so they generate comments and debate. If you write great posts that are interesting and relevant you will encourage your readers to visit your blog again and again and spread the word about your content to generate a wider readership.

But most of all, your writing has to add value to your relationship with them.

Ideas

Generating a constant stream of ideas isn’t easy. But inspiration can come from anywhere so be ready for it when it strikes.

Keep a pen and paper near to hand so you can jot down ideas as and when they occur to you. Ideas can be sparked from conversations, reading other blogs, watching TV, magazine articles—absolutely anywhere.

Useful

By keeping your posts brief you can deliver bite sized gems of information that your readers that are easy to absorb. Although there’s nothing wrong with longer posts, remember how time limited we all are these days and deliver your information in a concise form. And above all, make sure it is interesting, useful and relevant.

Variety

Not everyone wants to read, not everyone wants to watch video, not everyone wants to listen to audio, but by offering a variety for information formats you will be providing something for everyone.

When to write

There are no hard and fast rules about when you should write your blog posts. Everyone’s different but writing regularly is the key.

Personally my main writing time is a Sunday morning. But, if I get the opportunity during the week, I’ll write several posts and schedule them. Get in to a routine, stick with it and you’ll end up with a constant library of great content.

Author: Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter and blogger

If you follow this blog regularly you’ll know I’m a huge fan of blogging as a way of boosting your online presence. As a copywriter I’ve been using this method for several years now and it works.

Through the power of blogging you have the potential of driving a huge amount of traffic to your main sales site as part of your search engine optimisation strategy.

In an earlier post I looked at how to give your blogs eternal life, well now I want to expand on that theme by talking about how you can optimise each of your blog posts.

Below are 5 tips to help you get the most out of your blog posts through optimisation.

1. Quality content

There is no getting away from the fact that people only want to read well written, informative blog posts.

You must therefore create posts that are easy to read, interesting and informative. If there is value in your content your readers will share it with others. Not only that, it will also attract those all important back links.

2. Keywords

Because you are writing for an online audience you must take care to work out which keywords your post should be targeting.  Once you’ve written your post, read it and think about what terms would your reader use to search for it. The primary keywords tend to be quite obvious, but other terms are not so clear-cut.

There are various tools you can use to identify your keywords such as Google’s keyword tool.  But there are also a few other tools you can use that will help you identify terms associate with your primary keyword. One is the Google Tilde search. But there is also another more visual tool you can use.

Let me introduce you to the Google Wheel. When you’ve entered your search term into the Google search box, if you look to the left of your screen you’ll see Wonder Wheel.

If you click on this it will produce a wheel diagram with your main search term in the centre (in this case ‘dog training’) with associated terms around it:

You can then click on any other outer terms to receive further results:

3. META Titles and descriptions

This is one aspect that is often forgotten. The META title and description are there to tell both the reader and search engine spiders what your posts is about. If you use the WordPress.com platform for your blog you can use the All in one SEO Pack to specify these fields.

When writing your titles and descriptions make sure your keywords are near the beginning. There is also a character limit for each (Titles – 72, Description – 165) so you’ll have to carefully plan your words.

4. Links

Both internal and external links are important when writing your posts. As you can see, I’ve used a mixture of both.

Your internal links (utilising related keywords) link out to other posts, while external links take the reader to other related websites. In both cases make sure you use keyword rich links rather than something like ‘click here’ which has no value.

Your external links can also be used to encourage inbound links from other websites as ‘trackbacks’ inform that web owner you have linked to  them. Therefore they may in turn link to your posts.

5. URL

The last item on my list is your URL. This I the web address used to link to your post. Make sure you use your keywords within this as it will instantly show the relevance of your post.

Make sure it is meaningful.

By utilising each of these techniques and tools, you will produce meaningful, interesting blog posts that will be found through the search engines. Not only that, but by ensuring you create quality content you will attract links and build your reputation as an expert in your field.

Blogging is an excellent way of getting your voice heard.

When you enter the world of blogging as a newbie its terminology can seem rather daunting.

Tweeting     –         SEO        –         HTML    –         Plugins

The best advice I can give anyone who’s looking to start a blog is to be yourself.

By all means take a look around the internet to see what other bloggers are doing, but at the end of the day, your blog is a reflection of you. It is your vehicle through which you can voice your opinions, give reviews and share information with others.

So how can you move from novice to expert blogger?

Here are 4 simple things to remember which will help you make that transition.

1. Be unique

As I mentioned earlier there’s nothing wrong with looking at other blogs for inspiration, but don’t try to copy or conform to the prevalent style in your industry.

You are an individual. You have your own dress style, your own sense of humour, you wear your hair the way you like it and you go to the places you want to go to. So transfer that individuality to your blog.

When starting out you’ll probably read dozens of articles about how to get started. Most of the information will be relevant and useful, but remember to use that as a guide only and be yourself.

2. Reliable

When you start to blog and build up a readership, make sure you stick to your blogging frequency. If you post on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday your readers will grow to expect new posts on those days from you. So make sure you don’t disappoint.

If your readers take the time to leave a comment on your blog (that’s not spam) respond to it. Even if it’s a ‘thank you for your comment’ generating that type of conversation is what blogging is all about.

3. Think

If you want to engage with your readership make your posts personal. That doesn’t mean to say you have to write about what you did last night or what you ate for breakfast. On the contrary, make sure your personality comes through your writing. Include your opinions; relate topics to situations you have been in.

Resist the urge to post in haste. If someone has wound you up or done something you feel strongly about don’t quickly write a caustic post. Always think about what you’ve written before you hit publish.

4. Attractive

Although it’s the content on your blog that will keep your readers coming back for more, it also has to look attractive.

There are numerous free templates out there so make sure you find one that suits you. Keep it simple and unfussy – less is most definitely more.

Blogging is a great way to engage with people, voice your opinions and share information. Doing it regularly will help you quickly learn some of the technical stuff. But don’t think you won’t be able to cope with it. Most blog platforms are simple to use.

I’ve been blogging for 3 or 4 years. It has helped me develop as a writer, put me in touch with some amazing people and it’s proven to be a valuable part of my search engine optimisation strategy for my business as a copywriter.

It has never been easier to get your voice published so make the most of it – start your blog today and before you know it, you’ll be an expert.