“Blogging is important.” -Everyone
You’ve heard it by now: Blogging is super important for businesses. It’s a way to become a thought leader in your industry, increase conversion rate, and give your website some bonus points in SEO, according to this article by Act-On. On the surface, blogging seems like an easy feat, but it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. Here’s a quick play-by-play to help you out.
1. Define your audience and choose a topic.
Be mindful of your audience before choosing a topic. What would they be interested to learn about? What topics are trending in your industry? Are there any big events happening in your community? There is always something new to write about, it may just require a little digging.
2. Research and write.
Whether you’re an expert on the chosen topic or not, you can’t get around researching. Even opinion pieces can use some research to up your credibility, so don’t skip it! Everyone’s writing process is different, so whether you prefer to write as you go or write once all research is complete, do what’s most comfortable for you.
3. Feature relevant articles and experts.
Make sure to include link backs in your article, like this article mentions. See what I did there? Doing so will not only improve your rank on search, but will also get more people involved and make your piece more shareable on web and social.
4. Reference your own previously published posts.
Don’t just externally link inside your blog, make sure to link back to your own content, as well. For example, Aaron mentioned in his latest blog post that WordPress “assumes you are a blog,” so this may be a good platform to use for blogging if you plan to do so. Linking in to your own content “improves the ‘crawlability’” of your site and also creates a more user-friendly experience for site visitors, according to Writtent.
5. Research the perfect title.
Crafting the perfect title for your blog is one of the most critical steps. The title should accurately portray the topic of your blog, be concise and easily understandable. Google’s Keyword Planner will be your best friend during this step! This article by Kim Garst is another great tool to help with writing titles.
6. Share via social media and tag!
Once your blog is written, reviewed and posted live, the next step is to share it on other channels. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email are great resources to share your masterpiece. Don’t forget to tag any businesses or individuals mentioned in the copy!
Following these steps will help make blogging a much more manageable and worthwhile task for your business. Now get to writing!
