Treat Your Blog Like Your Dog
Posted on 8th October 2020 at 08:54
I saw a man about a blog yesterday, and now he wants me to regularly look after his blog for him. You see blogging is one of my pet subjects and this man knows that his blog will be well treated.
Just as lots of people love dogs, many of us love blogs; in fact, blogging is a way of boosting your brand. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, more businesses have been improving their digital marketing, focusing on their social media marketing and blogging for business, in a bid to raise their company’s profile above that of their competitors.
According to the Oxford dictionary, a blog is: ‘A personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.’
Including a business blog on your website is an excellent way of feeding the hungry Google monster, so your website gets ranked more highly when people search for businesses in your particular industry. Blogs are also a great way of showing off your expertise, helping you to become the “go-to expert” for your industry, when customers need your particular service or products.
Just as there has been an increase in the number of people buying dogs during the pandemic, as they are good company and need a regular walk outdoors, more business owners are realising the benefits of raising their profiles online by including blogs on their websites. Blogs give you the opportunity of building an audience of potential buyers, allowing you to shine a light on your years of experience and in-depth knowledge.
Your blog is a place where you can talk about your business, your news or views, your hobbies or your experiences. In fact, you can write a blog on just about anything.
“Blogs are whatever we make them. Defining ‘Blog’ is a fool’s errand.” – Michael Conniff.
Do some research
Just as you would do your research on the most suitable breed before buying a dog, you need to do your research before you start writing your blog. Blogging is a good way of marketing your business, but before starting, it’s advisable to device a comprehensive Blogging Strategy to plan topics you are going to cover for the first few months.
Make your blog user-friendly
“Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that’s great for your readers.” – Brian Clark.
You need to know whom you want to attract as your audience, what they’re interested in and how to maintain their attention. What will they get from your blog? How will their needs be satisfied? Which topics do your competitors’ blogs talk about?
If you write a blog around your professional subject or your products and skills, it will not only attract potential clients, but it will also allow you to offer advice to people on how to do things, offer top tips or show them shortcuts. People may start to follow you, and then, if you are really clever on your personal blog, you can attract adverts or samples of products to review.
Don’t be too self-centred
“Blogging is a conversation, not a code.” – Mike Butcher.
I find blogging is therapeutic and a good outlet for pent up frustrations or emotions. I have a business blog and a personal blog to satisfy both needs, as well as writing blogs for other people across the world. Blogging is something I enjoy, so it comes naturally, but try to avoid talking about yourself too much, like I am in this paragraph.
When starting a blog, it is a good idea to keep a notebook handy to jot down any passing thoughts or snap photographs of inspiring images, which you might want to incorporate into your blog later. On occasions, you may like to invite other people to write a guest blog for you, for a change of tone and subject matter. It’s also good to include links to other websites that you may refer to, as Google also likes this.
Don’t forget to ask your website designer to include a blog section on your website. This is VERY IMPORTANT for your SEO, as Google likes to see fresh copy on your website and uses it to rate your website on the Google rankings (as I’ve already mentioned). Write Wai uses i’tseeze website designers in Colchester, whom we can highly recommend.
If you don’t have a business website or want to write a blog for pleasure, you can easily sign up for a blog platform with WordPress or Blogspot, for examples. These have templates, which you can use for free, purchase or customise.
If you need any help writing your blog, or coming up with ideas for content, get in touch with us.
Write Wai’s Top Ten Tips On How To Treat Your Blog Like A Dog:
1. Pay your blog attention and give it lots of TLC (Tender Loving Care). Design your blog page to look aesthetically pleasing, so it creates a good first impression and will invite people to read further.
2. Give it a good name. Just as you would take time to choose your dog’s name, take time to name your blog or write your title. Think of a good headline using alliteration, a pun, a joke or a question and do a spell check (if possible, get a friend or colleague to proofread it). Do check no one else is using the same name.
3. Write a short biography and have a good picture on your About page or Homepage.
4. Include images and photographs. Nothing puts people off more than a page of text.
5. Feed your blog regularly. Space out the frequency of your posts (one a week or one a fortnight is a good starting place) and make sure you keep up with the regularity, so readers know when to expect your next blog.
6. Be master of your blog. Write as though you are speaking to a friend or colleague so that you have an authentic voice.
7. Don’t be shy. When you have written your blog, invite everyone on your Social Media to read it, share it and like it (this will also help Google rate you more highly).
8. Give it treats. If you are really clever, you can contact manufacturers about products you mention in your blogs and ask them to sponsor your blog or even buy space for advertisements. Alternatively, you can invite guest bloggers and hope they will invite you to write for their blogs.
9. Provide a comments section for your readers to give you feedback and reply to their comments. Also, provide your contact details so people can connect with you.
10. Lastly, treat your blog like a dog; it will need a lot of looking after! If you don’t have time to write blogs regularly for your businesses, ask an expert to write them for you, like yours truly!
(Photograph and blog copyright of Write Wai)
Tagged as: Blogging for business, Business collateral advice, Colchester copywriter, Top Copywriting Tips
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