Exposure Ninja
What is a blog?
A blog is a part of your website which is regularly updated with articles. It’s a place to communicate with existing customers — and to lure new customers in. The content will depend on your industry and target market, but there are no real boundaries when it comes to blogging. You might write about industry insights or comment on the latest news in your industry. Other stuff like “Meet the Team” posts can also work well for businesses that are going for a personal feel.
In short, your blog should reflect the tone of your business, provide interesting information for your target audience, and tell your readers why you rock — though not necessarily directly. A blog should be a soft sell, not a hard sell.
The blogs we love and read regularly all have one thing in common: they’re useful. Check out the blogs of Moz and Canva. As good as their products are, their blogs are also super useful. They pump out awesome, regular content because their existing customers value it.
This usefulness doesn’t just give customers a positive idea of your brand. It also helps to generate new leads, convert leads into customers, and turn already converted customers into loyal ambassadors for your brand.
The four main aims of a business blog
Your content marketing strategy should be built upon a killer blog. However, before you start writing, think about your aims. A website blog is a place to show everyone that you’re an expert in your field, and this can bring a host of other benefits. Here are three of our favourite benefits of blogging.
1. Reach new customers
Blogging has the potential to open up a whole new customer base. Writing shareable, engaging blog posts will have your business’ name splattered all over the net. Once people have clicked on your blog, they’re well within reach to buy your latest and greatest products.
2. Create fresh content to share on social media
We know how hard it is to think up witty tweets three times a day. Writing a regular blog will ease that burden, giving you fresh content to share on all of your social media channels. Your blog can also give fans of your brand something to share on social media.
Don’t believe that people will choose to share a business blog of their own accord? Just look at how well this CoSchedule blog post on Twitter is doing. If you don’t want to figure it out yourself, allow us to tell you that it’s been shared nearly 600 times.
Of course, CoSchedule is a big marketing business. If you’re a small business owner — a hairdresser, a plumber, or a mechanic — is anyone going to share your blog post? Yes, they are! One of our longest-serving clients is a warehouse racking inspector, but that didn’t stop us generating over 300 shares for his awesome infographic blog post!
3. Boost your online profile
Writing a blog is also an awesome way of building your own online profile. Showing that you’re willing to share your industry wisdom can boost your credibility in the digital world. As long as your posts are useful and not just thinly-veiled adverts, people will start to take notice of you.
When they do, it’ll be much easier to get yourself featured as a guest blogger or guest writer on other websites. When that happens, you’ll be able to generate backlinks to your website — which is also great for SEO. Speaking of which…
4. Generate backlinks
If you’re writing a guest post or a sponsored post for another website, it’s good to have a genuine source of quality information that you can link to in your article. It’s even better when that genuine source of information is your own blog — because that backlink can help to boost your website’s rankings!
Of course, it’s not just guest post outreach. People might choose to link to your blog naturally. If you’ve done an original study, created an awesome infographic, a fascinating video, or you’re just made a really good argument in an article, people may well choose to link to your website.
Okay, you’ve convinced me! I want to create a blog. How do I do it?
Easy! Follow these three simple steps:
1. Decide on your blog’s focus
The main focus of your blog should be your industry, but it should be more specific than that, if possible. Try focusing on your keywords and solutions to problems your potential customers may have. What will your potential customers be searching for and — most importantly — how can you help them?
2. Brainstorm topics to write about
Once you have your keywords, it’s time to actually think of topics to write about. This brainstorming process requires creativity, for sure. However, there are tried and tested methods which you can follow, too. For example, you want to keep things related to your keyword, so why not create a good ol’ fashioned brainstorm with a pen and paper?
3. Learn how to blog for profit
Now it’s time to actually start writing. This process also requires creativity, yet you must remember that you’re not writing a novel or a tell-all memoir. You are writing for a purpose. You want a return on investment for the time invested in this activity. In short, you’re blogging for profit. In order to do that, you need to master the art of SEO-friendly writing and the soft sell.
If you want a team of highly-trained Ninjas to write awesome, SEO-friendly blog posts which sell your product and will generate tons of exposure for your brand, contact our Content Marketing department today!