There are many ways that you can establish your online business as the trusted professionals to turn to. Arguably, the best way to build such a reputation is with a blog. Blogs offer many benefits, including attracting new attention to your website as well as building brand loyalty. Well written copy also increases your ranking on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs), highlighting your business above others. However, you must be careful. As much as informative blogs will help create a household name, publishing something that is irrelevant, misinformed, or poorly produced will only serve to hurt you. In order to make sure your blog endeavor is successful, we’re laying out the must haves for you here:
Organize Before You Start
Blogs, while often times informal, should never be poorly written. Your copy needs to be targeted towards your specific demographic. Know what you want to say before you start writing and don’t stray from your main topic. Have a clear introduction, a body that explains your points, and a conclusion that neatly summarizes your message. A neat structure will help your readers follow through from beginning to end.
Be Intentional with your Keywords
SEO and blogging go hand in hand. Keyword selection, placement, and usage is crucial in getting your blogs read by the people likely to convert. They should be included throughout your blog, but overuse will come across as spam. Your language should be natural, as if talking to a colleague. Using keywords too often will make you sound like a salesman trying to pressure a consumer into a purchase, and will turn off your reader.
Headers are your friends
It’s common for blogs to be skimmed first before anyone commits to reading part or all of it. That’s one of the reasons headers are so important: they break up chunky text into consumable bites. Headers also quickly explain your blog content and not just for your readers. Search engines also use headers to categorize your blog appropriately in order to send the right kind of traffic your way.
Keep it Short and Sweet
Blogs are meant to be quick reads, not college length papers. 400-600 words is the prime length of any good blog post. This gives you enough space to take an otherwise complicated topic and break it down in simplest terms for your audience. Make sure that you link to relevant sources so that if a reader does want to learn more on a specific topic, they can.
Blog Well and Blog Often
Consistency is fundamental in building a report with your audience. Your blogs should be written in the same tone following similar writing styles and structures as previous posts. In order to stay relevant your goal should be to post no less than 2 times a month, keeping in mind the more the better.
Blogging is very useful in building your brand. While it can be a time-consuming process, a well written and current blog will give you a leg up on your competition. If you don’t have time to author a blog yourself, or if you find writing just isn’t your thing, consider outsourcing the work to a professional company. The long-term benefits are definitely worth the investment and will help you attain a solid standing with your consumer base.