In our previous article we addressed making the time for blogging.
No one said that blogging would be easy. It takes time and commitment to come up with ideas and then turn them into posts. But while it can be challenging to come up with fresh content to publish on a blog each week, you must keep in mind that continuing to do so will bring benefits. In Part 1, we started discussing how to make time for blogging and where to find inspiration. Below, you’ll find more advice for keeping your content focused and interesting.
Blogging Difficulty #2 – Keeping your blog posts focused
Writing consistently focused, informative articles is challenging! Keep in mind that the blog’s main purpose is to help promote your business, but that doesn’t mean you need to be selling or self-promoting. Here are some pointers on how to keep your focus without losing your way:
- Consider your posts to be a product. As such they should be useful and provide some value, much like any product or service you sell. Consider your clientele and try to write about subjects that are interesting and useful to them. The same way you would sell only your best products, publish only your best posts.
- Try not to sound like a robot. When writing, remember that people relate better to a piece of writing they can understand. Don’t use a lot of jargon or industry buzzwords — try to sound like yourself. Develop a style that is all your own and other will be able to identify you — and identity with you.
- Tell stories about your business and address customer questions. Don’t be afraid to mention negative comments or feedback from customers. Instead, take those negative comments and turn them into positives by showing how problems were dealt with. Never be afraid to admit you were wrong. Everyone loves a business they can trust and admitting to faults instills trust.
Blogging Difficulty #3 – Keeping your blog interesting
Having an updated, focused blog is certainly key to reaching that goal, but if your blog isn’t interesting then no one is going to come back week after week to read what you’re posting. Here are a few ideas to help keep your blog interesting:
- Stay current! Make sure you’re no re-writing ancient history — you want to have up-to-date topics on your blog. Staying on top of trends in you industry is important.
- Outsource some of the writing. Having guest authors on your site can help boost the authority of your blog. It also helps to keep things interesting by inviting a new voice and point of view to your posts. Another way to accomplish this without giving up your authorship is by interviewing people for your post. You will still be the author, will have brought a different and possibly unique point of view to the article.
- Be interactive. Interacting with your audience is important and can help bring in more site traffic. Always keep your comment box open and always respond. Don’t be afraid of bad comments just remember to maintain your professional composure when responding. Another way to interact with your audience is by creating a poll where people can vote and express their opinion on the subjects covered in your posts.
