You know you would like to do it, but you don’t know how.
You want to get started, but think it’s too complicated.
You wonder if the time you invest in it, is really worth it.
What is it? Blogging.
Blogging is a type of article marketing and is often written more informally. Blogs can be created on sites, such as http://www.blogger.com or http://www.wordpress.com or integrated into your website.
When blogging consistently, you will find that it generates backlinks, boosts traffic, and builds long-term relationships with your customers or clients. According to HubSpot, “approximately 46% of daily online searches are for information on products or services”. Blogs can be effective ways to drive traffic. Blogging also:
• Establishes a way to stay in touch with your community
• Engages your community
• Generates more opportunities for your products or services to be discovered
The task of getting started in writing blogs can be daunting but blogging is easier than you may think. Here are quick ways to get that blog started:
1. Determine where blogging fits into your overall strategy. Include your target audience and identify the metrics you will use to determine your content’s effectiveness. Remember, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
2. Identify topics to write about. Take a few minutes to jot down some topics you can cover in your blog related to your area of expertise. The topics may come from frequently asked questions from your customers or clients, your signature program, or content you have already developed. When you have identified the topics, it’s easy to start writing and it gives you content to share with your community.
3. Repurpose what you have already written. If you have an eBook, marketing piece, or other articles, repurpose them into blog posts. Remember, your blog post doesn’t have to be long to be effective. Rather than writing many long blog posts with multiple points, feature just one aspect or point. Smaller articles are easier for your community to digest, too.
4. Keep your blog articles SEO friendly. According to lead generation expert, Jayne Burch of Marketing Monsoon, “your articles should be Search Engine Optimization friendly”. Your blog posts should include key words. Key words are those words your ideal clients put in search engines to find you. If you’re a chiropractor who specializes in back pain, you might write an article with the words, back pain relief. “For maximum SEO optimization, these key words should be contained in your title, the first sentence of your first paragraph, some place in the middle of your article, and in the last sentence in the last paragraph of your article”.
Remember to monitor your blog’s traffic patterns to see what resonates with your readers. One last point: be consistent. Consistency creates trust and people do business with people they know, like and trust. If you start a blog, commit to a regular schedule. Before you know it, you’ll get more traffic and clients all because you started implemented your blog strategy.