Does your business blog have a point and purpose?
Why blog? Is it to connect with your ideal client? Do you need to gently educate your prospective market?
According to Enterpreneur.com, you should blog because “you have to give, in order to get”.
Maybe it’s time to up your content marketing strategy! Here’s some blog writing strategies to use as guideposts.
1.) Start with one big (helpful and giving) idea.
My GenX daughter recently bought a sweatshirt that states: All I Hear is Blah, Blah, BLAH!
She’s spunky. Intelligent. She’ll tune you out if you lecture, drone on and on, or are seemingly irrelevant. She can, however, get lost for too long on social media reading her favorite one-liner memes.
Memes provide the “one big idea” value with their entertainment or hook factor. How do you provide value for your clients?
“All of your clients are tuned into WIIFM.” — Ray Edwards
In other words, What’s In It For Me. If you don’t have anything helpful, entertaining, or at least educational to pass along, what’s the point of posting?
Don’t leave your audience guessing. How do you intend to help them with your blog post? Clearly state this at the beginning of your post. One of the best blog strategies is to educate in an entertaining way.
2.) State what you have to say in 500 words more or less (usually).
Uh-oh. I’ve entered the long-form, short form war! In Michael Hyatt’s book Platform — Get Noticed In A Noisy World, Hyatt roots for shorter posts, too, citing short attention spans. In fact, he recommends that bloggers break longer form content into a series of posts.
Seth Godin is another famous example of short and to-the-point writing. I read his blog regularly as a result. I’m a busy business owner.
Sometimes I’m guilty of skimming the headlines of long posts for the “good stuff”. Are you?
While long-form posts absolutely serve their purpose, most professional service firms would do well to communicate more frequently in shorter sound-bites.
3.) Use white space, good headlines, and visuals to keep your reader’s attention.
Unless you’re writing for medical professionals, scientists, or engineers, write for the scanners and skimmers. I should do a poll on this post and collect data. How many of you just read the headlines?
4.) Don’t bore me. Tell me a story.
When you were a kid, did you have at least one relative who told you the BEST stories?
I remember begging my grandpa for stories.
Those were the GOOD old days. His uncles hid a stash of moonshine in the cellar. Grandpa was an Okie who migrated West in the back of a flatbed truck to Washington state with his nine siblings during the Great Depression. See! Don’t you want to know more?
5.) Create content consistently.
Now I’m talking to myself first! This is a KEY goal for me this year — consistency of content for my own business, not just my clients.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
Staying in front of your clients on a regular basis over a length of time builds relationships. As a small business owner, I know how important it is to show up for my clients.
BONUS tip: (Additional word count starts here. 🙂 )
Here’s an article by Michael Hyatt , short and sweet, that gives his expert strategy for creating your content when your schedule is tight. Out of 7 main tips, here’s the best one. He uses a blog template!
Just don’t want to write your blog content yourself?
What if you could collaborate with a content writer who cares about your business?
Take a look at my done-for-you marketing packages — custom-tailored to your needs. Here’s how I work:
- Schedule a content strategy session with me. I’ll listen to your business goals and voice — and dig for your best marketing stories, target audience, and key words.
- Create a content calendar on a schedule and topics that suites your individual business needs.
- Research and write clear, compelling content for your target market.
- Provide one or two free photos.
- Cross-post the links on your business Facebook and LinkedIn, if desired.
You’ll see your blog strategies start to pay you back over time. When’s the best time to start your blog? Yesterday! Let’s chat soon. juliadanielswriting@gmail.com
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