It’s the truth: I’m a lousy blogger-slash-article-writer. I don’t really like writing and my words are often poorly formed. But why I blog? Why people read my blog? I have this secret that can help you establish and run a small business blog that is actually bringing in leads and clients for your company – even if you are a not a born writer/blogger. Just give me 5 minutes of your time – that’ll do 🙂
image inspired by Stickman Pushing MacBook decal.
I’ve written about how to establish a reputable business blog even if you are not an expert. You might want to read that post first, but if you don’t want to do it right now, just read on and come back to that post later on. I’m sure it will be very beneficial… okay, let’s move on…
Small business blogging is actually simple. Whether you run a blog as an independent business or as a way to attract people to visit your main business, the way to do it is pretty similar.
Let me share you some secrets from my experience in business blogging:
1. Use magnetic headline!
Okay – people are sick and tired of blog post title that reads “how to blog for your small business” and such… people want more value – more authority; people expect practical tips that they can implement right away after they finish reading the blog post; people expect authoritative tips, not recycles, reused and repurposed blog posts that are often bland.
Although you ARE offering great value inside your blog post’s body, you need the right title to tell readers that you are not just-another-lousy-small-business-tips.
If you want to learn more on how to use magnetic headline, here’s a must-visit series of posts from Brian Clark’s Copyblogger.
2. Talking about your company’s mascot dog is cool, but people also want help in solving their problems
Off-beat posts regarding your company can bring people closer to you. They can lower the fence, so prospects and customers can have a peek on what’s going on inside your company and brands.
Talking about your company’s mascot dog, about the barbecue events you do, and special charity events you sponsor is cool, but let’s not forget that your target market is looking for a solution.
I’m not sure how your barbecue events can attract people to buy from you, but I’m sure a blog post talking about how one customer of yours use your products or services to grow his/her profits will draw much attention – and a higher chance for your prospects to buy your products/services.
3. Hello – I’ll make you famous!
Featuring your customers regularly on your blog will not only bring the buzz to your customers, but also more business for you. How?
Prospects will see who’s doing business with you; they will also see that doing business with you has attractive value-added benefits: Getting featured. If you are doing your blog marketing right, this can drive traffic and business for your customers.
And I’m sure you know what a happy customer will do: They will talk about your business; about how his/her business is getting featured on your reputable biz blog; how the feature even drive some leads for your customers.
Imagine how your blog readers read the posts and contact your customers for their experience doing business with you. This is so powerful; this is attraction marketing!
4. Don’t forget to promote your blog posts!
If you think publishing a blog post is enough to bring traffic in and close more sales, think again. Your work is not finished here; “just build it and they will come” attitude is not right for business development, and it’s also clearly not right for building a small business blog.
You need to buzz your blog posts; you need to let people know about your blog posts – the more, the merrier; you need to continuously find ways to drive people to visit your company blog and at the same time, ensuring that they are from the buyers’ market you target.
5. Be passionate, be interesting, be unusual, be quirky
Reading many blogs, I feel that the more I read the more the blog posts have generic feel to it. They are giving me a sense of “been there, done that.”
Well, if you want to attract more people, you need to be genuine. You need your prospects and customers see that you really want to help them succeed. As I always say, blogging for money won’t work; if you are genuine, money will follow you.
You need to be interesting. You need to be unusual, and being quirky can sometimes help you establish a unique audience that will take whatever you offer them. Being controversial helps, but too much controversy can backfire – be sure you do things with caution…
Takeaway
You know what, of many company blogs I have visited, I only discover a handful that is top-notch, such as this one. It’s one good example of how blog posts can drive people to learn more about your business – and actually buy from you that I recommend you to visit and see how things done in a good company blog.
Please note, there is no one size fits all approach to blogging for your business. The best thing you can do is to first put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask yourself this question: “What am I looking for from this business?” – then, you tailor your blog and blogging style with your niche’s needs.
Are you ready to build a small business blog that really matters for your prospects and customers? Please share your experience in building one!
