Blogs are a great marketing tool. Search engines love active websites with lots of content, customers will keep coming back to see what you are saying about your business, and you can build a community of readers who will constantly provide you with new topics to write about.
But you can’t just throw any old thing up on a blog and call it good. Your customers don’t care if Uncle Hubert got drunk at Christmas dinner and propositioned the poinsettia. Save that stuff for your personal blog. What your customers want is relevant information, organized so they can use it.
What is Your Point?
The first step to a successful blog post is to make sure you know what you are trying to accomplish. Are you answering a question or solving a problem? Are you providing technical information about a product? Are you giving tips about making better use of a product or service? Knowing the point of a blog post makes it easier to stay focused, and easier to write.
The Power of Bullets and Headers
If you find you have trouble staying on track, try writing out bullet points, then filling in the details. Bullet points are easy to write, and even easier to read. Remember, web surfers have short attention spans and tend to scan rather than read, so bullet points and headers not only help you stay focused, they help your reader as well.
Judicious Use of the Delete Key
People tend to ramble when they write, but as I said, web readers are scanners; they will grow bored with too much text and move on to the next thing. The key to keeping your readers engaged is to keep it short. As a rule, blog posts should be no more than 500 words. If you find your posts growing beyond that, it might be time to look at ways to cut back.
Look for words that don’t add meaning, like adverbs. Quickly, loudly, actually, softly, angrily are all adverbs and add little to the meaning of a phrase. If a man who “walks away quickly” strides instead, you’ve cut your word count by two thirds, saved your reader time, and improved your writing.
Beware of business speak, as well. Those long, convoluted and pompous sentences might be fine in a business report, but the web–and blogs in particular–is more casual. Write like a person, not a computer.
A blog can be a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox, both in terms of search engines and community building. So keep these tips in mind, and get posting!
