Your business blog can be your most powerful marketing tool, but don't be half-hearted about it. In this article, you'll discover some blogging tricks which focus not on traffic, but on results.
Remember, your blog is sales tool. That doesn't mean that you need to overwhelm your visitors with bright lights and glittery "buy!" buttons. Your blog should be part of your sales funnel, however.
Now, the tips.
1. No Blog Is an Island
Your site's visitors consume your blog content. Don't leave them frustrated.
Many times each week I visit a blog, and want to click through to the business's website. After staring at the screen in frustration, I realize there is no link to the business's website from the blog. If you want results from your blog, make it easy for your visitors to take action -- to go to your website and buy.
2. Know Your Ideal Reader(s)
You have ideal reader(s). They're your customers, or prospective customers. You know them well, don't you?
To be able to create content for your many different customer types, you need to use that knowledge to create personas.
Customer personas are fictional representations of your customers; descriptions you've written down. For example, if you sell kitchen equipment, your personas might include the diehard foodie who loves to cook, but has little time, the "wedding gift" crowd, and casual shoppers interested in the new gadget they saw on TV.
Once you know your personas, you can write content for them.
3. Share Your Business's Stories
Everyone loves a good story. Share your customers' successes and challenges, and your own. We relate to stories, and remember them.
4. Link to Relevant Products
Your site's visitors may land on any Web page. Don't assume that they know that they can click through to your website to buy your products. They may not.
For example, when you share a pumpkin pie recipe on your blog which requires freshly grated nutmeg, link thorough to the nutmeg grater product page on your site.
You can do the same thing in reverse. On the nutmeg grater page, link through to the pumpkin pie recipe.
5. Plan and Succeed
Make blogging a part of your business routine, by creating an editorial calendar. This is a dated list of blog post topics, and article titles.
Staying with the example of the kitchen equipment company's blog, Monday could be a "how to use this tool" day, and you could post a new recipe every Wednesday.
Blogging is simple, but very powerful. You now have five strategies to get the results you want from your business blog.
Want more Web content tips? Visit Angela Booth's Creativity Factory Blog at http://angelabooth.com/wp/ If you're looking for content marketing and copywriting help, visit Angela's site at: http://angelabooth.com -- she's happy to write for you. In the 1990s, Angela wrote one of the first books on making the Internet work for your business. Let her help you to put the Web to work to get leads, develop customer relationships, and make sales.
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