Six ways to make blogging about your business feel like a breeze.

Business blogging? Oh yes. You have a tab on your website, and you’ve done a few posts, but keeping it up to date is such a… drag.

As a business owner it’s pretty likely that you’re up against it. There are orders to place, suppliers to negotiate with and client visits in your diary.  And then there’s the invoicing, and the tax return. And hell, you’d like to have the occasional evening of mindless TV watching (Netflix FOMO is too real after all). You compare business blogging to the ironing. It makes you look smarter, but (let’s face it) it isn’t entirely necessary.

OK, it’s true. The sun will rise, the sun will set. You will continue to get recommendations and your local advertising will continue to look like it’s working.

But don’t you want more?  Want to expand your client base or be recognised as the go-to source of expertise in your field? Yes? Read on…

Does blogging really affect my business?

Blogging absolutely affects your business. And here are three reasons why:

1. Blogs increase your website’s visibility on search engines. Meaning that potential customers running a search for your services will be more likely to find you, and find you quickly. Google & co. favour websites that are well-tended, relevant and have regularly updated content. Business blogging is a simple way to tick this box.
2. Blogs help you look like an expert. No one knows as much about your business as you. So tell your visitors about the top tips for fixing a dripping tap or easing neck pain. It won’t take away your business, but a well-planned business blog will reassure your potential customer base know that you know your stuff.
3. Blog posts increase your social media currency. A business blog is just the thing to post. On Facebook, Insta, Twitter, LinkedIn – even a link on TikTok. And good content gets shared. So you’ll get more eyeballs. Which means more exposure, and hopefully more clients.

Six brilliant business blogging tips

Blogging for your business doesn’t need to be a headache. Here are six ways to help you find your business blogging mojo:

1. Keep it regular. Monthly will do. Fortnightly would be better. Weekly would be wonderful. Regularity is the thing that counts. If someone visits your site and sees that your business blog hasn’t been updated since last year, then what? Yes, you’re busy. But perhaps too busy. That’s not the message you want to send your customers. Regularity shows you are present in your business and on top of things. It shows you are on top of current trends and in touch with your clients’ needs.
2. Be flexible. It doesn’t have to be 1,500 word essay every time. A photo-story will hit the spot, a review or report on a convention you attended could work. But you must make sure each post in your business blog is relevant to your potential clients and includes enough substance for search engines to index. Your page content is crucial, but also pay attention to the page title, headlines, alt tags (descriptions) on images and metadata.
3. Get some help. Consider guest blogging with a complementary business, work with a copywriter, have a blogging binge on a rainy Sunday afternoon: do what you need to do to keep your business blog up to date.
4. Stay interesting. If you want people to read your business blog, make it relevant to your target audience. A review of a new restaurant is good if you work in party planning, but would be hopeless if you were a plumber. Better for a plumber to create a blog post about water-saving tips, or create a review of the top five online bathroom retailers. Think about the sort of questions you get asked about your business. What’s useful to your target customer? What’s interesting to them? Think from your customer’s point of view and you’ll get some usable ideas.
5. Plan it. Make a programme of blog posts and stick to it. Build in time for writing, reviewing and image searching. If you’re posting weekly then don’t feel you need to recreate War and Peace each time; you’ll burn out (and so will your readers). But if you are planning a less frequent posting plan, then balance out that lack of frequency with meatier articles.
6. Share it. There’s no point publishing brilliant content if you’re going to keep it hidden on your website. Plan a sharing plan and make time to execute it. There are lots of slightly geeky but brilliant ways to make sharing your content easy. Make them work hard for you. You get a double benefit whammy: more readers, and better search engine indexing. The more your business blog gets shared through trusted sites, the happier the search engines will be to push up your page rank. What’s not to love?

But I’m still stuck with blogging for my business!

There are a couple of options available…

1. You can work with a copywriter – I regularly plan, research and write regular blogs for my clients. In fact, it’s one of my favourite things to do!
2. You can polish up your skills – attending a workshop to help you refine your copywriting and blogging skills is a great investment. You’ll come away buzzing with ideas

Your business blog can become a winning tool in your marketing arsenal for very little financial investment. Keep at it, stay authentic to what you and your business stand for, and you’ll soon be reaping the benefits of your business blog.

Interested in attending my next blogging masterclass? Here’s all the information you need. Will I see you there?

PS – Yes… AI can write a blog for you. Would I recommend this? No. Perhaps that’s a blog post for another day. However, bear in mind that everything AI creates is taken from existing content. It is also written by a robot. So if you’re happy with unoriginal content that lacks human emotion, fire away. But then again, I could be biased 😉.