Blogging for Business

If you’re a business owner looking to expand your digital footprint, a blog can be an effective marketing tool. With the right strategy, it can drive traffic, engage customers and establish you as an authority.

Before you type a single word, you need to map out your strategy – the content you will post and frequency of posting.

Every piece of content should be tied to a goal. What do you want the reader to do when they finish reading? Share the content, sign up to your email list, read another post or contact you? There are countless call to actions you can use, each one will be tied to your wider business goals.

To create a blog that delivers results, it must be relevant to the reader, including things they want to read.

Consistent posting keeps your readers engaged and your blog active. A content calendar can help organise topics and maintain publishing frequency.

Find Content Ideas

Coming up with timely, relevant and engaging content ideas can be a challenge. It often makes things easier if you start by identifying 3-5 themes or pillars you will talk about often. As an example, for a virtual assistant, the content pillars could be productivity, remote working strategies, customer testimonials and tech tips and tools. Within each of these categories, you can expand them with sub-topics for potential ideas.

Competitors

Competitors can be a goldmine for discovering content ideas because they already publish ideas that resonate with your audience and share industry trends and best practices. The goal here is not to copy your competitors, or simply reword the title and the article. It’s about finding topics that worked well and the content formats. Do your competitors use how to guides, case studies or expert interviews? You can use this as a starting point to give you inspiration but create your content with a unique perspective or angle.

Social Media

Social media platforms offer you a wealth of opportunities to discover valuable blog content ideas and engage with your target audience. Monitor conversations, trends, and discussions relevant to your industry or niche across various social media channels. What are people talking about? What questions do they ask? What challenges do they talk about often? These are all potential content ideas. You can search hashtags on platforms such as Instagram to read content on the explore page to source ideas. Or you could visit Facebook Groups relevant to your industry and listen to the conversations taking place. Add any content ideas to your list.

Books

A hugely underused resource when finding content ideas. Browse popular book titles in your industry to explore the topics covered. Review chapters, the index and summaries for ideas, inspiration and concepts that fit into one of your content pillars. Any chapters of particular interest can be analysed further to extract valuable quotes, statistics, stories or case studies that can be a great foundation for blog content. You can also use book reviews to draw out content ideas.

Courses

Finally, visit platforms such as Udemy to review courses in your industry. Each lesson gives an insight into potential topic ideas. Online courses often provide structured, comprehensive coverage of specific topics or skills, making their curriculum outlines a vast and valuable source of potential content ideas.

Evergreen Content

To extend the lifespan of your blog content, evergreen is a strategic approach to content creation. Evergreen is simply content that doesn’t date. It will still be as relevant in a year as it is today. This type of content isn’t tied to events, trends or news cycles, making it sustainable. It’s hugely beneficial to add some evergreen content into your blog strategy:

Long Term Traffic Generation

Content continues to attract traffic to your blog long after it’s been published. Unlike time-sensitive content that may see a spike in traffic initially but then quickly lose relevance, evergreen content maintains a steady stream of visitors over time. This consistent traffic can help increase your blog’s overall visibility and organic search rankings.

Builds Authority and Thought Leadership

Showcase your expertise, knowledge, and authority within your industry. By consistently producing in-depth guides, tutorials, and educational resources, you establish yourself as a trusted source of information. Over time, this can help you position your brand as a thought leader in your niche, attracting a loyal following of readers and potential customers.

Increases Social Sharing and Backlinks

Evergreen content tends to be highly valuable and shareable, leading to increased social sharing and backlinking opportunities. When readers find your content helpful and informative, they’re more likely to share it with their networks, amplifying your reach and driving referral traffic to your blog. Additionally, other websites and bloggers may link to your evergreen content as a valuable resource, boosting your site’s authority and search engine rankings.

Cost Effective

While creating evergreen content requires an upfront investment of time and resources, it offers long-term returns on your investment. Unlike content that becomes outdated quickly and needs frequent updates or replacements, evergreen content remains relevant without requiring constant maintenance. This makes it a cost-effective content strategy in the long run, allowing you to maximize the value of your content assets over time.

Consistent Value

This type of content addresses timeless topics, questions, and challenges that your audience faces, providing ongoing value and utility. By focusing on evergreen topics that are relevant to your target audience’s needs and interests, you demonstrate your commitment to helping them solve problems and achieve their goals. This, in turn, fosters trust, loyalty, and engagement with your brand.

Content and the Marketing Funnel

Writing blog content tailored to target people at different stages of the marketing funnel is essential for effectively nurturing leads, guiding prospects through their purchasing journey, and ultimately converting them into loyal customers.

Awareness Content

At this stage, your goal is to capture the attention of your target audience and introduce them to your brand, products, or services. Focus on creating content that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience while addressing their initial informational needs and pain points.

Educational Content – Write informative blog posts that answer common questions, provide helpful tips, or offer valuable insights related to your industry or niche. These could include beginner’s guides, how-to tutorials, industry overviews, and glossaries.

Problem Solving Content – Address common pain points, challenges, or concerns that your target audience may be facing. Offer practical solutions, troubleshooting tips, or best practices to help alleviate their problems and demonstrate your expertise. Sometimes people might not know they have a problem until they consume your content.

Topical and Trending Content – Stay updated on the latest trends, news, and developments in your industry. Write blog posts that capitalize on timely topics and conversations to attract attention and engage with your audience.

Consideration Content

As prospects move into the consideration stage, they’re actively evaluating their options and researching potential solutions to their needs or problems. Your goal is to provide more in-depth information, comparisons, and insights to help prospects make informed decisions.

Product Comparisons and Reviews – Create blog posts that compare different products, services, or solutions within your industry. Highlight the unique features, benefits, and value propositions of your offerings compared to competitors.

Case Studies and Success Stories – Share real-life examples, case studies, and testimonials that demonstrate how your products or services have helped customers achieve their goals or overcome challenges. Provide tangible evidence of your brand’s effectiveness and reliability.

 Expert Interviews and Opinion Pieces – Interview industry experts, thought leaders, or satisfied customers to provide additional perspectives and insights. Publish opinion pieces, thought-provoking analyses, or thought leadership content that showcases your brand’s authority and credibility.

 FAQs and Buying Guides – Address frequently asked questions (FAQs) and provide comprehensive buying guides or decision-making resources to assist prospects in evaluating their options and making informed purchase decisions.

Decision Content

In the decision stage, prospects are ready to make a purchase decision and are looking for reassurance, validation, and incentives to take action. Your blog content should focus on converting leads into customers by emphasizing the unique value proposition of your offerings and providing clear calls-to-action.

Product and Service Demonstrations and Tutorials – Showcase your products or services through demos, tutorials, or walkthroughs that highlight their features, benefits, and functionality. Help prospects envision how your offerings can address their specific needs or challenges.

Customer Testimonials and Social Proof – Feature customer testimonials, reviews, or user-generated content that highlights the positive experiences and satisfaction of existing customers. Social proof can help build trust and credibility with prospects and encourage them to make a purchase.

For decision content, include clear and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout your blog content, encouraging prospects to take the next step, whether it’s signing up for a free trial, requesting a quote, or making a purchase. Use actionable language and persuasive messaging to prompt action.

Content Distribution

Once your blog post is live, your job isn’t over. You need to get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Leverage your social media channels, email newsletters, and industry forums to share your content and drive traffic back to your blog.

Collaborations, such as guest posting on other blogs or inviting industry influencers to write for your blog, can also expand your reach to new audiences and build credibility with search engines through backlinks.

Engagement is a two-way street. Encourage comments, share your content across different platforms, and participate in online conversations to build a community around your brand. Remember that your blog is not just a megaphone, but a tool for dialogue and relationship-building.

Similarly, retention strategies like email subscriptions, content upgrades, and premium content can keep readers coming back for more, turning one-time visitors into loyal customers and advocates for your brand.

Performance Measurement

To know if your blog is meeting its goals, you need to measure its performance. Track metrics like website traffic, time-on-page, bounce rate, and conversion rates to gauge reader engagement and identify what content types or subjects are resonating with your audience.

Use analytics to make data-driven decisions about future content and adjust your strategy to improve your blog’s effectiveness over time.

Building a successful business blog requires time, effort and a strategic approach. It’s not about the quantity of content you produce, but the quality and value it provides. Your blog is a living, evolving entity. Be willing to tweak and improve your strategy as you go, making decisions based on feedback and data and don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. With patience and persistence, you can turn your blog into an effective business asset, driving growth and opportunities for your business.