It’s no longer a choice to have a blog as a small business – it’s a necessity.
The majority of shoppers seek advice from the Internet before making purchases these days. According to WordPress, over 409 million people view blogs every single month.
At first glance, this seems like a huge potential audience base for your small business to reach.
However, this outlook changes upon realizing how competitive the world of blogging really is. With an estimated 505 million blogs on the Internet, how do you make your blog stand out?
Wondering how to write blog posts that will get noticed by the right audience? Looking to grow traffic on your already established blog? Follow these five tips to start getting more views and traffic to your blog – starting today!
How to Write a Blog Post, Step 1: Write the Right Stuff
Blog content that an audience will want to read in full and share with others is the best way to build and cultivate an audience.
In order to do that, you need to create content that will be useful and appealing to your audience.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re the owner of a plumbing company. Instead of only writing blog posts about your products and services, craft topics from the viewpoint of your customer base. What type of questions does your company frequently get asked? What is your most requested service?
Sharing tips about how to unclog a sink on your own may be more likely to be shared to others than a blog devoted solely to self-promotion.
How to Write a Blog Post, Step 2: Pay Attention to SEO
When you need an answer to a product question or advice about a service, who do you turn to?
More than likely, it’s Google.
Google is still one of the key ways of generating traffic to your blog. But in order for Google to rank your site in search engine results, you need to be crafting content with SEO in mind.
Keyword research, optimized meta descriptions, engaging headlines and more all contribute to an effective SEO strategy.
Have no idea what we’re talking about? We can help.
How to Write a Blog Post, Step 3: Get Your Blog Out There
So you’ve spent the time crafting engaging, informative, error-free blog copy. Now you need to get it in front of the right audience!
Social Triggers’ Derek Halpern insists that you should be following the 80/20 rule. Blog writing should only take 20% of the time; the remaining 80% should be devoted to promoting the blog.
Besides ensuring your blog’s SEO friendly, you should be promoting it on social media in every way possible. Include social media sharing buttons on the bottom of each blog post so that readers can easily share your content with their networks. Start a Facebook page for your business and tweet your new blog posts.
Engaging and interacting in online discussions with other bloggers is another great way to promote your blog. Oftentimes, the author of the blog you comment on will check out your own work – and may even become a subscribed reader.
Every once in a while, send a link to your email list that includes a link to your blog. Include it in your email signature as well!
How to Write a Blog Post, Step 4: Continue to Put in the Effort
When comments are generated on your blog, be sure to respond to them. Whether they’re positive or negative comments, they can help improve your site and provide content that your audience wants to read.
Be sure to blog regularly, too. You have a better chance of developing an audience quicker if you blog frequently using a regular posting schedule.
Building a successful blog that has a lot of followers takes time. But if you put in the work to develop great content and promote it effectively, your hard work should soon pay off.
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