I’m not claiming to be an expert in blogging – I have my writers’ blocks as much as the next person. But when I get the words out, I want to make the most of them. After all, I’ve invested my time and effort into putting my thoughts and ideas out there. Obviously I want people to read them.
There are millions of blogs out there because people and businesses find value in writing them (and perhaps a need to stroke their own ego just a bit?). Writing a blog about your services or products could be very beneficial to creating exposure for your company. So how do you make your blog stand out among the rest?
These five simple tips can help gain readership and interest in your blog:
- Write about something meaningful. Give your potential clients something they can take away that makes them feel as if they’ve gained something from reading your material. Whatever your topic, make sure you have an engaging perspective that will maintain their interest.
- Keep it clean. I’m referring to not only the content but also the format of your blog. First and foremost, while you want your blog to be somewhat informal and conversational, never use offensive language or publish controversial content, especially when you’re blogging for your business. Secondly, keep the format of your blog crisp and simple with bullet points or short paragraphs. Your readers don’t want to feel like they’re reading a novel – so keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
- SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Optimize your blogs visibility on popular search engines. Sounds complicated, right? Well it isn’t! Learning the acronyms associated with this tip is more complicated than actually using it. All you have to do is use keywords, links, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) codes, and images to increase the viability of your blog. Make sure your images have alternative text (ALT) tags that include a keyword-rich description of each photo. For help choosing keyword phrases use Google’s Keyword Tool.
- Make it timely. You don’t read a month old newspaper to find out what’s going on, so why would you want to read a blog that has old news? Keep your content current and fresh with today’s trends and events so that your audience can relate to it.
- Publicize your blog. Post it on Facebook. Share it through RSS feed. Tweet about it. Find a “home” for your blog – whether that’s your company’s website or a public blog domain. Use social media outlets to get the word out there that you’re writing and give people a reason to visit by providing a compelling summary of your latest topic.
