First of all, let me preface by saying HI BGB’ERS! 😀 Long time no blog!
I apologize for being so MIA and leaving ya’ll in the content lurch.
Unfortunately I have been in the middle of a custody battle over my step-son and it’s eaten up quite a bit of time and resources.
But I know God’s got our back and all will be well, so- moving on!
I just have two questions for you, dear BGB’er:
- What’s your fave subject?
- What’s your fave blog that tackles this subject?
I decided to ask these things right off the bat to let you know that blogging—especially if it’s done for business—is no easy thing to do. When we blog, we effectively let other people take a look inside our heads, stir in a few ideas of their own and talk back to us in a (hopefully) constructive way.
I don’t know about you, but I really think that blogging for business is a wonderful, challenging, fun, and oh yea!… back-breaking task!
It’s a million times better than a typical nine-to-five job (and a million squared times better than cleaning vacay homes!) but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less hard. Blogging offers new challenges everyday and as a bonus- teaches you to open up your mind to a lot of stuff that you otherwise would likely have zero inkling about.
Blogging 101
As much as I enjoy blogging, I have to admit that the blogosphere isn’t some beautifully streamlined community where you can find all the useful information you need with no effort. The fact is that there are about 9 million blogs fighting for the world’s attention, and more of these are being put up every day.
I bet that for every single subject you can think of, I can point you to at least ten blogs that tackles it on a regular basis. The Internet is a cheap and easy way to communicate, so people try to make the most of it by publishing content on their own and making their posts accessible to as many people as possible.
Here’s another fact for you. Of these 9 million, there are perhaps only a couple hundred thousand that really provide functional and reliable information about any given topic.
If you add the time factor to come up with only the latest and most updated blogs, the number of blogs you can choose from will probably shrink to only tens of thousands or less.
As we add more and more criteria (reputability of blog owner, user-friendliness, relevance), you will notice that the number of really useful, really good blogs on any subject will decrease considerably.
That’s because anyone can blog, but not everyone can come up with a blog that kicks ass.
How to Blog Successfully
When you think about it, blogging for business is even tougher than your average, diary-type personal blog. When you’re maintaining a blog for business you’re essentially trying to pick up more sales and promote your brand online. You’re not just writing to get your jollies off, you’re writing because your livelihood depends on it.
A good blog is composed of many different elements—the author’s writing style, choice of topics, the multimedia content that comes with the posts, layout and interface, and feedback mechanism. Take one element away and you’re left with a blog that can only hobble along like a gimp after the rest of the competition.
I believe that to have a good, solid blog, you have to create a sort of harmony that combines all of these elements together. You can’t ignore one element and replace it with more emphasis on another, because a blog isn’t just something that people read or scroll through—it’s an entire experience that “should” move them to act in a particular way.
It’s a little like inception: you want them to do something—buy a product, avail of your services, support a social cause—so you use your blog to ease them along into your way of thinking.
And I’m telling you, this is no easy thing to do, day in and day out!
You have to find your own voice amidst the cacophony of all the other bloggers out there, good and bad alike. You have to shine a spotlight on your blog and make your public listen to you. You have to give a beat down to the competition if you want to stop people from bouncing straight to another website when they land on your page, and create the influence you desire.
Solid blogging is powerful. Dare I say you can even knock the socks off your audience when you so choose. But knowing the secrets to making your blog a powerhouse in the blogosphere is vital. (And here’s a tip… the secrets really aren’t so secret!)
Of course, it takes time and experience to build a strong following of regular readers and a community of like-minded bloggers that you can call your crew, but hey… no better time to start than the present right? 😉
What Should YOU Do?
Here are a handful of the so-called secrets to successful blogging. Or better yet, let’s call them a handful of the building blocks to better blogging. Read and implement my friend and you just might surprise yourself with where your blog will go.
Who knows, maybe even just adopting one or two of these tactics with your biz blog could transform it into a rockin’ experience your readers will love.
You won’t know until you know, now will you?
- Find your niche. Most people look for a certain sense of “authority” when listening to someone’s advice on a specific topic, and they do the same thing when they are online. They want consistency and a person they can trust to tell them the latest and most accurate information and keep them current.
- Build a mailing list. Even if you already offer kick ass content online, you still need to lure in your readers (as well as potential customers) with tidbits about what’s new with you. An email newsletter is a good way for you to let them in on what you have to offer—and guide them back to your site, building a rapport with them over time.
- Throw in something for free. Customers love love love freebies, and this tactic can help you win them over fairly easily. This is how application developers make bank with iPad and iPhone apps- the lite versions can be downloaded free but if you want the real deal you have to cash out a small sum first. Pretty smart, eh?
- Stay relevant and updated. Your content is only as good as the latest headline or current issue of your industry’s popular magazine, so you have to constantly refresh what you offer in order to make readers and customers alike stick around for the long haul.
- Solicit feedback openly. The peculiar charm of online communication is that you can instantly send and receive comments from anyone viewing your site. Make sure that you keep communication lines open for any feedback, negative or positive and adopt changes accordingly.
And finally, remember that even though you’re blogging with a purpose (as in your blog is a platform for your business) your blog is a whole lotta zilch without your readers. So always put your people first and try to offer them the absolute best damn value on the planet.
I’m positive they’ll love you for it!
If you found this useful a’tall, please do me the honor of sharing it with your friends and showing some love in the comments below! Any help growing the BGB is always appreciated!
Warmest,
