About Blogging:

How to Write an Effective
Business Blog

There are many ways to market your business online, yet none of them give you as much power as blogging. No wonder every self-respecting business has a blog nowadays. However, many of them fall into the trap of being average and boring.

The aim of every blog is to captivate site visitors, make them read and interact with the content. Engaging others in discussion is not easy - it is difficult enough to capture one person's attention.

If you already have traffic on your Web site, it will be much easier for you to attract readers if you make a good effort to produce quality content. But what if you want to publish your own blog to drive the traffic?

Write Great Business Blog Articles

Your Web site says a lot about your business, products and services. Don't repeat yourself in the blog - if your blog readers want to know more about the business, they will browse the whole site. Your blog should engage the readers. Provide your visitors with information that they will find useful.

Below are some tips to how you can make your blog successful. The example below is for a wine-selling business:

think of a subject that is interesting for your visitors, but only remotely connected with your business
be unique and come up with something new and different ideas than your competition
open Google keywords and investigate keyphrases that are associated with the subject - pick two of the most popular phrases pertaining to your topic
come up with a compelling and catchy title that contains a great promise for your reader, a call to action and a keyphrase (don't make it too long), i.e., "Impress Your Partner with a Perfect Dinner"
write a bulleted list of main subjects associated with the subject that you want to cover in the article
turn your list of main subjects into headings, including keyphrases you selected, but make sure they sound great to your reader (not only Google robots) i.e., "Choose the Best Ingredients for Your Perfect Dinner"
start writing, expanding every main subject into 2 to 3 paragraphs; include the keyphrases every now and then to make the article SEO friendly, but don't overdo it, or the blog post will sound silly and get you penalised by Google
use bulleted lists whenever you can (as long as it makes sense) or structure the whole article as a list (i.e., Top 12 Ways to Prepare a Perfect Dinner)
it is acceptable to mention your product or service in the article, if it makes sense, but don't overdo this, and link it internally to the right page (i.e., a glass of red wine will make it even more romantic)
write short, easy to understand sentences - try to move the reader by making brave statements; timidity will kill your traffic
be funny and don't take yourself too seriously - write about your experiences and emotions, and make it clear that you have your own opinions
finish your blog post with a question to your readers, stimulating the conversation (i.e., Do you have some great tips for a perfect dinner? Share them in the comments section or forward them to us!)

Blogging Is About Giving Value

While you can write about anything, the best articles that generate the most traffic offer a lot of value to your visitors. You have to give them something. Articles based on giving tips, instructions and advice are the best traffic generators.

Try to solve your readers' problems - provide solutions that work, and they will come back to read more. Maybe they will even invite their friends. Try to forget about your business and intentions when writing an article, and focus on the subject at hand.

If you sell skis, don't write about the equipment you sell. Instead, describe great skiing locations, skiing techniques and the benefits of this sport. People don't care about your equipment, but they do care about how they will feel using it. Write about the experience, not the product.

Grab Attention with Interesting Blog Articles

Blogging allows you to be creative - it is you who decides what to write about and how. There are techniques used by famous bloggers repeatedly because they work well and ensure success. Here are the things you should pay attention to, when writing your articles:

be unique in every way - have your own writing style, schedule and way to interact with your readers
structure your content for skimming - people do not read online as they read on paper, and your visitors will focus on headlines and images first
use images to add depth to your content - it is proven that articles with images generate more traffic
create viral titles - it is very important to have a great title for your blog article; it is the first point of contact with your reader, so use it to create interest (remember the call to action)
write regularly - your readers will come back if they know when the new content will be available, but if you keep them waiting and waiting, they will just forget about you
make lists - there is something about lists that makes blog posts more popular; people love to read "Top 10 Things to...", "10 Techniques to Achieve..." and "5 Things to Avoid...," etc.

How Much Should You Write

The main aim is to write interesting articles. You will find a lot of blogs online that publish new content every day. However, blogging is about quality, not quantity. One very good, well-targeted article can bring you a lot of traffic over a period of time. In fact, it is much better to write long, comprehensive and compelling articles once a month, rather than posting on your blog every single day.

Image Credits to auberirdische

Don't fool yourself into thinking that one article every six months will do the job - it will bring you traffic, but the retention of your readers will be very low. The optimal amount is two medium-sized articles a week. The most successful blogs have followed this strategy for years. You do not have to write a lot, as 400 - 800 words will be sufficient.

The key here is to structure your article well, so it is easy to read. Split long passages of text into short paragraphs. Use bulleted lists often, and embed images to give your article another dimension.

Rules to Follow When Blogging for Business

Personal blogs have an advantage - you can write about whatever you like, and it only affects your traffic. When blogging for your business, however, there are certain rules to follow:

don't write about the competition - it will only cause you problems; if you do not write about your business directly, why would you write about the competition?
don't make promises you cannot keep, and don't give deadlines you cannot keep, either, because what you write reflects your company
don't be ignorant; think before you write, or you might offend and lose potential customers (accept that people believe in different things, have different backgrounds and opinions - cherish diversity)
make sure your writing is clear and grammatically correct, and accept feedback and constructive criticism from your family members and friends - they will tell you the truth if you ask for the truth
don't be afraid to employ the assistance of professional editors (i.e., TurboReview.com offers a great and affordable service) - it will be worth it in the end and will give you extra confidence

Remember to Promote Your Business Blog

Writing a blog in itself will generate some traffic for you, but to speed up the process and make your articles spread through the Internet more rapidly, you should also focus on promoting it.

Mention every new article on your social networks, like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or HubForce. You can do it manually, or you can use tools to submit your content to many social networks at once (i.e., OnlyWire). You can also notify your friends via e-mail and ask them to share your latest blog post with their friends.