Blogging is an essential part of inbound marketing and is a staple of any content marketing strategy. While blogs started as more personal accounts, they have come to take an increasingly large role in the professional realm as well. Blogs serve to inform and, when done correctly, give you an opportunity to stand out within your field as an informer and an opinion leader.
Blogging: Where to begin
The first step to writing a blog is to select a topic. Develop a list of topics that you could write about that you think would benefit your readers. Once you’ve selected your topic, come up with a working title and start writing around it. It doesn’t need to be the final title, but you can set the tone and pace for the blog’s text. Some people even prefer to write the title at the very end of writing, but find what works for your style.
Be sure to keep your blogs educational and write about your industry, not yourself. This will ultimately be more informative for your readers and will benefit your brand more than simple promotional material.
The finishing touches
Another aspect of your content marketing strategy is formatting. Once your blog’s content is completed, it’s necessary to properly format and optimize your work. For readers, you should make efforts to make your blog as easy to read as possible. Using smaller paragraphs, multiple headers, and images are far more effective than “walls of text” for readers. Effective use of free background space, or white space, goes a long way in improving readability as well.
Centering your title and blog around a long-tail keyword is also an important practice. By including your specific keyword in the title and working it into your blog frequently and naturally, both readers and search engines will identify your blog as a useful piece of information much more easily. Using external links to other relevant blogs that relate to your topic improves credibility and allows your reader to explore the topic even further.
Spread the word!
Once your blog is written and formatted, it’s time to promote. You should be promoting current offers through a call-to-action at the end of your blog or in the sidebar. This is important in generating leads and potentially converting them to buyers. You can also promote your other blogs by internally linking to them when relevant.
Social media is another useful promotional tool. You can use sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to increase your blog’s reach to an audience. Be sure to also include social media sharing buttons on your blog’s page so that readers can share them with their followers if they find your blog particularly helpful.
Finally, don’t forget to analyze your blog’s metrics to make sure your content marketing strategy is effective. Check the amounts of views your blog has received, as well as social media shares and clicks on your call-to-action. Filter your blogs by author, topic, and other categories to see what elements of your blogs are the most successful and what needs work.
If you'd like help develping a content marketing strategy to help grow your business and get more customers, contact us at Half a Bubble Out.
Since 2002, Half a Bubble Out has been dedicated to providing marketing, advertising and small business consulting that meet the needs of our clients. We specialize in powerfully telling stories through Inbound Marketing to grow your business filled with more passion and provision. Based in Chico California, we serve clients throughout Northern California and across the country to New York.
