After you decide you need a business blog, you need to figure out what kind of content to publish on it and how frequently you will be publishing. To help you with this, I’m going to share the No. 1 rule of blog publishing and provide tips to help you start creating content.
Heed the No. 1 Rule for A Business Blog
The first step to starting a blog is to write down this rule. Don’t just read it and file it away in your brain. Write. It. Down. Then, post it in a visible place near your desk to remind you about what content is appropriate for your blog.
You should never, ever, forget the following:
The No. 1 rule of corporate blogging is that the content on your company blog needs to be educational, relevant, and useful to your customers and your potential customers.
Educational means that it explains to people why your company operates in a certain way (people love a look behind the scenes), dispels any incorrect assumptions people make regarding your product/service/industry, or anything that will help your customers and prospects make better decisions.
Relevant covers anything under the current event umbrella – is there new regulation that will affect how you deliver your products or services to clients? What are some of the issues that your clients bring up when you meet with them?
Useful content is practical advice such as a how-to article, best practices, tips for smarter shopping, etc.
Key point: The better you know your customers needs, desires, fears, and wants, the more tailored your business blog can become.
Create An Editorial Calendar for Your Business Blog
Now that you know the only content that is acceptable, it’s time to create an editorial calendar.
Brainstorm relevant topics. These questions can help you get a list of broad topics you can cover.
- What’s germane to your product, service, or industry?
- What would your readers find interesting?
- What do your customers want to know?
- What do your clients think they know but don’t truly understand?
- What’s the latest trend in your industry?
- What information would help your customers make better buying decisions?
Brainstorm article angles. After you have a list of topics, you can figure out how to attach each subject. Keep in mind that each subject can be addressed with multiple types of articles, which will help you explain a topic in different ways.
For instance, would the topic best be explored through a how-to article or through a video? Maybe the answer is both – words resonate better with part of your audience while visuals are preferred by another portion.
Here’s a short list of common article angles:
- How-To – simply explain how to do something related to your business.
- Analysis/Commentary on another’s work. This can be a book review, an alternative perspective on a new article, sharing results of a recent survey or report.
- Customer Study – share a customer’s experience. To keep it relevant and useful to your audience, make sure you document what the customer learned from the experience and how they made their decision.
- Resource Article – These articles are usually full of valuable links. An example: Top 10 Places For Innovative Arts & Crafts Ideas.
- Q&A – interview a third-party expert, a colleague or client.
For a more comprehensive list of article ideas, take a look at Problogger’s article, 52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work.
Create a schedule. Consider how frequently you can realistically publish articles, what types of articles you are publishing, and the topic of articles.
Note: It is important that you be realistic regarding how much time you have to publish your blog. Budget as much time as reasonable. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment by planning to blog daily, only to find that once a week is all you can do. If once a week is all the time you have, then make the most of those weekly postings. Don’t try to overdo it.
Make sure that you have a good mix of topics and types of articles so you’re not overloading your blog with three how-to articles in a row.
Map out your calendar a few months at least 2-3 months at a time and take into account traditional holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Mothers Day, etc.) and more eclectic holidays (National Donut Day, First Day of Summer, etc.) that you could relate to your field.
Also, there are often designated awareness months for certain industries. For example, April is National Safe Digging Month, which encourages people to find out what’s below before they start digging in the ground for any project. Businesses in several industries could discuss this: electrical, home improvement, gardening, landscaping, telecommunications, and even medical.
© 2013 Generational Equity, LLC All Rights Reserved
What can you do today so that your business will be appealing to buyers when you want to sell it? Learn when you download a free copy of Building and Exiting a Desirable Business today.
