So, you want to start a blog, do you? Cool! That’s awesome! A blog is an epic way to communicate to your audience, and it shows that you have stories to tell, and valuable information to share.
To help you navigate the process without the guess work, we’ve narrowed it down to three key areas. These consist of the following:
IDENTIFY your “WHY”
Your “why” refers to your purpose. What do you have to share? How will your users find it valuable? How will this ultimately return to you in good business, and eventually, revenue?
For example: You want to share free information with your visitors to help them. This is a fantastic reason to start a blog. The way in which you share this will also help promote your brand/business and establish you as an authority in your area of expertise. It all then comes full circle when opportunities arise and sales are made due to the blog itself. A business blog, after all, isn’t about sharing personal experiences and short stories for fun – it’s about adding to your business in a profitable and productive way.
Writing a blog takes time in the way of research, writing, and proof reading, so it must be worth it!
PLAN, CREATE, SCHEDULE
Content Scheduling. This doesn’t have to be complicated, but it is time consuming. Here’s why.
Content scheduling involves planning, for example, working alongside and complementing your marketing plan. You can easily set this up in Excel, and work through each week with a blog plan – no fancy software necessary.
We recommend planning for social media and blogs together, as there will be plenty of cross-overs. Once you have planned your content – you need to create it! Then, you schedule it.
Your content will organically evolve from your events calendar, marketing plan, and topical subjects in the news for example. If you need some inspo, check out what your favourite blogs are writing about to spark some of your own ideas!
As for scheduling, SGD use a platform called Hootsuite to schedule our blogs to be promoted via social media. Here, you can plan months in advance, and you can easily see what’s coming up and when. Another useful scheduling system is Sprout.
PICK your FORMAT
This is the initial stage of creating a style guide. This will allow you to keep your blogs consistent, and will streamline the process of having multiple contributors.
Your format consists of a few details such as headings, subheadings, in-bound links, out-bound links, imagery, and a call to action.
Headings & Subheadings: Provide structure to your content. This allows for indexing sections of your content, and encourages ease of reading.
In-bound Links: Take your readers to other areas of your website. Encourage reading previous blogs.
Out-bound Links: Enhance your SEO and collaboration between you and other sites.
Imagery: There are a few ways to enhance the appearance of your blog visually. For example: Use a graphically designed banner image to “head” your blog (like us!), or use relevant images and photography throughout to break up text.
Call to Action: Always refer back to WHY you wrote the blog and how you can help further. For example, end the blog with a “contact us” link for more help, or a link to the product you mentioned.
Want help setting up a blog for your business? We can help add it to your existing site. Contact us today to get started!
SGD HQ | Ground Floor 737 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, VIC 3122
