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Shayda Windle Creative Services Marketing | Media Relations

Integrated marketing solutions for small businesses.

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Four Blog Posts That Drive Traffic

Four Blog Posts That Drive Traffic.png

We know - you don't have time, don't know what to write about, and don't think there's any value in having a blog. The truth is, blogs are  one  of  the  most  cost-effective  ways  to  bring  brand  awareness  to your company and establish education and authority in your space. As a startup, there's no better way for  consumers  to  better  understand  how you've differentiated yourself from other companies than  by  creating  content  with useful information about how you can help them.

Business blogs are critical for startups because they serve as lead  generators, not only bringing new consumers to your site, but also subscribers who are likely to come back for more. Blogs are evergreen, meaning they can be repromoted  and  repurposed  multiple  times  through  various  platforms  and used in other  types of  content  such  as  e-books  or  case  studies. Today,  we'll  cover  some  of  the basics to consider  as you start your business blog, best practices to  follow  in order to  make  your  blog  a  success, and four types of blog posts that will drive traffic to your site.

Determine  The Right  Content  to  Post

Once you've decided to create a blog for your business, you'll need to identify what type of  content  you'll  be  sharing  on  your  blog  and  how  often  you  will  post. A  good  blog  has  a variety of content,  including  thought  leadership pieces,  contributions from guest writers or subject matter experts, tips and best  practices,  controversial  posts  that  spark  discussion,  and every  once  in  awhile,  something  fun.  Here’s a little more about each:

1) Thought  Leadership

Thought  leadership is content from experts in  your  industry  that  have opinions and experiences to share with those who may still  be  learning  about  the  product  or  service  you  have  to  offer.  By establishing yourself as a thought leader  or an expert in your field, you build trust  between  you and  your  customers  or  prospects,  in  turn  making  them  more  likely  to  purchase  from  you  rather  than  a  competitor.  As  you  begin  writing  thought  leadership  pieces,  ask  your  readers  to  comment  on  your  posts.  You  want  to  open  up  your  blog  for  discussion  and  create  a  community  with  shared  interests.

2) Guest  Posts

Contributions  from  other  experts  in  your  industry  help  round  out  your  blog.  Customers  come  to  your  blog  not only  to  hear  your  opinion  but  to  know  that  what  you  have  to  say  is  being  reinforced by  other by  other leaders  in  the  field.  If  you're  able  to  get  a  major  influencer  to  guest  post  on  your  blog,  it's  only  an  added  bonus,  as  it  will  bring  their  followers  to  your  site,  inbound  links, and  if you do it correctly, additional  subscribers. 

3) Controversial  Posts

Controversial  posts  are  good  for  your  blog  to  engage  your  audience.  There's always a fine line here though, as you don't want to attack with an arguement and will need to ensure you're backing up your beliefs with accurate proof. You also must stand firm against your argument and be concise so there aren’t misunderstandings. When done right, controversial posts can be incredibly thought provoking and engaging, leading to something that may potentially go viral.

4) Something  Fun

Try  to  mix  it  up  every  once  in  awhile  and  do  something  fun  with  your  blog.  Maybe  post  an  infographic  for  others  to  share,  or  give  something  away  on  a  holiday.  To ensure you’re still creating content that helps build your list, make sure your offering is behind a gated form. Make  the content fun  and  engaging  and  readers  are more likely to come back for more.

Create a  Calendar

Once  you've  decided  on  the  types  of  content  you  want  to  include  on  your  blog,  start  planning  out  an  editorial  calendar.  One  good  way  of  doing  so  is  coming  up  with  content themes. You can do this monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or any other term that suites you.  As an example, let's say your target market includes stay-at-home moms and  it's the middle of spring. You  could create  a series of blogs about places to go with your kids during spring break, and complimentary content like DIY activities to do while at home with them. Your calendar can be something as simple as an excel spreadsheet, or you can use tools that can integrate into larger campaigns you’re working on with something like the CoSchedule marketing suite.

Edit,  and  Edit  Again

Always  have  someone  review  your  blog  posts  before  publishing.  There's  nothing  that  will  make you less credible than a small  typo  or  grammar  mistake in your written content.  You  can  even  use  tools  like  Grammarly, an AI- powered writing assistant to help make sure all your i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Literally.

Promotion

As  we've  discussed  before,  promoting your content is key to driving traffic to your site. You should promote your blogs wherever you can on social media. LinkedIn,  Facebook,  and Twitter are all great platforms to promote content as long as you use the right hashtags and images to supplement them with. Join  groups  on  social  media  with  similiar interests and post your content there as well. Ask thought-provoking questions to drive engagement to the content you’ve written. These are just a few best practices you can follow once you start your blog; there are so many possibilities once you get started.

Next  week,  we'll  talk  more  about  other  types  of  content  you'll  need  to  create  for  your  small  business that will drive traffic to your site, engage your consumers, and help them solve the problems they are coming to you for.

tags: blogs, blogging, content, shayda windle, sw creative, sw creative services blog, thought leadership, guest posts, grammarly, coschedule
Sunday 03.31.19
Posted by Shayda Windle
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