Previously, I wrote about the statistical importance of business blogging. Today, I share part two: a “getting started” guide with entry-level or beginning blogging tips to help you with the initial processes, including starting to write your articles.
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I have a blog. Where do I go from here?
When you’ve set up a section on your website for your blog, you’ve missed a couple key steps:
- Do you know why you’re blogging?
- Have you set up the goals you hope to achieve?
- Is your thorough blogging plan written out and approved?
Kim Garst created a detailed article featuring a guide for building a business blog that I strongly suggest you check out. In this article, Kim assists you with planning, writing, engaging, and more. It goes further than what I’ve covered today and addresses all the essential topics you may need help with over time.
Anum Hussain published a SlideShare presentation and article on the HubSpot blog called: “How to Launch and Grow a Business Blog from Scratch.” She provides some great advice for blogging newbies who need help getting started and staying on track. I’ve listed a couple of my favorite points here, but there are many more to check out in her SlideShare deck.
- Create and store a bunch of posts in a pipeline to ease content creation stress.
- Establish a routine with your content by maintaining a publishing calendar.
I have to add one more point about Anum’s article that I truly love. I’ve mentioned throughout the web that you learn what’s best for you by trying things out for yourself. Anum shares a similar opinion…
“The only way to know what will work best is to test it.”
My next recommendation is Belle Beth Cooper‘s blogging tips for beginners on the Buffer blog. She gives readers 16 tips provided by experts in the field. My favorite piece of advice is from Rand Fishkin:
Give it time.
Starting a blog is tough. You work really hard to publish high-quality content, but you realize something truly discouraging…
No one is reading your blog or interacting with your content.
The important point to keep in mind when blogging is that there will not be an immediate ROI. You might even see a negative effect on your budget at first. However, even if that’s the case, you have to stay strong and keep pressing forward. If you stay true to your work and consistent in your content, you’ll receive more and more interest and interaction over time, leading to that ideal ROI you were planning for.
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How do the pros recommend I write a blog post?
Now that you know a few resources to help you with the early stages of blogging, I’d like to share a collection of great articles on actually writing your content.
Gretchen Bulan wrote about a writing process that includes 15 important steps to take on the Modgility blog. While she does give readers a long list of important steps, I’ve found these ones particularly helpful:
- Establish a blog theme to allow for an article series based on a specific event or interest. Many of the blogging articles on my own site are part of a themed series.
- Get your networks of friends, family and other connections to critique your work. When you write, you’re bound to be too blinded to see any flaws in your content. However, make sure you select people who aren’t biased about the content, too, such as coworkers or your boss.
- Make sure any links you include still work when it comes time to publish. When I see broken links in articles I read, I get pretty frustrated. The only reason why I clicked on the hyperlink was because I was interested in learning more.
You’re sitting down and ready to write. Where do you start?
Neil Patel tells readers to be ready with all your research and an outline in his article on HubSpot’s blog. He gives advice on how to complete an in-depth article in two hours and even includes some recommended tools and tricks to help you out.
I like that he mentions getting enough screen space. People who have all their content resources easily available are more likely to write an article faster because it saves the time wasted by scrolling back and forth from window to window, tab to tab, app to app.
When it comes to your introduction, do you write it first? Last? While Julie Neidlinger recommends you wait till the end in her CoSchedule blog article, I say it’s up to you and your preferences. If it works best for you to do it first, do it first. Same with the other way around.
Even though I disagree with Julie, I do consider her advice about introductions to be highly valuable. In her article on blog post introductions, she goes far into depth as to why it’s important to include a hook at the beginning and what types of hooks work best. I’m still working on my intros, and I want to start adding a better variety than I do now. Most of the time, I ask questions, but that’s getting old and is largely ineffective for me. I’m thinking of using some of Julie’s tips in the very near future, and I highly recommend you consider her ideas as well.
My last reference to include here is also from the CoSchedule blog.
- Do you want to know when is the best time and best day of the week to publish your articles?
- Are you looking for a universal answer?
Sorry. It’s not that easy.
In CoSchedule co-founder, Garrett Moon‘s article on blog post publishing times, he provides the results of multiple studies on this very topic. The problem is: each study has its own unique results, and there really is no universal answer.
I appreciate the studies that Garrett provides here, but I have to say: I agree most with his last recommendation to create your own study using Google Analytics. Only you know the specific, unique needs of your business. No generic study is going to have the exact results that will work best for you. I highly recommend you supplement the results of these studies with your own measurements.
There you have it. A beginner’s guide to starting your business blog. Stay tuned for the next addition to this blogging series, featuring advice from more experts on keeping your blog organized.
This article originally appeared in modified form on the Marketing Innovator blog.