The Secret To Blogging For Business

Maybe you ran a mile once. You didn’t come home any lighter than when you left. What did you deduce from the experience? It’s not the secret to losing weight like you’ve been told a countless amount of times.

Maybe running isn’t the problem. Maybe the problem is you. That’s right, look in the mirror. Run a mile 4x a week. Eliminate the fast food and baked goods out of your diet. I’ll bet you’d see results at that point.

Well, the same is true for blogging. Write one post, and you’re not likely to generate a single lead. Blog once a week for a month about issues that your readers and customers care about, and all of a sudden you have something that is generating business.

The secret to blogging for business is persistence. But it’s not just the throwing spaghetti noodles against the wall and hoping that something sticks, kind of persistence. It’s an educated persistence.

What do you know about your industry? Are you reading the best blogs, websites, magazines and books available within your industry? If not, you should be. Your customers are counting on your knowledge and skill set. This is how you tirelessly work to develop it.

As you read and talk with others in your industry, it’s important to always be considering blog ideas. But don’t just take what someone else has done, rewrite it in your own words and call it original. Your customers have seen this information before. Make it your own. Individualize it.

Write about how a non-related interest somehow relates back to your industry. Write about how the thing you did over the weekend taught you something about your business. It may not look like it relates to your business at first, but surprise us. We’re a curious bunch, and we’re looking for something new and different that stands out.

Like I mentioned before, you’ll need to write frequently about subject matters that your audience will care about. How do you know what those subjects are? Well, you could ask them. You could also do research on Google Keyword Planner to determine what people are searching for. You can look through your analytics information to see what other posts have done well, and write about similar topics. There are lots of ways to figure out what people are looking for.

Once you’ve written the post, you’ll need to persistently promote it. Have you posted it on all of your social media platforms? Are there groups talking about similar subjects where you can go back and offer a link, or a nugget of expertise? Make sure you contribute to the other conversations taking place online about your industry. It’s a great way to get your name out there.

Don’t forget to promote your blog via other channels, as well. When you network in person, you could always mention a relevant blog post when people ask you a question about the subject. You can provide a link to your blog in your email signature. Why not include blog content in your brochures, flyers and other offline marketing material? It’s a good way to showcase your expertise for those offline as well, and draw interest to your blog.

Whatever you do, just make sure to work hard and smart. The Internet’s a crowded place, but it is possible to stand out.