Connor Brooke
One ordinary day, your boss finally decides that the company you work for would venture into a territory they’ve never explored before: business blogging.
Everyone is both excited and apprehensive about this new undertaking. One thing led to another, and then suddenly you found yourself bumped into a desk facing a computer monitor with only a cursor showing a sign of life. Then it dawned: you have been tasked to write blogs for your company strategically.
So what do you do first?
Just like any commitment that involves writing, business blogging requires skill and patience. But on top of that, it also puts onto your shoulders the responsibility of making sure your company’s reputation is maintained and, in due time, enhanced. One mistake and you pull down your company with you down the drain.
Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you start digging those typing fingers:
- Who am I? When you ask yourself this question, pertain to yourself as the company you’re representing. You need to have a pretty good idea of what your company is all about before you introduce it to the business blogging world. This need for self-awareness is not for the purpose of boring your readers to death by writing a 2000-word piece on how the company was founded. Rather, this understanding of one’s business is for you to better project yourself and your thoughts through your words, coupled with a great sense of ownership, integrity and truthfulness.
- Why am I here? People who are used to reading blogs would know right away if a blogger is a newbie – and that’s not a bad thing; you’ve got to start somewhere. What’s bad is if you let them think that you don’t know what you’re true purpose is. Before you even think of the topics you would post about, think first of your reason why you’re blogging in the first place? Is it for recognition? Naturally. Is it to share ideas? Of course. Is it to gain new perspective? Could be. Is it to meet new people? Possible. All of these things could be your reasons. What’s important is for you to have a guiding principle that you could stick to, so you won’t get lost somewhere down the road.
- Who am I writing for? You would think that the answer to this question is obvious, but some people nurture a fear of not being able to convey the message across the table. As it turns out, you don’t have to make your blog readable for every type of audience. Before you engage in a medium as dynamic as blogging, you should understand the possibility of some people not wanting to read what you write. Be open-minded and prepare yourself for possible negative comments. Don’t compromise your unique or brilliant idea just for the sake of playing it safe for all readers. There is a reader for every writer and you don’t have to please everyone.
This content originally appeared at Sales and Marketing Solutions Blog.
Read more: Lessons for Any First-Time Business Blogger
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.
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Very good article. I agree with all the points especially the last one. You have to consider who you are writing for. For example, if your audience consisted of people who were in the industry you are talking about then you could use special lingo those people may be familiar with.
Is your audience regular consumers or are they business people?
You could segment your readers and Google analytics and other analytic software can also help you understand who your users are.
Yes indeed, google analytics can help analyze how to get through with your audience. It will also help you which platform works well for your business. :)
I agree, some good pointers on things to think about before you start blogging for your business. However, starting out is not really the difficult bit.
Research from Passle shows that only 1 in 8 businesses are able to keep an updated blog (of more that 3 posts a year). People start optimistic, but as the enthusiasm for a blog wanes after a few months, the company blog dies a slow and sorry death…
Essentially this is why we made Passle – so everyone throughout the business contribute create insightful, relevant blog posts a regular basis. With minimal effort. Do you have any advice on how businesses can maintain their blog once they’ve started? Would love to hear your thoughts.
This might also help http://www.slideshare.net/belindasummers/15-ways-to-keep-your-company-blog-alive-and-exciting. :)
Hi Harriet. I’m really for the delayed response. Here I have a link on one of my blog post http://the-business-leads.blogspot.com/2013/09/medical-update-6-known-cures-for-bbd.html. This might help you out. It’s about keeping your blog alive.