Ever wondered how to start a blog? Yes, it usually involves using WordPress, the best blogging platform. But that’s a given. The real question is how to create a blog people will read.
First, let’s consider the “why” behind blogging.
Did you know… B2B marketers who use blogs enjoy 67% more leads than those who don’t. Or that marketers who have properly optimized blogs are 13 times more likely to boast a positive ROI? Or that companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website?
If you have doubts about the benefits of blogging for business, the above statistics from HubSpot should banish them. There are many advantages to starting a blog. Here are three key blog benefits that can help your business surge ahead of the competition regarding visibility, positioning, and profits.
Low-Cost Marketing
One of the most obvious benefits of blogging is affordable marketing. Small businesses can do well with blogging, even with a very limited marketing budget. They can set up a blog for almost nothing and generate traffic with fresh, well-optimized content. It is a fact that organic search engine marketing is the most cost-effective way of marketing on the web, supported by a high return on investment (ROI).
Customer Relationship Building
Another benefit of blogging is that it can help your business interact directly with your customers. A quality post lets you connect with your customers and engage them in a discussion about your product or service. This engagement strengthens your customer relationships, which is valuable for your business.
Favorable Search Engine Position
Search engines love quality blog content! Properly optimized, keyword-packed content can boost your search engine ranking. This means your website gets more visibility, which is the point of search engine optimization, or SEO.
Try WordPress, the Best Blogging Platform
Most people have heard about WordPress but don’t know how to start a blog. If you have a WordPress website (Manaferra stats show it’s over 42% as of 2021), you already have the best blogging platform built into your site.
Just log in, click on Posts, and click Add New. Of course, there’s more to it than that, but even novices can get started with these simple steps. What’s more important is what you blog about in your posts (articles).
So, How to Create a Blog Post for Business?
When you blog for your business, remember that you are not only creating helpful content that customers will value.
You are also helping potential customers discover you through a web search when they have a problem, and you have the solution.
Here are a few tips that may come in handy.
Look to Your Customers for Ideas
If you need ideas for blog posts, think about your customers. What do they want to know about? What excites or troubles them about what you sell? What questions do they frequently seem to ask you? What stories about customers might be interesting and informative for other customers to hear? It’s not just about how to start a blog; and it’s making the content of your posts relevant.
Make Your Post Title Interesting
Your blog title should grab attention. For best results, it must be something your target market is actively searching for on Google. You should, therefore, keep it neither too general nor too specific.
Blog Post Length
When it comes to blog length, there is not one definitive answer. It depends on your industry, what you’re blogging about, and your SEO goals. If it’s primarily to position you as an expert and provide content value, 300-500 words should work. How to create a blog that the search engines favor is another matter. It depends on your competition for the particular keyword(s) you are optimizing for. All other things being equal, the greater the competition, the more content you will need—perhaps 700-1,200 words.
Blog Content
Here are some things you can include in your blog content to optimize SEO and make the post easy to read and more aesthetically pleasing so it engages a broader audience.
- Choose a relevant keyword(s) your audience searches on (research this if you can…).
- Focus on your target audience when writing.
- Create posts that associate with your business.
- Break up the post with bullet points, subheads, images, etc.
- Double-check the content for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.
You may also want to learn how to create a blog that’s easy to read from a design viewpoint. Read our post about making content easy to read.
