Your company needs to get noticed in order to be successful. Even if you have the best product or service in the world, you won’t get far if no one knows you’re there. One of the ways you can get found by potential customers is through the creation and updating of a blog. Once you’ve started your blog, you need readership that helps it grow and a way to keep customers coming back. Here are eight of the most brilliant ways to grow your company’s blog.
1). Write for your readers, not for Google.
The days of writing content that was optimized just for the search engines are over. Now, the goal has become more about writing for the reader. While it’s still important to use keywords and key phrases to make sure the search engines find your content, those words and phrases should appear naturally as you write about the subject. Doing that means you end up with content that your readers love, and that the search engines can find. It’s a great combination and can make your blog grow faster. Once you know what keywords and phrases you want to rank for in the search engines, make sure you provide interesting content that includes those words and phrases in a logical, realistic manner. That will keep your readers coming back, and secure your place in the search engines, at the same time.
2). Make it easy to read.
If your blog posts are too complicated, technical, or just plain boring, people aren’t going to come back. Avoid really long sentences, and giant paragraphs. No one wants to go to your blog and be confronted with a huge wall of text. If you break things up into easily digestible points, it makes the read much more enjoyable. People will also be more likely to stick around when they see that you’re trying to give them good content they can skim quickly. That way they can get the important information from your post fast, but they can also come back and read more thoroughly later. If you have a lot to say about a subject, you might even want to do a series, so you don’t end up trying to put too much information into one blog post.
3). Make it simple to share.
Having readers share your content is one of the greatest ways to get more people interested in what you have to offer. When you have share buttons for all the popular social media sites available for each post, readers can click to share without any trouble at all. If you make things difficult for your readers, they probably aren’t going to take the extra steps needed to share the content unless it’s just completely amazing. It can be hard to write amazing content all the time, but it’s certainly possible to write good or even great content, at least most of the time. By doing that and making it easy to share, you raise the chances that your readers will pass along what you have to say.
4). Publish content that makes people want to take action.
It’s great to tell your readers about your latest triumph, or what’s happening with your company, but you don’t want to just give them information. You want to show them what they should do next. It’s not necessary to ask them to buy something from you, or try to talk them into using your services. There are more subtle ways to handle the issue – and one of those is to give them a blog post that makes them see the value in what you offer. Then they’ll want to buy from you, and you never even had to ask them at all. It’s a great way to keep customers interested in what you have to say and get them focused on all the great things your company can provide them.
5). Use social media and syndication to expand your blog.
If you’re not on social media yet, and you don’t have your blog syndicated through a feed that anyone can subscribe to, you’ll want to make some changes. Having a blog that gets around easily can help with growth, because so many more people see what you have to say. When you post your blog to social media sites, sharing it and providing plenty of information about your latest company changes becomes easier than ever for people to find and share with others. Make sure you’re linking to every blog post from each of your social media accounts.
6). Create a bank of evergreen content.
Talking about the latest company happenings or the most recent news item from your industry can be very helpful to get readers interested, but it’s not the only thing you want your blog posts to focus on. You also need evergreen content, which is relevant now and will still be relevant years from now. Having evergreen content on your blog can keep the search engines interested, and help customers searching for information find your posts, even if those posts aren’t recent. That’s an excellent way to help your blog continue to grow and develop over time.
7). Be careful of stock photography.
Stock photos that are free for use are easy to find, but they aren’t always a good choice. Depending on your industry and the photos you’re choosing, some readers might find stock photos cheesy or a bit silly. Consider paying for a photo service where you can get less commonly seen photos, or take photos of your company, products, or other items that relate to your business or blog post. Even if you do that some of the time, it can go a long way toward keeping your readers happy with what they see when they go to your blog.
8). Maintain a schedule for your content
If you post something today, and then again tomorrow, and then not for a month, customers are going to lose interest. It may not be necessary (or even a good idea) for you to post every day, but you do want to post on a schedule. The more consistent you are, the better off you’ll be in keeping people coming back to see what you have to say next. When readers know what to expect, they feel more comfortable with your company, and that can mean that they’re more likely to buy from you in the future. Set up a schedule for your posts, and stick to it as much as possible.
By following these tips and taking the time to build and grow your blog the right way, you’ll have a much better chance of keeping people interested in what you have to say. Remember, you don’t have to sell to customers on your blog. If you get too “sales-y,” it can turn people off. Instead, focus on the value you can provide, and consistently give readers good content. That will translate into sales without the need for you to ask people to buy from you, and keep more people coming back to read what you have to say. When you build a good reputation online and with your customers, both your blog and your business will grow.