Blogging. Businesses that aren’t doing it have been in the minority since 2011. It’s become the homecoming game of business. Everybody is going. Everyone is cheering. Some people may be fumbling the proverbial ball, but at least they are trying. Now you feel you must join, and it feels like The Longest Yard.
You’ve read up on the benefits of blogging for your business— awareness, brand recognition, thought leadership, and SEO. Content creation is now rated in the top 5 marketing activities with the highest year over year demand of all activities, according to the popular Moz.com industry survey.
But as a business leader, you’re frankly out of practice on the content creation field. When you sit down to write, you feel exposed like you’re writing a diary for the world to read. How will you write something impressive and relevant?
You’re in luck. As a Gold American Business Award winner for our company blog, we know a bit about blogging, There’s a lot to say on the matter, but your time is money. So, we’ve narrowed them down to the top 5 tips for senior business management to successfully blog.
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Define Your Purpose
Why blog? It’s of utmost importance that you have an internalized reason. Do you ever lose a shoe because you did a poor job tying it? Probably not. That’s because somewhere in your childhood, you agreed with your parents on a purpose— that you should not have caveman/woman feet.
One of the hardest aspects of blogging is pushing out your first blog, and then continuing to write with consistency. To build the foundation, you need to identify why is blogging important to you? It should be selfish. Here are common reasons for blogging:
- As a business owner, you want to attract more customers, clients, or partners with blogging. You blog because you want to make your business more prosperous.
- As a professional, you want to attract potential employers through blogging. You blog because you want to land a big opportunity.
- As an expert in Rocky Horror Picture Show, you blog because you know so darn much about RHPS, you want to share it. You blog to gain popularity in your area of expertise— the time warp.
Be honest here. You may notice for those who blog often, it’s a lot like tying a shoe.
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Identify Your Reader Relationship
Most blogging guides you’ll find will advise you to identify your reader. This is like teaching your colleague how to use webmail by turning on their computer.
Yes, you absolutely need to identify your reader. But then, you need to think about your relationship with the reader. Why should they trust you? What are they going to get out of reading your blog? To identify your reader relationship, define for each blog:
- Who is my reader?
- What does the reader care about?
- What information can I share that will improve their day?
- How can I establish trust?
In a healthy relationship, both people get something out of it. In the best relationships, both parties feel like they are getting more out of it. Wouldn’t it be perfect if that were so in your blog?
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List Your Potential Topics
Now that you’ve defined the why and who, let’s define the what. They are related, but start with a broad brush strokes. List:
- 5 things I’m good at
- 5 things I find intellectually stimulating
- 5 things about my trade I learned from doing
With those 15 topics in hand, you can create hundreds of blog permutations. To start in on one, choose a topic and think on what might entertain or educate your reader. (Remember: you’re trying to give more than you get in your reader relationship.) Then, come up with a working title.
Some people skip the working title, but we find it can help you dive deeper and narrower on your topic.
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Organize a Brief Outline
Your blog does not need to read like a college thesis, but it shouldn’t carry your reader down a windy path. Start every blog with an outline.
An outline is adequate when it defines your purpose, key points, and a call to action (CTA) for your reader. A CTA is a marketing term that means what you want your reader to do next. Do you want them to watch a video, subscribe to your blog, or connect with you on LinkedIn? Think about how your blog opens the door for a flourishing relationship with your reader.
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Make it Skimmable
“This was too simple,” said no one, ever.
Above all stylistic tips, your blog should be as simple as it can be. Remove verbosity with these tips:
- Cut out useless words. For example, “In order to..” can always be “To…”
- Chop sentences with multiple verbs into smaller sentences. Even if you are an English pro, cut it out, Shakespeare.
- Slash sentences that don’t add new value. If you can delete it and the paragraph still makes sense, then you should delete it.
- Don’t list adjectives. If your product is “smart, budget-friendly, intuitive, and...” your reader has clicked away.
- Use uncluttered action verbs. Instead of “Jane typically can be found jumping through hoops,” try “Jane jumps through hoops.”
These are just a few tips on writing style. If you want to sharpen your skills here, we highly recommend reading The Elements of Style.
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Infuse it with Intelligence
Add research
While you are a subject matter expert in your blog, including outside research will increase your credibility. You aren’t tossing your opinions at your readers like a hot potato; you are serving them information like twice baked mashed potatoes with chives and sour cream.
Make your blog findable with SEO
Search. Engine. Optimization. If you don’t know the basics and don’t have an Internet marketer handy to help, The Beginners Guide to SEO by Moz.com is probably the most popular and comprehensive introduction out there. For a quick fix and immediate applicable advice, check out the first two sections of this blog by blogging expert Jeff Bullas.
Edit for empathy
Finally, read your blog over from the eyes of your reader. Be skeptical. Ensure your analogies, terms, and clever double entendres are accessible based on their experience— not yours. To learn more about editing for empathy and other writing tips, we recommend Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.
Once you think that you’re really holding up your end of your reader relationship, publish and share with fervor!