6 things to consider when writing for your blog.

You may understand that blogs are important on your website, but do you understand why they are? When used properly, blogs are an excellent resource for your customers and can help improve your search engine ranking. It’s important to have some guidelines to follow to make sure your blog is as effective as possible. Here are a few considerations when posting to your blog.

Don’t just talk about yourself

The strategic part of blog posting is that it allows you to demonstrate your expertise to a wider audience. Think of it as a candid job interview. If your goal is to get people to discover you and your content through search engines, talking about yourself isn’t going to get it done. Remember that your blog isn’t a sought-after news source like New York Times, it’s your opportunity to show your skills and build trust with your customers.

Title your post the way people search

This one is fairly straightforward but a lot of people don’t follow it. Articles with flashy titles show off that you’re clever but that doesn’t matter if no one finds them. People aren’t typing obscurely worded questions into Google so why title your posts that way? It’s way more convenient for your customer to find exactly the words they typed in as a search result. 

Give the most value you can

It is ok to give your customers valuable information that can help them without being paid for the transaction. There will be people whose only interaction with you is consuming your content. This is ok because most people in the service industry should recognize that they don’t need to be competing with people who are willing to do things themselves. By demonstrating your expertise, customers will want to engage with you understanding that what you’re writing about is just the tip of the iceberg.

Format it well

There are a lot of people who only read the headings of articles to get high-level info. I’m sure that’s happening to this article as well. By adding proper headings to the sections, it allows people to quickly decide if they want to read more. If you’re expecting everyone to hang on every word in an informational blog post you’re going to be sorely disappointed (I’m not).

Make sure it’s worth it

Everyone has been in a meeting at some point and thought “this could have been an email”. Conversely, if your article is a sentence or two, it probably could be shared via social media or another form of communication. Your focus should be on creating content that is engaging and easy to consume.

Write for longevity

People aren’t sitting around waiting for you to post an article so that they can consume it right away. The articles you post are going to live on the internet forever. Your blog should be a resource for people for as long as possible. You should expect people to find your articles in a month, two months, or even years later. The information may become dated or inaccurate as time goes on, but when you’re writing it, assume that the information will remain relevant for a long time.

Your blog is a massive opportunity for your customers to get insight into who you are, what you know, and how you operate. Maintaining your focus on their needs is the key to ensuring more eyes on your articles and therefore more opportunity for engagement.