Writing a business blog goes a long way to get you ahead of your competition. Did you know over 400 million people view blog posts each month according to WordPress? And over 80 million blog posts and pages are published every month?

Let’s look at Ghana for instance. Research conducted in 2018 revealed that 10,110,000 Ghanaians use the Internet. This figure represents 35% of the total 29,150,000 population.

For your business to thrive in today’s online world, a strong online presence is a must. Yes, paid advertising will produce immediate results. But a content marketing strategy is a must if you want long-term success! It all starts with your website’s blog. Blogging serves as the base for all other digital outlets. It provides content for social media, newsletters, and a source for other websites to link to.

If your business doesn’t have a blog, you’re missing out on reaching a large audience and the opportunity to turn readers into paying customers.

Before we dive into what business blogging is all about, blogging involves creating content about a particular subject by writing and sharing.

Business blogging is a blog where you post information about a company for the public to read. This makes it easy for people who visit your site to find the information they need with ease.

One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness, while providing relevant content to your target audience is through consistent blogging. Blogging is an inexpensive way for small businesses to drive traffic to their site and attract more prospective customers.

Importance of having a business blog

1. Thought Leader

A blog is one of the best ways to establish your business as an expert in your field. Why? Because it provides a platform to share important industry-related information and insights. The more valuable and educational industry-related content you provide for your readers, the more authority you build up in your niche.  As you build up authority in your niche, this breeds trust, keeping you top-of-mind when your prospects are ready to buy.

Research shows that the more information a site provides, the more traffic it gets. Think of blogging as fishing. The more hooks you have in the water, the more fish you catch. Imagine giving vital information about a particular subject a lot of people can barely find.

The moment they chance upon your site, you will have so many people visiting your site because you have something no one else has. And there’s even better news: The more traffic you generate, the more leads you get which means more sales.

3. Lead Generation

As I mentioned above, the more traffic you generate, the more leads you get. Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has shown interest in your company’s product or service. With the help of business blogging, you can get clients because your content gives them exactly what they need. In plain words, your content should make your audience want to do business with you.

4. Credibility and Trust

Trust in your product by your clients is one of the biggest blessings you could ever get. You earn this trust by being a transparent seller. Business blogging will gain the trust of your clients. Aside from trust, business blogging makes your site credible. In marketing, it’s called brand positioning where your product is on the minds of your clients. Thus, you come first to their minds before they think of anything else.

Following are these 9 tips to help you get started.

1. Quality Over Quantity

We read in so many articles how writing a long blog post will get you the traffic you desire. Don’t get me wrong, word count is important when blogging but I’ll choose quality over quantity any time. Don’t get carried away by the number of words that you end up misleading your readers. Go straight to the point in your blog. Don’t go in circles because you want to increase your word count.

2. Write for your audience

Ever come across a blog that speaks directly to you? It’s like the writer had you exactly in mind when writing. It addresses your pain points, speaks to your needs, and offers a way out.

Always write for your audience. Before you start blogging, you should understand that you are talking to people through text. This means creating a buyer persona to have an idea about your target audience. They may never meet you but write the way you talk. There’s something in Journalism called K.I.S.S which means ‘Keep It Short and Simple’. It’s not necessary to use huge words that would need your audience to have dictionaries with them anytime they are reading your posts.

When you blog, it should be conversational. Your audience should feel like they are having a face-to-face chat with them.

Think about your business, its clients, and its customers. Focus on writing topics that will be of interest to them. Share insights into your business, introduce new products, promote your company culture, or even use your blog as a platform to answer frequently asked questions. All these allow your readers to get to know all about your business on a more personal level.

3. Good Headline

Remember the popular saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, that’s what the headline of your blog post can determine. A reader can see your headline and keep scrolling because it doesn’t look like it will give them the information they need.

When deciding the kind of headline to use, think of your reader. Is he a beginner or an expert? Asking yourself questions like these will help you know what to use. For example, for beginners, headlines that start with “how to” will grab the attention of beginners.

4. Optimize for search

5. Include images and links

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Growing up, it wasn’t fun reading books that didn’t have pictures.

It’s important to give your audience a visual depiction of what they’re reading by giving them pictures, infographics, or stats to make their reading easy and fun.

With regards to links, it’s important to refer them to a site or a previous post you have written so they can read further. It’s like providing references in a textbook for students to understand the subject better.

Do you know what content is going out next? Having a content calendar keeps you on track with what to post next and when to publish it. It’s nothing complicated. A content calendar can be anything from a Microsoft Word doc, Excel sheet, or Google doc. It includes what blog is going out, publishing date, author, target audience, buyer’s journey, keyword, and marketing offers.

Always plan when you will post what. Let’s assume that you are in the fashion industry. You could choose to post about clothing this month the shoes the next then bags. Also, consistency is key. You may not get a plethora of readers in the beginning but keep going because it pays.

7. Engage and interact with your followers

8. Promote and Share

It’s not enough to write a beautiful article. You have to share it with your audience. Don’t expect your readers to catch every single post you write when you don’t share them. Share links to your blog on social media, on your website, and in your newsletters to encourage people to click through.

Share your content for your audience to be aware that you are interested in making everyone see your content. If you don’t share your content, you cannot generate traffic which means no leads and then no sales.

9. Analyze the data