Keeping up with your business blog isn’t easy. Even for someone like me who enjoys writing, coming up with new ideas and posting consistently is really challenging. So if you’ve conquered inertia, sat down and written a great blog post, give it the finishing touches- and the attention- that it deserves:
1. Add a great image.
Whether you’re flipping through articles on Flipboard, or scrolling through your Facebook feed, you’ll find that marketing is becoming more and more visual, and a great image can help grab a reader’s attention. Here are a few ways to whip up an image for your blog post:
- If you’ve got an artistic side, put your graphic design skills to the test and create your own image. Sometimes a smaller canvas brings out the most creativity. You might surprise yourself.
- Inspiration is all around you. Grab your smartphone, snap a pic and slap a filter on it for an insta-image.
- Take advantage of others’ talents and search for eye-candy on Google images, Flickr and more using CreativeCommons image search.
2. Create a post excerpt.
It’s tempting to move onto the next thing once your post is in the can, but one tiny extra step can make a big difference in your marketing. Write a short teaser in just a couple sentences. If you already have a great lede that entices your audience to read on, you may not even have to write anything. The content is already there.
3. Add a call to action.
Your blog post shouldn’t be a dead end. Help speed up the conversion process by making sure that prospects who have come to your post know what to do next. Link to a related article or page on your website, ask them to sign up for your email newsletter, or point to a free resource that you offer. Don’t let them fall off your site because there was nowhere to go next.
4. Share on social media.
Social and content go hand in hand. Content feeds your social media engine, and social distributes your content to a wider audience. Oh, and guess what – you already have a snappy excerpt and eye-catching image to help spread the word.
5. Alert your team members.
Amplify your social media efforts by alerting your team members that a new article is up. Pass along your excerpt as well to make it super easy for them to share with their unique groups and networks.
6. Create a value-added email.
It’s easy to turn your blog headline into a subject line and to craft your pre-written excerpt into a value-added email that you can share with your prospect list. Do this for every post, and soon you’ll have a great drip campaign that will keep marketing leads engaged.
There is no better feeling than wrapping up an interesting, funny, educational, or entertaining blog post. But don’t just click “publish” and forget it. With a few extra steps, your hard work will get way more mileage, reaching a bigger audience with your brand.