Content is the driving force behind your marketing strategies.  You want something to send your potential customers in an email.  You want to connect and reach more people on social media. You want a way to communicate the value you provide as a business owner in a conversational way.   

Blogging is a great way to expand your reach, build a relationship with your audience, and start converting more website visitors.

Starting a blog is the easy part.  Creating a place where potential customers return for valuable content is where there hard work comes in.  Here are 20.5 tips for blogging we put together to keep in mind as you start building up your blog content:

  1. Know your audience. Create personas. Write to that one person. Your blog posts will resonate more when you know who you want to reach, their motivations, and how to speak to them.
  2. Set a goal for your blog and create your strategy.  
  3. Start with picking the right platform for your blog.  There are so many platforms out there for you to use depending on the personas you create.  Just make sure it’s mobile-responsive!
  4. Make a big list of topics you want to blog about.  Then start writing potential headlines for each topic.  These lists are great to have when you hit a block and are not sure what to write about next.
  5. Decide if you or someone on your team will write for the blog.  We encourage having more than one person on your team write for the blog to cover all aspects of your business.  If you are looking to increase your content strategy, think about hiring a freelancer to cover a couple posts a month.
  6. Your headline is just as important as the content within.  Make sure it is enticing enough for your reader to click through.
  7. Shoot for 500-750 words.   
    1. Throwing long-form content (1000+ words) into the mix is great for SEO.  Experiment by patching together multiple blog posts or writing on a topic that you have a lot to say about.
  8. Collect emails.  Adding a form with a clear call to action to subscribe on your blog will help you start building an engaged list.
  9. Write seasonal and timely content.  These are good on social media so you can expand your reach using trending hashtags.
  10. Write evergreen content.  You will build SEO points so your blog post will strengthen in rank as time goes on.  These blog posts have a longer lifespan and enhance your email marketing campaigns.
  11. Include guest authors.  Current customers, influencers, or partners help you get another perspective on your blog and builds your audience up.
  12. Tell a story and get personal.  You audience will feel connected to you with a funny, touching, or passionate story.   
  13. Bring in research and stats but make sure to always link to the source.
  14. Lists are still hot on social.  Create a list with images, gifs, etc… The more creative and relevant you can get with your lists, the more it will stick out.
  15. Include great photos as a featured image or in the post.  If you can, take your own photos.  If not, find free photos using the Creative Commons or The Stocks.
  16. Call out influencer and companies with similar audiences.  They will be more willing to share your blog post and start building a working relationship.
  17. Just start!  Once you start blogging more and more, you will begin to develop your voice and your style.  It will change as you learn how you want to write for your blog.  
  18. Be consistent. When you start your blog, write a few blog posts and determine how often you will be able to publish a post.  Then set your goal!
  19. Be your authentic self.  You can try to be someone else, you can try to be something else, but nothing will resonate more than just being yourself.
  20. Create a distribution strategy and process for all your new content.  It will vary by how often you post but it will ensure your content is getting in the right places!

Great, valuable blogging is not an overnight strategy.  When you ramp up your blogging and content strategy, it will take a few weeks and even months to start seeing progress.  Don’t get discouraged!  Some days you will feel like you are the first person at the party, but then your audience will slowly start to trickle in.

Have any questions about blogging or content strategy?  Send the Hatchbuck Marketing team your question on Twitter.  We are always happy to help!