Are you new to blogging? Check out our introduction to blogging.
When you begin blogging, there are a number of things to keep in mind.
A Blog Does Not Magically Generate Traffic
To generate traffic, you need to sincerely commit to your blog, establish a relationship with your readers and engage them in conversations. You also need to use some strategies to build up the traffic over years. Like all organic SEO strategies, things don’t happen over night.
Good Blogs Require Long Term Commitment
It doesn’t just take time, it also takes commitment. That means posting regularly and to a schedule. Users are more likely to visit your blog if they know you release a post on a certain day each week. Of course, ultimately you want them to subscribe, so they don’t need to continually check your site for new content.
Teaser Feeds are a Wasted Opportunity
The purpose of most business blogs is to build and maintain brand awareness while motivating users to engage. None of that needs to happen on site. The blog post itself builds and maintains awareness, while requests for comments or calls to action motivate users to engage. Users do not need to see the rest of your site to respond to the blog post. Of course for that to be true, posts need to be engaging.
Develop Dialogues
The most successful blogs are more than a broadcast tool. They are a dialogue between the individuals within your organization and your users. It is important to listen, as well as speak.
Unfortunately, most corporate blogs fail to engage. Instead they focus on telling readers how great their products and services are. Rarely do they ask for feedback or ask questions. In fact it is not unusual for companies to disable comments for fear of criticism.
Make sure you have reasonable expectations and avoid pitfalls, and you will be successful in your blogging.
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Tags: blogging, marketing, small business, social media
