How to Grow Your Business – Part 6: Blogging to Promote your Business
Blogging for profit – what really works?
Anyone starting a new business – and wanting to reach a wider audience – needs to consider blogging on a regular basis.
Whatever your product or service if you write about it – and then post your blog online – you have at least a fighting chance of it being read by a wider audience.
And this will most certainly produce a better result than if you had not done it at all.
Also, in an online world full of distractions and where content is king, the better you blog the more readers (or followers), you will achieve.
This might sound obvious – but getting people’s attention is no easy feat.
We are continually bombarded with more and more information.
The average Internet user now has a shorter attention span than an ADHD mosquito on steroids, so you need to make your blog stand out to be noticed.
That means serving readers – not bombarding them with marketing material.
The most significant way to develop a loyal online following is by creating useful content that readers will consume and share.
Wikipedia defines a blog as:
“A truncation of the expression weblog and a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries (“posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first).”
One way to get a reader’s attention in your blog is to set a regular goal for it – whether it be providing product information, discussing trending topics or simply providing stimulating copy – and then stick to it.
People will gravitate to your blog if it holds a regular interest for them and their personal circumstances.
If you leverage social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+ you can capitalise on and spread this interest.
For example, anyone reading this blog now who found it hit a chord with them can comment at the end of this article.
If you wish you can pass on your own views about blogging and/or what I have to say.
By building and cultivating an audience, the blogger can spread his or her message much further.
Speaking your audience’s language and offering them the opportunity to engage with you and others is the key.
Do this well and people return for more.
And as a corporate writer and editor relatively new to blogging – I certainly appreciate all the feedback I can get!
Mike Peeters is CEO of Mike Peeters Media – Corporate Writing and Editing Services