5 Tips To Fix Your Business Blog Blunders

December 29, 2009 By BJ Cook,

Congratulations! You've made the first step and started a blog for your business. Maybe you've even started writing blog entries, which is great! But now you're stuck. Your blog entries aren't getting many views, no one is commenting and you're beginning to wonder whether all this time spent putting up blog entries is even worth it. Before you throw in the towel or put your interns on blog duty, check out these easy tips to get your blog some attention, which can ultimately result in getting you more business. Tip #1: Be consistent. Just like stay at home moms get addicted to Oprah at 4pm every weekday, there are people reading your blog entries who appreciate your advice, opinions and news updates and check daily for new content. The goal is to have people regularly visiting your blog and following up with comments and questions. However, if you only blog sporadically and neglect your blog frequently, it's pretty much the equivalent of Oprah being replaced by white noise at 4pm on a Tuesday. You can only imagine the uproar. The longer the white static continues, the less frequently people will visit your blog. Put in simple terms, buckle down and get it done. Not all your blog entries have to be long. You can add short blogs and even borrow interesting videos from YouTube that you can attach to your post. If you're running really short on time - try adding a poll or just ask a question and have your audience comment on the blog post with their answers. If you can commit to blogging a few times a week, your audience will appreciate it and probably even recommend your blog to others. Tip #2: Be yourself. Try not to get stuck too long on one blog entry. You should be writing about what you're passionate about. Don't try to package a promotion into a blog entry. People can sniff those tactics out almost immediately. If you really want to showcase something about your business - go for it, but try to do it in a way that's exciting, newsworthy or informative. Try to blog as though you are speaking to a friend or a group of people at a cocktail party. You may want to include a short anecdote to keep them interested. Put yourself in your reader's shoes - what would make you want to read a blog? Tip #3: Put together a list. Not only do people like to click on lists such as "top 10 tips" or "do's and don'ts" for any particular topic, lists are also easier to write. If you're the type of person who gets lost on tangents while writing, lists will help you organize your thoughts. If you can think of 20 tips for one topic, try breaking up your article into several different blog entries. This way you have content for more than just one day and you won't end up with a long-winded post that no will finish reading. Tip #4: Leverage Social Media. If you're producing content, don't be afraid to put it EVERYWHERE. Post a status update with Facebook and attach a link to your latest blog update. Set up a Twitter account and post a link to your blog updates as well. Participate in other blogs by leaving comments, answering questions and if it's relevant, post a link to your blog. If you're brave enough, try video blogging, people will get to know you through video and you might make a more personal connection to your audience which will in turn give them more reason to trust in your product or services. Tip #5: Be Like-able! People enjoy doing business with people they like. Some people will drive an extra 15 minutes out of their way to drop their clothing with a trusted dry cleaner or drive 30 minutes just so they can gossip with their favorite hair stylist. Remember while writing your blog that the more you educate or help your readers, the more they'll trust you. If your blog is only concerned with showcasing new products, sales or events, people won't keep checking back. Don't be afraid to give some industry inside information. After all, no one is going to learn your entire business by you giving away a few tips. Think about it this way...if your tire blows out on the freeway and a mechanic stops to show you how to put your spare tire on, who's shop are you going to visit to buy your new tire or get your oil changed with? Capiche? ;) Hope this helps...and Happy Blogging from Digital Operative!