A-Z of Copywriting: B — Is Blogging for Business too Old School?

The other day, someone said that blogging for business is passé. Far from it!

Yes, blogs have been around for some years. But it's been proven that they still work, so you should still use them. After all, you wouldn’t stop using the phone to contact your clients just because there are many other types of communication tools available, would you?

Blogs can be excellent lead magnets. And those leads – the visitors to your website – could well convert into paying customers if they get what they need from you.

Keep in mind, though, that there have been some changes in how you write blogs – I’ll get to that later. First, here’s a reminder on why you should have a blog page on your business website:

• Blogs are an important part of your content marketing strategy

• They can be excellent forms of evergreen content to regularly share in social media

• Businesses that prioritise regular blogging see 13 times the ROI of businesses that don’t

• Businesses that blog get around 55% more visitors to their websites and produce an average of 67% more leads a month than those who don’t

• You can read more statistics here

Blogs should be central to your marketing efforts. As well as using them in social media to promote your business, they can be used in your newsletters and adapted as articles for industry magazines.

As you keep writing more, you’re building a knowledge library for customers and visitors alike to learn from.

Your valuable knowledge hub

Often, the ‘blog’ or ‘news’ tab is one of the first places people look to find out more information about you. That’s where they should learn more about you as individuals as well as your business and products, building trust. That’s where you warmly invite them into your world. Where you help, provide advice and regularly remind them of how you can solve their problems.

Your blogs are the perfect place to go into more detail about aspects of your products or service. Even with separate product pages on your website, blogs are a great place to share extra information on getting the best out of them.

Use blogs as news items for sharing other information about your company, such as new recruits, special offers, community activities and so on.

If your business has a particularly technical or diverse offering, the term ‘blog’ may not adequately capture what you need to convey. So, think of a different name that your target audience would respond to. Such as ‘Knowledge Hub’, ‘Technical Help’, 'More Info' or even ‘FAQs’.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Now we come to the ‘how’ of writing your blogs. The fundamentals of blog writing are still important:

• Blog regularly as part of your ongoing marketing activities

• Write eye-catching headlines that include your primary keywords for search engines to find you

• Make sure your introductory paragraph is both engaging and includes some keywords

• Continue to keep your reader engaged – keep the interest up throughout

• Keep your sentences and paragraphs short to help maintain your readers’ attention

• Use examples and data to back up what you’re saying, linking to any research

• Use formatting – bullet points, italics and bold – and subheads to break up the page; long sections of text can put people off reading

• Use quotes from industry experts and include sources for your information where needed

• Use humour only if it’s relevant or if you know your audience will appreciate it

What’s new, then?

• We used to say keep your blogs short, between 250 and 700 words. But now it’s recognised that longer can be better for some business sectors. They tend to be more trusted and can help you become an industry thought leader

• Include videos when appropriate – these are ideal for any instructional type blogs (using videos isn’t that new, admittedly, but their use has increased)

• Infographics, charts and diagrams can help to clarify a point better – or quicker – than a long paragraph of words

• Think in terms of Marcus Sheridan, the internationally renowned marketer and speaker. His book ‘They Ask You Answer’ explains how to use your customers’ typical questions to create your blogs and develop your knowledge hub

For more advice on writing blogs that work, have a read of this.

Don’t have the time to do any of this? Want the rewards of regular blogs attracting new leads to your website without the hard work? Then get in touch. I’m happy to help. Either email jen@jennyhaken.co.uk or call me on 07799 648321.