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A Blog Content Writing Guide for Your Business

Planning, developing & promoting your blog for greater content marketing success

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In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to keep in constant communication with your customers through multiple channels. Putting together a high-quality content marketing strategy is a great way to start engaging customers with your brand, and perhaps the best and simplest way to get started is with blogging.

A blog is a terrific marketing resource for several reasons. First, it gives you an opportunity to speak to your current and potential customers about important issues related to your industry, while giving them the ability to respond and engage in dialogue with you in the comments section. This type of back-and-forth between businesses and consumers helps to inspire brand loyalty and adds a personal touch to the way you interact with your customers.

A blog that’s consistently updated with good, informative content is likely to be one of the most-visited sections of your website. It also can do wonders for your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.

This white paper addresses how you can develop compelling, informative blog content on a consistent basis — and then promote that content online. We’ll start by establishing a sound process for your blog writing.

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GETTING STARTED: DEVELOPING YOUR PROCESS

Creating quality, informative blog content on a consistent basis isn’t easy. It takes persistence, creativity and a commitment that lasts longer than a few months. Your blog is always a work in progress.

The following are some steps you can take as you work on your blog writing process:

Prewriting and topic generation

Everyone, including the most seasoned writers, get writer’s block from time to time. You can probably relate, no matter what level of writing you do. That’s why it’s so important to focus first on forming some ideas before you sit down to develop a draft.

If you’re completely stuck, try carrying an idea notebook or download a note-taking app on your phone to make sure you have a place to jot down any ideas that come up as you go about your day. Once you have an idea or topic in mind, expand on it before getting started.

One of the best ways to do this is through free writing, which allows you to write anything that comes to mind without worrying about formatting or style. In other words, just sit down, write and don’t stop to edit—you’ll have time for that later.

Getting started with a rough draft

As you write the first draft of your blog post, don’t focus too much on proper grammar, spelling, word count and the general nuts and bolts of your content. Instead, concern yourself only with getting your ideas into a workable draft that you will condense or expand on later.

At this stage, it is important to set aside some quality alone time to concentrate on writing. Find your happy writing place, such as a coffee shop, a quiet restaurant, the library or your home. Turn off your cell phone and steer clear of email and browsing the web. This is your time to focus on writing.

At the end of this stage, it might be a good idea to let someone else read through your piece to give an opinion on the readability and interest of your writing. Make sure it is someone you trust both personally and professionally.

Edit and fine-tune

After you have a rough draft, it’s time to revise and edit for general flow. This might take some time, as many writers go through several rounds of revisions before reaching a final version.

Next, you should check for grammatical errors, hard-to-read paragraphs, spelling mistakes and other issues that might impact readability. Many writers have found that they are most successful when they print out a document rather than reading off a screen. Again, it might be necessary to have someone else review your blog post to catch any errors you could have missed.

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BRAINSTORMING BLOG TOPIC IDEAS WHEN YOU’RE STUCK

One of the most challenging aspects of business blogging is coming up wit fresh topic ideas. The following are nine creative steps you can take to brainstorm new subjects to cover in your blog content:

1. Ask your readers: Poll your readers on the topics about which they would like to learn more. Think about some of the common questions your customers have asked you recently. This will give you a good idea of the subjects your target audience finds interesting or useful.

2. Brainstorm with coworkers, friends and other bloggers: Set aside an hour or so to sit down with your colleagues or other industry professionals to brainstorm new topics. This is often much more effective than going at it alone, as you get the benefit of multiple perspectives.

3. Interview an expert in the industry: Find someone you respect or admire and ask that person 10 questions about the industry in which you compete. It’s a great way to come up with interesting content, and you may even reap some additional rewards in the form of networking.

4. Work with a professional copywriter: Writing all of your blog content yourself is time-consuming, and few entrepreneurs or business owners can keep up. That’s why so many blogs fall by the wayside. Working with a professional writer helps your brand remain consistent.

5. Review a product, service or book: Find a new product related to your field, try it out and write an honest review on it. If you’ve recently read a book connected to your industry, share what you’ve learned with others. Making sound recommendations is a great way to get people to read and engage with your blog content.

6. Bring back popular posts or articles: If you’ve been blogging for some time, you may have found that certain posts were particularly popular with readers. Consider reusing this content by providing updates or building on what you previously wrote.

7. Consider the trends: Pay attention to trends in your industry by following other blogs, reading trade publications and engaging with others on social media. Work any recent trends into your blog posts (when applicable) to grab readers’ attention.

8. Make it fun: Some blog topics are inherently more interesting than others, but even if you’re writing on a fairly lackluster concept, try to find ways to bring humor or fun into the content. Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and think about whether your content is truly engaging.

9. Share something personal: Sometimes it’s intimidating to put yourself and your thoughts out there for all to read. However, by sharing some personal details or anecdotes on your blog, you show readers that there’s a human being behind the content. This can help you connect with your target audience much more effectively.

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PROMOTING YOUR BLOG CONTENT IN A BALANCED WAY

Once you’ve established your blog and written some content, it’s time to make sure readers have access to it. However, it’s important find the right balance between contributing to an online community — such as a social media network — and being overtly self-promotional in your efforts to bring more attention to your blog content.

The following are some tips to help you find that balance when promoting your online content:

• Don’t make clicks your end goal: If you’re joining other online communities, don’t make clicks to your website the main reason you’re there. Instead, focus on developing personal connections with other users. The better you get to know people within the community, the more open they will be to checking out your content.

• Balance what you share on social media: There are a few popular ratios you should follow for the content you post on social media. You could follow the “rule of thirds,” in that a third of your updates should be about you and your content, another third sharing content from others and a final third focused on personal interactions with others. You could also follow the 5-3-2 rule, in which five posts are content from others, three are your content and two are personal updates or interactions.

• Comment on other people’s work: Read other related blogs and leave quality comments. The word “quality” is important here — you should actually put some thought into what you comment, because a) it reflects better on you and your brand, b) it makes people more likely to want to come to your blog content to see what you have to say and c) it removes any doubt that you are only reading and commenting for the purpose of self-promotion.

Ultimately, even when you follow these tips, people will know that you are trying to promote your own content. But by making a valid effort at being a part of a community and contributing something meaningful, you will get more attention in a more organic way. And you’ll likely find that others are more than happy to return the favor by sharing the great content you’re offering!

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BLOGGING: ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Our writers and editors work with a wide variety of businesses across nearly all sizes and industries to develop articles for their company blogs. Many of our clients have never had a blog before they began working with us, so naturally they have some questions when they are first getting started.

The following are a few of the most frequently asked questions we receive when it comes to creating effective and informative blog content:

Q: Which topics should you cover?

Generally, you want to keep your blog content topics limited to those that relate to your industry, your brand and your niche. Anything you think your customers would find interesting or useful could make good fodder for your content. Some types of businesses have narrower verticals than others, but this is a good place to start.

Q: How often should you post?

This depends on your overall content marketing goals. We typically recommend publishing a new blog post at least once a week. Google’s search algorithms reward websites that regularly post new, informative content, so you don’t get a whole lot of SEO benefit if you’re posting less than once weekly. Posting more often also helps keep your customers coming back to your website to view more content.

Q: What makes a blog post a success?

If you have people read it and enjoy it, you can consider your blog content a success from one standpoint. There are certain elements of posts that position them for better success, including an interesting and relevant title, easily digestible information, related images for more visual appeal and, most of all, high-quality writing.

Q: Does your business really need a blog?

If you are serious about content marketing and improving your search engine rankings, having a quality blog can only help you. It’s a relatively small investment that can pay big dividends if done consistently and over an extended period of time. Nearly all businesses and organizations can benefit from blogging, especially if they have a unique niche.

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FINDING THE RIGHT COPYWRITING PARTNER FOR YOUR BLOG

One of the greatest challenges businesses and marketers face when outsourcing their blog writing needs is ensuring they maintain quality and value in their content while reducing costs. Many copywriting firms, including copy mills and overseas-based companies, fail to provide consistently strong and well-written content — impeding the effectiveness of content marketing strategies.

But does it have to be that way? Some outsourced copywriting service providers, such as those based in the United States like ProPRcopy, are able to deliver high-quality, professionally written content at competitive price points. The solutions these upper-tier firms provide are worth exploring for a number of reasons:

1. Outsourced copywriting saves on costs

The main reason why you may be looking to outsource your content writing in the first place is to reduce expenses. Nowadays, the sheer volume of content businesses must create is overwhelming for in-house staff, and hiring writers to take on this work is cost-prohibitive.

Reputable copywriting firms offer a much more affordable and scalable solution, allowing you to essentially reap the benefits of an in-house staff without the unnecessary expenses and rigidity that come with it.

2. A good copywriting firm maintains consistent quality

By working with an organization that staffs professional and experienced U.S.-based copywriters and editors, businesses and marketers know who they’re working with and gain comfort in the level of quality they will receive on a regular basis. Firms like ProPRcopy allow you to work directly with an editor, giving you the ability to develop a strong working relationship around shared goals.

3. Experienced copywriters understand the target audience

When companies try to outsource their copywriting needs to an overseas provider, the most common complaint is that the content they get back is of poor quality and does not connect well with the intended target audience. This is very frustrating, and it can be difficult to work through the revision process — if the provider offers revisions as an option at all.

A good copywriting service provider is also able to deliver a wider range of services, including blog content, website copy, press release writing and distribution, social media content and email marketing.

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4. Industry knowledge matters

The best copywriting firms have people on their team who have written for a wide range of different industries, businesses and subject areas. It’s helpful to work with copywriters and editors who have created content for your industry in the past, and who you know are able to understand the needs of your business and its various customer profiles.

If you’ve been exploring the options for outsourcing your copywriting needs, consider the benefits of working with a U.S.-based firm rather than a copy mill or an overseas provider. Instead, partner with a firm that offers you the high level of quality you need, while delivering some much-needed relief to your budget.

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Learn more about developing strong blog content on a consistent basis.

Work with the skilled copywriters at ProPRcopy today.

Professional | Affordable | Fast (800) 746-3121

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