If you run a business, are you blogging? If you are, great! You’re doing an amazing job! If you’re not, why? Blogging doesn’t have to be hard and I suspect the reason you’re not is for one of these four reasons:
- You don’t know why you need to
- You don’t know what to write about
- You don’t know how
- You don’t have time
I’m going to answer all these questions and give you some useful pointers along the way.
Why Does My Business Need A Blog?
If you have a website then you need a blog. To help your website get found by search engines, you need to add fresh content to it. The easiest way to do this is by adding a blog.
Blogging for your business offers a whole host of benefits such as:
- Keeping your site fresh. We are always told that we need to update our websites and add new content to them, blogging is by far the easiest way to do this. Who has the time or inclination to re-write their entire website every other month?
- Allowing you to add additional keywords to boost your SEO. The trick with SEO keywords is to add them to the text so the writing flows seamlessly. This can make adding the keywords to the main pages a little tricky at time, you need to strike the right balance between flow and keywords. By utilising a blog, you can add more keywords to your site without damaging the readability of the main pages.
- Allowing you to showcase your passion and expertise. There is no rule that your blog has to cover topics that directly relate to your business. You might be an architect with a penchant for watercolours. You can blog about this alongside topics that do relate to architecture.
- Providing an additional income stream in the form of affiliate links. If you are writing taking the time to write a blog, why not have a look to see if you can sign up as an affiliate and potentially make a little extra money. It won’t be a huge income stream but it could be enough to make a difference. Some affiliate schemes don’t pay you directly, they reward you by giving you credits or a discount on things you are buying anyway.
What Shall I Blog About?
The short answer is anything. A blog is far less formal than the rest of your website so you don’t have to stay 100% related to your business. You can use it as a way to build relationships with your audience by letting them get to know you more.
You can use it as a way to introduce new products or services; as a way to teach your audience about how to use something; as an opportunity to share your review of products or services you have sampled; or as a way to let your audience know what you are up to and your plans for the future.
To help get you started here’s two years worth of blog prompts to give you some ideas. These topic suggestions are great for any industry and can easily be adapted to suit your audience. (Downloading the list will add you to my mailing list, I won’t spam you and you can unsubscribe at any time).
How To Write A Blog.
Just start. I need to tell you a secret, nobody will read your blog if you choose not to share it. Just start writing, once you get going you will find the words will flow and then you only need to hit publish when you’re ready.
The best way to get going when you don’t know where to start is to pick a topic then plan out the key points you want to include. Once you’ve written a list of points to cover you can then go through them one by one and flesh them out. Use keywords for the subject you have chosen to help your blog be found by search engines, the ladies at Top Blog Coaching have put together this excellent (I know, I’ve done it) masterclass on how to find your SEO keywords * (search engine optimised).
Once you have worked out what you want to say, make sure to include both internal and external links (internal links are those that go to other pages on your website and external links are those that go to other websites). You should aim for a minimum word count of six hundred words and you should include high-quality images. These images need to be either royalty-free or owned by you.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This page may contain affiliate links that mean I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full privacy policy here.
How To Find Time To Blog.
Do it in batches. When you find a chance to sit down and write a blog, why not knock out a couple and save them for another time when you might be busier? Writing in batches is a fabulous way to make sure you always have a blog ready to go.
Use pockets of time. I tend to make a start on a blog when I’ve got some spare time on my hands: at the kids swimming lesson, when I’m running a bath, waiting at the school gates etc. I have my website accessible through a WordPress app so I can write directly onto a blog and save it as a draft until I’m ready to publish. If you don’t want to or can’t access your website backend via an app then you can still use these pockets of time by writing in the notes section of your phone. When you’re ready, you can copy and paste it to an email, send it to yourself and then get it on your site.
Outsource it. If you really don’t want to or can’t write your blog, get someone else to do it. You could ask your audience to write a blog for you and perhaps offer them a prize in exchange; get a friend, family member or employee to write one; or just ask me! I love writing blogs and spend lots of time blogging for my Nikki Knight – The Writing for Business Lady clients, I charge £100 for a fully researched and keyword optimised blog. Get in touch to book your ghostwritten blogs today.
On the other hand, if you are looking to partner with me for product, days out, attraction or restaurant reviews; press trips; sponsored posts; social media campaigns or brand ambassadorship then please email me at nikki@nikkiknight.co.uk to discuss your requirements.
