Transform Your Business Blog from a Sales Pitch to a Conversation with a Trusted Adviser  

Have you ever stumbled upon a company blog and noticed that the last blog post was two years ago? For the consumer, finding outdated information can be irritating. That post from April 2013 hangs in cyberspace like a ghost town in the Wild West heralding that something vibrant and relevant was once here, but now it’s just a memory.

When there’s no budget for a designated social media guru and writer of blog posts, business blogging can be painful, but the benefits outweigh the inconveniences. Blogs help you connect with leaders in your industry, share relevant information with your customers and become their trusted adviser, establish your credibility in the industry, and improve traffic to your website.

1. Craft a Killer Headline
The secret to getting your blog posts read isn’t a secret at all; it’s more of a formula for success. No one can resist the pull of a blog post that promises answers to a burning question or that plays off current news headlines about which there is already a buzz. Strong headlines with attention-grabbing language such as, “Forget Glass Slippers; Focus on Glass Ceilings” lure readers to click through. Make sure that you follow your killer headline with equally meaty information. You don’t want your readers to accuse you of a bait and switch.

2. Know Your Audience
Who are you writing for? What does your audience look like? Where do they work? What are their goals?

Once you know who your readers are, you can write to them specifically. What can you blog about that will help them? Notice that you are helping them, not selling to them. Your readers don’t need an anxious salesperson breathing down their necks.

3. Stay on Schedule
If you don’t have a schedule for your company blog posts, you also don’t have accountability for getting them written. Establish a schedule and stick to it. If you plan to publish a post every two weeks, you know exactly when you will need to have ideas, content, guest bloggers, and completed posts. When you do make time to write a blog post, it’s a good idea to write an extra post or two for those weeks when all hell breaks loose. Your goal is continuous fresh content.

4. Welcome Guest Bloggers
Even the best bloggers can begin to feel a bit stale, and it’s time to bring in the guest blogger. Guest bloggers provide a fresh voice for similar content. Of course, you can explain the benefits of the tent waterproofing spray that your company manufactures. A guest blogger that has used your product on her tent while hiking the Appalachian Trail for a month will offer a different and exciting perspective. Guest bloggers with their own following will bring new readers to your blog.

Where can you find guest bloggers? You can invite professionals from sister companies, from other industries or from other departments in your company.

5. Interview an Expert
One of the purposes of your blog is to add value for your clients. Readers welcome, interesting information on related topics or from experts in the field. When you select your interviewee or subject from the questions you get from actual clients, you can be certain that other clients had the same questions but never asked.

Find an expert to interview, record the session and then write your blog in a Q & A format. The common questions your clients ask usually make great interview questions.

6. Write with Enthusiasm
Each person has a distinct “voice” in their writing, just as they do on the telephone. When you call your best friend on the telephone, you know she has been asleep even if she tells you that you didn’t wake her. That same mood comes through in your writing.

If the subject of your blog posts doesn’t energize you, it won’t energize your readers either. Write during a time when you are excited and enthusiastic. If your mentor just reminded you of how you floundered when you first started in the industry, tap into what it felt like to try to learn the ropes, or write about how the industry has changed for the better. Write during your peak energy hours. If you aren’t a morning person, you probably shouldn’t write your blog posts at 8:00 a.m. when your coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

7. Never Publish Your First Attempt
Looming deadlines make if very tempting to write and publish your post immediately. Don’t! You want to publish quality content that aligns with your company image and positions you as an expert adviser. Off the cuff, blog posts in response to a news story or something that happened on the way to the office are great places to start. When you get inspiration, write away. When you finish writing, however, set the piece aside for at least a few hours, walk away, and come back to the material with a fresh set of eyes. Better yet, ask a trusted friend or colleague to read the post and provide feedback before you publish it.

Don’t forget to promote your blog! After you and your team have invested time in building out your business blog, you want people to read it. Promote your blog on your business cards, emails and social media channels.