Do you currently manage or follow a Business blog? If you’re a B2B company, business blogging offers organizations a lucrative opportunity to attract and convert leads. Publishing business blogs is a great way to highlight the expertise, services/products, and personality of your brand. It’s also one of the best ways to enhance your search engine ranking, increase website traffic, and boost revenue.

In case you’re still not sure of the benefits of a business blog, here are a few stats that highlight their effectiveness:

• Businesses that blog receive 97% more links to their website
• 45% of marketers believe blogging is the most important part of their content strategy
• 77% of internet users read blog posts

35 Must-Follow Tips for Creating Epic Business Blogs

You can’t expect to be successful with a business blog if you don’t commit to becoming an expert. This doesn’t mean you need to spend 40 hours a week learning about business blogging. It means that you need to be ready to hit the ground running each week with new content that can be used to produce great blog posts. Your blog needs to be a priority for your business.

1. Be Consistent

This is by far the most important business blog tip. If your Audience expects to see a new blog from your company each week on Tuesday at 11am, you need to deliver. Inconsistency will destroy your blogging credibility. Take a look at how consistent HubSpot is with their blogging schedule. Because they’re a large organization, they post new blogs 2 to 3 times each day:

2. Stay Organized

The more organized you are with your business blog’s process, the more efficient you’ll be. Create a game plan for your blog that includes post graphics, authors, publishing dates, a posting schedule and promotion schedule, a list of topics, and other essential aspects of your blogging strategy. The Moz Blog does a fantastic job organizing the front-end of their blog:

3. Use Credible Sources

It’s a best practice to link to credible sources that enhance the reputation of your brand and business blog. Use names that throw around major weight in your industry to help establish your own authority by aligning your business with your audience’s perception of highly successful companies. Linking to a Forbes article is always a good idea for exactly that reason:

4. Start with an Outline

An outline is your blueprint to writing a successful blog post. It will help you follow a logical line of thinking to finish a complete series of thoughts. Too often, business blog posts read like a stream of consciousness without seeming to make any sense. You can always tell when a blog post was written using an outline because there’s a distinct pattern of organization and formatting:

5. Keep a Running List of Blog Post Ideas

It’s a lot easier to blog consistently when you have an idea of what you want to Write about. Don’t wait until the last minute to choose a topic for you business blog. Keep a running list of topics that relate to your business in a Google document, Word document, or Excel spreadsheet. Businesses that blog on a consistent basis (especially daily blogging) most certainly keep a list of blog topics close at hand. Just look at Hootsuite’s social blog homepage and the sheer number of blog posts they publish each week:

6. Use Value Keywords

Posting consistent blog posts is important, but you probably won’t get any traction without using focus keywords. Using keywords allows your business blog to start ranking with search engines which improves your ability to attract organic website traffic. For example, if you google “inbound marketing austin” Envision Creative ranks on page #1 of Google search results, thanks to our focus on strategically using valuable keywords:

7. Check Grammar

Which sentence looks more professional to you?

1. There’s nothing you company can’t do if they focus on great strategy.

OR

2. Your company can accomplish great things with a strategy in place.

Chances are you picked the second one because the first sentence is riddled with grammatical errors. Make sure your business blog upholds a high standard of writing quality and stellar grammar. If not, you’ll experience a severe loss of credibility and respect.

8. Write About What You Know

If you run a financial firm write about finance and investing. Stick with what you know. If you want to write about something that relates to your business, but don’t feel you have the expertise needed to create a valuable blog post you have three options:

1 .Write about something else

2. Educate yourself on the desired topic

3. Hire someone who can write from a position of knowledge

Copyblogger does a great job covering subjects that are directly related to content marketing and copywriting:

9. Know Your Audience

Always produce blog content that your audience wants. It doesn’t matter what you want to say. If your audience isn’t interested you’re just wasting time and effort that could be better spent addressing their pain points. Ever heard of Jon Loomer? He’s a Facebook marketing guru. Within hours of crucial Facebook updates, changes, and modifications, Loomer is already analyzing the changes and writing about how his audience can capitalize on them. His business blog is the perfect example of someone who knows their audience and caters to their needs:

10. Avoid Self-Promotion

Self-promotion has its place in your business blog, but it needs to be treated with the art of subtlety. Your visitors shouldn’t even realize you’re promoting your own blog. Instead, offer free value to your audience by educating and informing them using your company’s expertise and experience. Roundup blog posts, such as this one from Awario, are great examples of non-promotional blog content that doesn’t specifically call-out the business blog, but still curates a generous amount of attention for the author:

11. The Headline is the Most Important Part

Why do you typically click on a link to a blog post? It’s probably because the headline caught your attention. Your business blog needs to use engaging, compelling headlines. Tell your audience what they can expect without giving away the entire story. One of our most recent popular blog posts had a simple headline that accomplished two things: (1) it told readers that they could expect to read a comprehensive list of 79 social media statistics, and (2) it piqued curiosity by creating a sense of urgency:

12. Don’t Be Dishonest

Dishonesty is stupid. That’s right, we said it. If you’re planning on turning your business blog into a content generation machine that doesn’t rely on facts and evidence, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Tell your audience exactly what you know, tell them how you know it, and tell them why it’s important. Don’t embellish and don’t exaggerate.

13. Write When You Have Enthusiasm

Trying to write a post for your blog when you’re feeling less than enthusiastic is a bad idea. Sometimes it’s better to postpone writing a new post until you’re inspired to write about a topic that ignites your passion. Blogging is just like 1-on-1 conversations. People can tell when the author has enjoyed the writing process and when it was a chore. Pardot does a great job of keeping their blog posts feeling energetic, fresh, and enjoyable:

14. Focus On Quality Over Quantity

Mark Shields once famously said, “There is always strength in numbers.” While it makes for a great quote, the context is often untrue, especially in business blogging. Many businesses dive head first into blogging without taking the time to evaluate the quality their blog content can maintain as the volume of posts rise. If you don’t have the time it takes to write a comprehensive, value-added blog post every single week, just focus on writing one great blog post every other week rather than cranking out two or three bad ones during the same timeframe.

15. Create a Variety of Posts

Try to shake things up once in awhile. Writing a basic blog format is great, especially if the content is valuable, but sometimes your audience needs variety to stay interested. Take a look at these types of posts for inspiration:

• How-to posts
• List posts
• Collection of quote posts
• Trending subject posts
• Story posts
• Review posts
• Tutorial posts
• Statistic posts
• Interview posts

16. Don’t Use Jargon

Running a professional business blog usually includes avoiding the use of jargon. Why? Because not everyone will know the context you’re using it in and that can lead to confusion and miscommunication. Remember, you know your business and industry much better than the average reader of your blog. It’s your job to offer exceptional blog content that’s easy to digest and comprehend, while still making it worth the reader’s time.

17. Use Examples

Images, videos, screen-shots, and audio bytes can all be great business blog tools. If you’re trying to explain a concept to your audience, examples can improve the relevancy of your blog post. Many people will understand you’re core message by simply skimming through the post when visual examples are present:

18. Leverage Social Proof

Anytime you can leverage the power of social proof, take advantage of it. Showing reviews, testimonials, and case studies can go a long way towards converting a visitor into a customer. Check out these great examples of social proof in action from HubSpot:

19. Use “Will”, not “Can”

“Do or do not. There is no try.” Words to live by from the great Jedi Master, Yoda. He might as well have said, “Will or will not. There is no can.” When you’re writing a blog you need to convince your audience that you know what you’re talking about. Telling them that “ignoring email open rates can harm your campaign,” is much less powerful than saying, “ignoring email open rates will harm your campaign.” Be decisive.

20. Use Bulleted Lists

If you’re writing a blog post that’s between 500-700 words, you should try to find a way to convey part of your research as a bulleted list to break up large blocks of text. This makes it much more user friendly and your audience will appreciate the ability to skim through your content to get to the meat of the matter. In his blog, Neil Patel uses bulleted lists to draw the reader’s attention to the most important points he wants to highlight:

21. Quote Well-Known Experts

We’ve already done it twice in this post. You don’t have to quote Yoda on your business blog, but it’s a good idea to reinforce your arguments and points of conversation with quotes from well-known figures in your industry. It adds credibility to your content and gives the reader a familiar authority name to associate with your business.

22. Write in the Voice of Your Business

Just because you’re writing a business blog post doesn’t mean you have to be stale, boring, and use business-speak all the time. Be conversational in your tone. Write the way you and your team talk with customers. Keep it friendly and professional. Readers will appreciate your ability to infuse brand personality into your blog content. 

23. Ask Questions

When the human brain reads a question, it instantly begins to formulate an answer. Including questions in your blog posts every now and then will encourage your audience to stay engaged with your content. Check out the way Jon Morrow uses questions to engage his audience on Smart Blogger:

24. Include Images

Who says we have to grow up? The best part about books when we were little kids was the pictures. Not much has changed. People today still crave visual aids in the storytelling process. Your business blog doesn’t have to be overflowing with images in every single post, but you should make an effort to include at least one image per post:

25. Write a Meta Description

Make sure your blog is as thorough on the back-side as it is on the front-end. Your meta description is what your audience will see when they google your primary keyword. Make sure to include your keyword in the the meta title and meta description of your business blog post:

26. Be Careful with Keyword Density

It’s easy to want to overuse a keyword when you find one with good SEO ranking possibilities. Don’t do that. Google will penalize your business blog for keyword stuffing and then all parties lose. The general rule of thumb is to include your keyword, or a synonym of your keyword, about once in each paragraph.

Join the Discussion On Facebook

27. Make Your Business Blog Shareable

Have you ever started reading an article online that was so great you had to share it with your friends on social media only to discover the site didn’t have social sharing buttons? This is an easy fix for your site. Just find a good plugin for your blog that allows the audience to share away to their hearts content:

28. Share Your Blog On Social Media

Once you’ve published your blog posts, it’s up to you and your team to spread the word. Use your brand’s social media channels to promote new content. If you’ve quoted a well-known figure or organization in your industry, tag them. This can increase your chances of visibility.

29. Send Your Blog Posts Via Email

If you have a regular newsletter or a list of email signups for your website, make sure they get a copy of each new blog post. This has multiple benefits; first, it positions your company as an authority, and second, it exposes your business blog to a larger audience.

30. Don’t Focus on Word Count Too Much

There are numerous studies online about the importance of reaching a certain word count for each of your business blog posts. Everyone has a different opinion, but the general consensus is that longer content tends to rank higher in search results. If you can write a 2,500 words per blog post every week, that’s great! However, if you have trouble reaching the 1,000 word mark, don’t kill yourself trying. It’s better to have a shorter blog post with exceptional information, rather than a 1,500 word blog post that’s filled with embellishments.

31. Sometimes Less is More

Here’s a pro-tip for when you’re really short on time. Create a quick checklist or “thought of the day” post that doesn’t require hours of research to create. This allows you to continue a consistent posting schedule and still deliver content that your audience finds interesting.

32. Be Opinionated But Not Rude

Don’t be afraid to let your audience know exactly what you’re thinking. People like strong opinions, especially when you have research to back it up. The one thing you need to avoid is being rude. Find a balance between the two and your audience will love you for it:

33. Triple Check Your Writing

We’re back to grammar. But this time it’s important to also check your business blog posts for context and accuracy. Does your blog post make sense? Are your sources trusted? Read through each article a few times before verifying the accuracy of your work and okaying it for publication.

34. Have Someone Else Check Your Writing

It happens to the best of us. We triple check our work. We read it out loud. We run it through a spell checker. It looks perfect. The next day a co-worker lets you know you missed a “period”, or added an extra “the”. Have someone check your post once you’re finished with it. Think of this as your quality-check before publishing.

35. Create Timely Blog Posts

Some of the best business blog posts are created as a response to recent events and news. If there’s something happening in your industry that’s receiving buzz, consider writing a blog on the subject. This is a great opportunity to reach a broader audience with your brand’s content.
There you have it. 35 lessons we’ve learned that you can use to benefit the results of your very own business blog.

The post 35 Lessons You Can Learn from Great Business Blogging Experts appeared first on Envision Creative.