A website without a business blog is like strawberries without cream. All juiciness, no sumptuousness. Perfectly healthy and nutritious, but lacking that certain something to help the goodness glide down easily.
Blog writing for business is one of the most effective marketing tactics businesses of any size and shape can deploy. It draws traffic to your site and provides buyers with useful information. The effects of blogging are cumulative: the more you do it, the better it gets. And – most important of all – it’s a channel you own. You’re not beholden to anyone or any other business, it’s your space to do with as you will. To put it another way, you can pour as much or as little cream on those strawberries as you like!
Here's why writing a blog for business is a worthwhile investment.
Is blogging good for business?
A business blog shows people that you’re credible, that you have something to say and you’re willing to share it. This openness helps to build trust with your potential clients.
Trust cannot be underestimated when it comes to winning over B2B customers. These are savvy buyers and they want reassurance that you’ll do what you say. Get it right and blogging is most definitely good for business. According to research by FocusVision, 65% of B2B buyers say that vendor websites are influential in their decision making – more than any other type of content. A regularly updated blog ensures your website stays relevant for those potential customers. It provides them with answers to their questions and gives them confidence in your offer.
Why is a blog important for business?
A blog on your site is important for business because you own it! Your business blog is your space. Unlike the rented space on social media, your blog belongs to you. It’s not at the mercy of sudden algorithm changes. There’s no risk of a favourite feature suddenly disappearing and taking your audience with it.
According to information published via HubSpot, a blog is in the top three owned media channels for B2B marketers, along with a website and an email newsletter. Blogs drive traffic, increase visibility and generate leads. While they take a little work to maintain, the payoff is an engaged audience, buyers that trust the brand and more opportunities to do business.
Blogging for business and SEO go hand-in-hand. Google loves authoritative websites – sites that it perceives users find helpful. The figures are hard to ignore: blogs can lead to 434% increase in indexed pages and an increase in indexed links of up to 97% (DemandMetric).
And while technical chat isn’t exactly a turn-on for all of us, a site that ranks means a better chance of ending up in front of the right people. 55% more people, as HubSpot estimates that’s the uplift in website visitor numbers among businesses that blog versus those that do not.
How often should I blog for my business?
A consistent schedule is critical when writing a business blog. The frequency depends upon your industry, your audience and how often you can reasonably commit to. There’s no point making a commitment to blog daily if you know that doesn’t work for your schedule. It’ll only set you up for failure, cause you to feel disheartened and scupper the blog’s future before it’s begun.
If you’ve never blogged for business before, then a blog per month is a great place to start. A blog each month keeps your content fresh and your audience engaged without taking over everything else. A once-a-month schedule is especially good for businesses with small teams or solopreneurs who want to commit to content while still having time to actually do their job.
If you do have the capacity or resources to blog more often, do it! There are no hard and fast rules. If it works for your audience and meets your goals, you can write blogs for your business as often as you like.
Consistency is key to blog writing for business
No matter how often you blog for your business, the key is to stick with it. If content is King, then consistency is Queen! Remember, the aim of blogging is to build trust between your business and your audience. And while showing your hand in the form of content does build trust, so too does doing what you’ll say you’ll do. If you commit to posting once a month, then do it. If you commit to posting every week, then do that.
Business blogs create opportunities
Blogging delivers results. It must do, or why would businesses keep investing in it when there are many other demands on marketing budgets? Short articles of less than 3,000 words were ranked third among the B2B content that generated the best results, according to data published by Content Marketing Institute.
And while blogs are a great way to draw traffic to your business’ website, you don’t have to wait for people to come to you. Pair your blog with a regular newsletter and you’ve got a powerful duo: ‘1,000 small business owners ranked email marketing as the second most effective medium for building brand awareness’ (Campaign Monitor, 2019).
Like your blog, your newsletter list is your property. It’s made up of people interested in what you do, who trust you enough to give you their details. Don’t ignore them. Deliver your blog to your newsletter list and build a relationship based on shared knowledge and mutual respect.
How to write business blog posts
A business blog post has three key ingredients:
Headline – A catchy headline, that gets the reader’s attention and makes them want to find out more.
A point – A business blog needs to have a clear point, leading the reader through a logical argument.
Audience – When writing a blog post, keep the audience in mind. What interests them, what challenges do they have, what answers are they looking for? Write for your audience and you’ll be on the right track.
To make sure you’re hitting the three points above, it helps to have a plan.
Everyone has their own process; below I’ve outlined mine. I hope it helps you.
It starts with an idea – a theme, a topic, something I’ve learnt, a useful tip. Inspiration comes from everywhere.
I’ll turn over the idea in my mind, building out from that initial spark. At this stage, I’ll do research to expand the idea further.
Brain dump time! Down it all goes, scribbled on the page. Once it’s out of my head, I can ‘see’ it better. Perspective…
I’ll choose several key points around which to structure the article.
After that I’ll hone in on the key message, distilling the main point I want to get across.
Next, I bullet-point a rough draft of my blog.
Once the bare bones of the piece are on the page, I’ll flesh out the words into sentences and fully-formed paragraphs.
Finally, I’ll come back and edit! I’ll cut away the fluff, focus the message and hone the copy. Then it’s ready to go! (You might find my guide to editing your own copy useful, if you struggle with this stage).
Take your time with it. The process doesn’t have to be days or even hours of work if you want to create a short post. Knowing your destination will help you get there. Think of your plan as a map to guide you to your goal. Coherent content leads your reader too, rather than taking them on a wild goose chase!
Blog headlines: how to craft winning titles
Your headline is what entices the reader to explore your blog. The most important thing with blog headlines, however, has nothing to do with the headline itself.
The content of your blog has to back up your headline.
It’s no use having a great headline and a terrible blog; that’s a sure-fire way to corrode trust. Think of all those sensationalist articles you’ve clicked over the years. They never leave you satisfied, do they? That’s exactly the feeling you don’t want to give people.
The trick is to craft many different versions of your headline. Try questions, try statements, try ‘How to’ headlines, try humour, intrigue, provoke thought. Above all, make sure your headline has an emotional appeal. Readers are humans and humans have emotions. As informative as the content may be, a headline that appeals only to the head and not the heart isn’t much of a hook.
Business blogs: points to remember
Blog writing for business has many benefits. It nurtures a relationship between your brand and your audience, builds trust, draws traffic to your site and increases opportunities to do business.
To succeed with blogging for business, keep the following in mind:
Consistency is key – deliver what you say you will, when you say you will.
Write a great headline – back it up with quality content.
Keep your audience in mind – ultimately, you’re writing for people. Respect their time and give them something useful.
Blog writing services for B2B organisations
Like the idea of a regular blog, but prefer to let someone else do the hard work? Feel free to get in touch. I’d be happy to discuss how writing a regular business blog could benefit your brand.