Getting Started with a Business Blog for Your Website

So you’ve decided you want to start a blog on your business website.  Now, what’s the next step?  Everyone seems to be singing the praises of blogging, but very few people will actually tell you what you need to get started (aside from the technical details, which you can leave to your web designer!)

For example, what do you write about? How do you know you’re helping your audience or just aggravating them? How do you spread the word about your blog?   Here are a few tips for beginning business bloggers:

1. First, know your audience - This is how you decide what you’re going to write about (and whether or not your visitors are going to stick around to read it!)  If you’re not sure who, exactly, is going to make up your blog reading audience, try thinking who isn’t! 

This process of elimination helps you narrow down your audience into an actual frame of people segmented by factors such as age, gender, income, market knowledge and so on.

2. Find a home for your blog - The most popular publishing system for blogs is Wordpress and your own website.  Your website’s design can be carried over to a Wordpress blog (contact iElectrify for a free quote) or you can opt for a hosted solution, such as Google’s Blogger.com. 

Ideally you’ll want to place your blog on your own site so that you have more freedom and flexibility in adding new features and customizing the look of the blog to match your site.

3. Share your insights - People are coming to your blog to read tips and techniques, but they’re also coming to read your unique perspective on things.  Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge.  That’s what blogging is all about. 

If you’ve got a case of “Bloggers Block” where you don’t know what to write about, try browsing other blogs in your industry and see what people are talking about.  You can give your own unique point of view or throw your opinion into the mix.

4. Spread the Word - This is done via “Trackbacks” which are links to and from other blogs.  For example, if someone has shared a new idea for your industry and it’s worked great for you, doing a trackback not only links your blog to theirs, but also lets you share your own comments and results.  This is also a great way to get other bloggers to notice your work and comment on it as well.

Above all, don’t forget that blogging is like an ongoing conversation with your readers.  Don’t just post one-off tidbits once a month.  Keep the conversation active and keep it interesting.  No one likes a stale, old blog with last year’s news!  Even just a couple of hours a week can do wonders to help keep your blog fresh and entertaining.

Recommended Tools and Resources

• Add Audio to Your Website
• Wordpress Tutorials