If you don’t yet have a blog, you should really think about setting one up. There is a famous saying ‘The eyes are the windows to the soul’ and I like to think of a blog in this way. It’s the eyes to the soul of your business – it’s the welcome mat, the comfy waiting area where people wander about reading the notice board before they decide if they want to enter your ‘office’.

If your blog is your ‘office’ then – happy days!

But again, I can’t stress enough the importance of doing this right.

If you are a business and you are on Twitter, then you really should be directing folks to your blog rather than you place of business. You’ve got to build the relationship first.

There is another excellent saying that is so true of human nature;

“People like to buy stuff but they don’t like to be sold at”

“Think of Twitter in Terms of a Party”

Whereby you have been graciously invited. If your opening line on introductions is ‘This is my company, buy my stuff’ how successful do you think you are going to be?

Answer: Not very!

You will have links to your main money site from your blog, but rather than send someone directly to a sales page, it’s far better to take a softer approach and work on building a good customer/client relationship.

The thing is – even if they don’t buy today, they will remember you for the great information that you provide via your blog, which means they will also be happy to recommend you to others too.

By creating great information on your blog, you will get a natural flow of traffic from people on Twitter who’d like to check out your latest post. They will click through again and again and start to build a relationship. Give them a link to a sales page and they’ll click once and unlikely buy.

Pop an opt-in box on your blog so that people can sign up to your news letter; make sure you give away something of value in return in addition to the newsletter. This could be a report, a discount voucher or something else tailored to your particular niche.

You’ll start to build up a nice list of potential and current customers that will always want to open your emails because they know that you give value first – and of course, your products or service will be excellent too!

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When you are running a small business, time is often an issue and keeping up with the new wave of Social Media Marketing can, at times, become difficult.

A blog is an essential part of your marketing tool kit and you should be looking to post fresh new content 3-5 times a week, especially when your blog is a fledgling. However, coming up with ideas on what to write can be frustrating.

Below you will find some tried, tested and proven blog post ideas that can be adapted for use on your own blog.

Lists

This is a proven winner as many people looking through blog posts automatically home in on a list of hints, tips or ‘how to’s’. It makes it easier to scan through and find what they are looking for. It also gives you, the author and business owner, a chance to show off your knowledge and that you are an authority on your subject.

This method will cover any topic of blog from ecommerce business to  service based businesses. And as you can see from the idea below, you can drill down into this further to create individual posts from this initial concept.

The ‘How To’ or ‘Tutorial

Following on from the list idea above, you can take your list and create a more in-depth post on each item. So for example, let’s assume I have created a list of the Top 5 Plugins for Your WordPress Blog. This list will consist of 5 plugins and a little info on each one, plus a link to be able to download them from the developer.

If I am now stuck for ideas on what to write about, I can take that original post and create 5 more posts that focus more in-depth on each plugin, maybe even include a video tutorial on how to install it, use it and get the most from it. This video can be uploaded to video sharing sites like YouTube so that more traffic can be driven back to my blog.

Advice

Although this still loosely falls into what I have discussed above, I feel its worth singling it out a bit more. Writing a strong blog post that is both interesting and helpful to your readers is a sure-fire way of encouraging them to return and become faithful readers/customers in the future.

If you can save your reader time and give them some actionable advice then create blog posts from this. Whether its some free legal advice, a recipe shortcut or an insider tip on training a puppy – it’s all good advice for your particular niche.

Not everyone who reads your post will become your customer but blogging is about creating awareness of your brand and your expertise within your field and it will increase your authority and sales will naturally follow as time goes on.

The Sneak Peek

Social Media is all about keeping it real, so why not let your customers have a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of your business.

Maybe you could walk them through a typical day, show them what happens during part of the sales process, talk about new systems you’re considering using or products/services you’re thinking of introducing and ask for feedback. It’s a great way to let your reader know how much you value their input because without them, there would be no business.

Again, you can adapt this for most small businesses; for example, if you make jam and sell various jams and conserves, your customer might be interested to know where you source your produce from. Maybe you could take a hand-held camera with you when you next shop to show your customer that you are using the very best ingredients.

Or maybe you recruit people for party plan, again – consider filming one of your monthly meetings with your managers to give potential new employees the chance to see what goes on behind the scenes if they join your business.

There are so many ways that you can adapt this for your blog and it’s a great way to let your customers know that you are human behind the company logo.

Interviews – Human Interaction

People love to watch people so combining what we have discussed above, you could perhaps interview some of your employees. If you are a one woman business, then interview people within your industry or ask people who’ve purchased from you to give a video testimonial. It’s a great way to keep that social interaction going and again to let your readers know that you are not a faceless company.

Even just talking to the camera yourself can be great way of interacting with your readers and drawing more traffic and attention. If you don’t like the camera then consider a podcast or record and interview using free software like Skype.

The Competition or Giveaway

This is a really good way to drum up interest in your business or product. If you offer a good prize and give people plenty of opportunity to spread the word, then you can create a buzz and gain a lot of new readers.

Make is easy for your readers to spread the word by having Twitter buttons for them to Tweet about your competition and include a Facebook button too.

Finally

Read plenty of other blogs for inspiration. Don’t ever copy or plagiarize someone elses work, but there is plenty of fuel for inspiration by reading what others are doing and keeping up with current trends.

What do you do to keep your blogs fresh with new content? Let us know in the comments below.

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However, that’s for another post – there is something far more worrying about what I have found when checking out some of the blogs that have been brought to my attention.

I’ve been receiving many little notes that read ‘here’s my blog…but er…..it needs updating’.

Of course that’s understandable, we’re busy people but a blog isn’t something that should be relegated to your ‘to do’ list, it should be considered a fundamental part of your business.

Times are a changing folks and we need to change with them. Our blogs need to reflect us as a person, a way for our audience to connect with us before there is even a glimmer of a chance that they may become a potential customer.

If you are writing a blog, you need to be consistent and update it on a regular basis. As I’m sure you are aware, a blog is great for getting your info up and out into the search engines and a more personable way to connect with your customers about your company, products and services.
But if someone comes across your blog and finds that the last time it was updated was three months ago – what are the chances that they will click through to read more about your business?

Will your blog reflect the kind of person they want to deal with? An outdated blog will harm your business more than no blog at all – so take five minutes today to write a few lines on your blog, and then commit to doing it each week.

Let’s sum this up with an quick list of reasons of what could happen if you dont keep your blog updated;

1. You could be missing out on potential JV opportunities
2. Google will stop ranking your blog if you don’t keep it updated with regular content
3. You are under-utilizing one of the best communication channels that you have with potential customers
4. You’ll give out the wrong impression or vibe to your audience – a bit of a ‘hit n miss’ kinda biz
5. It won’t build trust and brand loyalty

Think of your blog as the doorway to your business, if it looks messy or unkept, will anyone want to come through to the next room and make themselves comfy or will they be aprehensive about what lays on the other side?

Stuck on what to write about? Bookmark my blog or sign up to my RSS feed as I will be back with a post choc full of ideas that you can use to generate content for your blog.

In the meantime let me know, in the comments below, if there are any other blog related worries you have and we can address those too

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