Tips For Effective Corporate Blogging
Depending on what type of content you are writing, and who you intend to reach out to with said content, there are different rules and tips that will apply to how you construct your content.
Most of the rules that apply to writing a newsletter or an eZine are going to be similar to those that apply to posting in a blog, though there are also some pretty important differences in play as well.
When it comes to publishing content in a blog for the first time, there are some pretty basic tips that you need to keep in mind.
Go through this list of tips every time you put a blog entry together, and you will be publishing excellent blog content in no time at all and attracting clients and prospects to your products and services as well.
There are a couple of parts to this series, think five, so make sure to read them all in order to get the most out of these useful tips!
1 – First and foremost, you need to write every piece of content with your reader specifically in mind
There is a popular marketing term, an acronym called WIIFM. Keep this in mind, but put a little bit of a spin on it by asking WIIFT, or Whats In It for Them? Every time you craft a blog entry, you should take the time to ask yourself what your readers are going to get out of that blog entry. \
If there is no value in your blog writing, then why are you writing in your corporate blog in the first place? Your readers will be looking to determine what is in it for them, so you should be keeping this in mind as well.
2 – Next, you need to make sure that everything you publish is proof read and double checked prior to being published
You need to watch out for glaring grammatical and typographical errors. Posting an entry to your blog without proof reading ahead of time is like leaving the house to run errands without washing your hair or applying makeup. Polishing your content before you send it out is a good way to show your readers that you have respect for them.
3 – Third, you want to make sure that everything you write and post is both valuable and also worthwhile
You should not be aiming to waste the time of your readers when you write and publish blog entries. If you do not have anything valuable or worthwhile to talk about, dont worry because there are plenty of other people online that do have plenty to say.
Share articles from other bloggers on the internet, conduct an interview with an expert within the niche, or review a book on a related subject if you are reaching for content ideas. These are topics that your readers find useful, even if they are not original ideas coming from the author of the blog.
4 – Keep each piece of content short, simple and concise to get the point across without being too wordy
There is another saying here that is worth remembering, KISS. KISS stands for “Keep it short and simple”. Most people who prefer to read blogs online are scanners, meaning that rather than reading your entire blog post from end to end, they will more than likely skim over the post to determine whether they have the interest and the time to actually read further.
You may actually have a lot to say, and you may find your content interesting, but most people who are reading online simply do not have the time or the interest to read every piece of content that they come across. In other words, you need to get to the point as quickly as possible.
Publishing short posts on a more frequent basis is always ideal to publishing lengthy articles more rarely, if you want to keep the attention of your readers.
5 – Create links as often as you possibly can
Creating links is what builds credibility for your blog, and it is also capable of indicating to your readers that you are an expert in your chosen field. People do not necessarily have time to figure out what others are doing, so in a way it is your place to let them know.
Link to other blogs, websites, products, services and other information on the internet and build a network of associates that will gladly create a return link to your website.
There is nothing that dictates that you cannot talk about other people and their content in your blog, and it may just inspire them to write about your blog as well.
6 – Make sure that everything that you post is both lively and interesting
Every one of the blog posts that you write should be snazzy, snappy and fun to read. Even if you are not necessarily a natural born writer, there is nothing that dictates that you cannot learn how to effectively write blogs.
The key to writing lively and interesting content for your blogs is to write in your blog as if you were speaking to a friend, or even if you were speaking to yourself. You need to remember that you need to get to the point quickly, though.
And when you are writing blog entries, if you want them to be on topic, relevant and informative, make sure that you are addressing the 5 W’s of journalism, which are Who, What, Why, When and Where.
Address these in the first paragraph of your blog and you will already be on the right track with the blog entries that you write.
7 – Write clearly and concisely when it comes to everything that you publish in your blog
You should be aiming to craft short and to-the-point questions. You should only be touching on one single concept per sentence in order to keep the attention of your readers.
Avoid writing using double speak or technical terms and jargon that may persuade your readers not to stay.
Your sentences should be simple and straight forward, rather than forcing your readers to think hard about the meaning that you are trying to get at.
Use specific punctuation marks, including dashes and commas, as liberally as you possibly can.
In some ways, it may be ideal to spoon feed your content to your readers to make sure that no part of the meaning is lost, and that your readers come away feeling confident about what they have read.
8 – Use keywords as often as you possibly can when writing in your blog post, but only where they feel natural
Using relevant keywords often when writing your blog posts will help you stay on purpose, and they will also appeal to the search engines. Your search engine rankings will go up, and you will likely enjoy more traffic as a result.
This is one of the reasons why your blog should have a solid purpose statement before you begin to write in it.
The more clearly that you are able to convey the purpose behind your blog, the more consistently you will be able to deliver messages that are on task and on target with the niche or industry that you are attempting to sell.
The more often your preferred keywords show up, the more likely you will be to garner improvements in search engine ranking and results.
9 – Write conversationally when you write in your blog
Rather than writing with a formal edge to your writing, you should be writing as if you are speaking to an old friend.
Your blog should be friendly and conversational, but only as long as you’re still providing information and value in each of the blog posts that you create.
There is nothing wrong with implementing common expressions from speech in your blog posts. For example, you can use terms like these:
“Hey guys”,
“Go Figure!”,
“Now I’m asking you”,
“Gotta love it!”
“What’s up?”
You should also keep the age of your average reader in mind when determining the “voice” of your blog entries. Ending each blog post with “TTYL” for “Talk To You Later” may not go over as well for certain audiences as for others.
Just keep in mind that the rules for conversation in a blog are not the same as writing content for other purposes, as things are much more casual and conversational when writing and communicating in a blog.
10 – Know the value of a good title for your blogs, and choose headlines that are clear for and attractive to your readers
Don’t be afraid to make statements that are bold and directly touch on the information within the blog post. Just make sure that your snazzy and keyword-oriented blog post headlines are honest, and avoid misleading your readers.
There are a number of formulas that can be used to create blog post titles that are winners.
The ideal blog post is one that is convincing to your readers but also keyword oriented for the purpose of search engines. Some examples of solid titles for blog posts include:
– The Secret to [Blank]! – “The Secret to Making Money Online!” for example.
– How to Eliminate [Issue], Once and For All! – “How to Eliminate your Smoking Habit, Once and For All!” for example.
– The Answer to [Problem]! – “The Answer to Obesity!”, for example.
– Little Known Ways to [Blank]! – “Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly!”, for example.
– [Something Desirable] can be yours! Now you can [Great circumstance]! – “Quit your Job Today! Make Even More Money Online!”, for example.
– [Do] [Something] like [Someone Desirable]! – “Throw a Party like Paris Hilton does!”, for example.
– Have a [Something] that you can finally be proud of! – “Have a killer body that you can finally be proud of!”, for example.
These titles immediately capture attention and imagination. If you want to get the attention of your readers, then you need to be willing to craft titles that are interesting, exciting, attractive and rich in relevant keywords.
11 – Craft a blog posting checklist to make it easier to cover all of the bases before you click on the publish button
If you craft a checklist that touches on the most important aspects of writing in your corporate blog, and you run through the checklist after you write each of your posts, you will have an easier time of making sure that your blog entries are “post ready”.
As it was mentioned before, posting a blog before you proofread it is like going out without brushing your hair or applying makeup.
Some of the things that you are going to want to touch on for this purpose include proofreading for spelling and grammar errors, using a clear and concise headline, touching on the 5 W’s in the first paragraph of your blog entry, and writing your blog post in a way that allows it to be easily skimmed by your readers.
Rather than leaving you to craft your own checklist for this purpose, we have created a fairly basic one that you can use for your own purposes.
Headline –
– Is the topic of your blog entry clear to someone who begins by only reading the headline of the post?
– Have you used a keyword in your blog post title, or have you used one of the catchy title examples mentioned in the previous article?
– First Paragraph –
– Does the lead paragraph in your blog post tell your reader who the story is about and what the story is about? Does it indicate to the reader why he or she should care about the blog post?
– Did you touch on the 5 W’s, Who, What, Where, When and Why in the first paragraph of your blog post? Is your blog post written in a journalistic style, and even more importantly, does it make an honest effort to be objective how you have written it?
Post Clarity –
– Is the angle that you have used in your blog post one that is likely to appear newsworthy to your readers?
– If someone who knows absolutely nothing about your topic reads your blog post, will they understand what you are talking about?
– Is your blog post completely free of technical jargon and other confusing or unclear terms? If so, remove them now.
Ending Your Blog –
– Did you remember to ask the readers of your blog a question at the end? You need to make sure that you are stimulating your readers to write comments and offer up feedback.
Ask them a question, ask directly for feedback or find some other way to essentially say “Hey, talk to me!” because blogs are excellent for the purpose of facilitating communication and correspondence.
– Did you remember to write the entire blog post while keeping your reader in mind? Do you remember WIIFT? Make sure that your readers are getting something out of your blog.
If there’s nothing in it for them, why should they stick around and read?
– Finally, run through your blog: Is it free of errors? Run a spelling and grammar check and make sure that there are no glaring errors, because your readers can and will notice them!
Run through this checklist every time you write a blog, and if everything is satisfactory, click on “Publish” and sit back knowing that you put out a good piece of content that your readers will appreciate.
