This week my kids went back to school and I started thinking about the importance of writing fundamentals in school and more specifically in business blogs. Nurturing your community by offering them story and content to make you a valued part of their tool kit is something that should be at the very basis of your blogging.
Be committed
Give your readers and community a reason to subscribe to your company blog and to keep them coming back for more. The more consistently you post content of value, the more likely you will be perceived as an important resource. Plan your editorial calendar so that you can keep a regular schedule of substantive articles and stick with it.
Be informative and thoughtful
What kind of stories and articles should you be writing? That’s easy. You should be writing about the topics that your audience and community will connect with. Your content should be in line with your brand messaging and true to your mission.
Be sure about the details
Once you have finished writing your post, if you are responsible for adding it to the backend of your blog platform make sure you take care of the search engines too. Add keywords to your titles, fill out your meta descriptions, and add descriptive alt tags to your correctly optimized pictures. If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? In a similar vein, if you haven’t optimized for search will anyone find your post?
Be inspired
Do you find yourself writing the same type of blog posts? Look around for inspiration. Make a list of your favorite places around the web and go back to them for ideas. The spark of a new blog topic can come from anywhere, you just need to be open to it.
Be a good friend
As they say, “sharing is caring.” Consider asking some of your favorite people to guest blog. Whether it is a community member, an expert in your field or another business aligned with yours, consider partnering up. If you have clients who you value, ask them to be a guest blogger on a topic you both have in common. And then next month perhaps you can guest blog on their site. You will both be able to engage and connect with new people and new communities.
Conclusion
While writing a blog post may sometimes seem like just another task or another on a long list of to-do's, sharing your knowledge and your experience can really help others connect to you and you to your community. Enjoy your time thinking about what you do and helping others see another point of view. Instead of basics, I like to think of these tips as universal truths. Beginners and experts alike can use these as a guideline for continued blogging growth and success.
