Blogging is ideal for small business owners to build an audience and boost brand awareness.
However, regularly creating fresh content takes substantial time and effort.
Consequently, the blogging process can feel overwhelming for a small business owner.
With this in mind, there is a lot of conflicting advice over the correct length and frequency of blog posts you should create.
Regardless, one thing is certain– the more frequently you post valuable information, the more results you will see.
In addition, creating a realistic blogging strategy will help you streamline your efforts and achieve favorable results.
Considering the above, we'll discuss creating a realistic blogging strategy for your small business in this post.
Let's get started.
Determine the Purpose of Your Blog
Like anything else in business, you must have a goal for your blog.
What is its primary purpose?
Notably, common objectives small businesses have when regularly publishing blog posts include:
- Driving foot traffic to a local store
- Attracting new customers online
- Educating an audience
- Building brand awareness
Of course, it's possible to accomplish these things over time, but it helps to establish your primary focus before starting.
With this in mind, what is the most important goal you wish to achieve within your small business blogging strategy?
Decide On Hosting
After determining the goal of the content within your blog and posts, it's time to consider your two primary hosting options.
You can either:
Purchase hosting from a service provider like Bluehost and host the blog directly on your website
Or
Host and publish a standalone blog on a separate site with a unique web address.
In reality, both options may be viable for your small business.
Still, hosting your blog directly on your website is typically better.
Conduct Market Research
Performing market research will help you determine the best content for your audience when creating your blog posts.
Additionally, it will help you decide the best ways to reach your prospects and customers.
Considering the above, ask yourself the following:
What are the pain points of your audience?
What types of content do they enjoy consuming?
Above all, creating an effective blogging strategy is far easier when you understand the needs of your target audience.
Create a List of Blog Topics
After completing the steps above, you should develop a list of topics for your upcoming blog posts.
Undoubtedly, this can save you significant time in the long run.
With this in mind, you can use keyword research tools like Moz or Semrush to get an idea of your target audience's search queries.
You can also view the types of content your competitors post to help create content that addresses your audience's needs.
Create Multiple Blog Posts in Advance
Like social media posts, you can also queue and schedule blog posts for publication at later dates and times.
Accordingly, creating a handful of blog posts in advance will save time and allow you to focus on higher-priority tasks throughout the month.
Alternatively, you can outsource the creation of your blog posts if you lack the time to write them yourself.
In reality, many small business owners save time and ensure high-quality content by outsourcing blog writing.
Include a CTA as Part of Your Blogging Strategy
You should include a specific call to action at the end of each blog post. Above all, be sure it is engaging but not overly promotional.
For example, asking questions and inviting your audience to answer in the comments is a good CTA.
In Conclusion
Given the above points, creating a realistic blogging strategy for your small business is challenging.
Nonetheless, it can help you engage with your customers, build your brand, and grow your business.
Yet, to achieve maximum results from your blog posts, you must market them by posting links to them on your social media channels and in any emails you send.
With this in mind, start creating your blogging strategy today to reap the rewards of an engaged and informed customer base.
Hope this helps,
Erik
We implement creative, results-based digital and hybrid marketing strategies for local business clients.
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