It’s not a trick, it’s true…blogging is still one of the best ways to help drive your online marketing efforts.  When done right, your business blog will be a treat by increasing your search rankings, expanding your reach, and even improving conversion.

For anyone who doesn’t like writing, being tasked with creating a blog on a regular basis can be a scary challenge!  But it doesn’t have to be!

Grab your popcorn and gather-round this All Hallows Eve as we tell you a tale that will break down the science around creating a great blog that converts for your business.

Blog Basics: Audience, Topics, and Keywords

As with any other marketing efforts, the first step is to understand your audience.  You’ll want to create blog content that touches on issues or offers information on topics that are important to them.

A great way to find out what’s important to your target audience is to do some competitive analysis.  Search competitor’s websites and social pages and see what people are talking about.  If you have a customer support department, find out what issues they are hearing about most.

Once you fully understand what’s important to your audience, you can create a list of general topics you think will appeal to them like:

• Product reviews and new product demonstrations
• Tips and assistance on issues your customers are currently experiencing
• Time and money saving tips that apply to your industry

When you have your topics outlined, spend a little time researching keywords.  You will use these keywords in your blog titles, subheaders, and throughout your blog posts.  These keywords will help search engines find your blog through SEO and show it to consumers who are looking for information on a topic associated with those keywords.

Blog Basics: Content Format

When creating your blog, there is an actual science you should understand.

First off, there are two types of blog readers out there: skimmers and consumers.  You want to create a blog that feeds the needs of both types.  You can achieve this balancing act through your content formatting.

Create catchy and descriptive subheaders that incorporate your keywords.  Your subheaders should also be bolded and marked with H2 tags so they stand out.  Again, this will help your overall SEO, but it will also make it easier for skimmers to glean information from your blog.

Secondly, you want to make your content easily digestible.  To do this, break your content up with:

• Small paragraphs (2-4 sentences)
• Bullet points
• Images

This visual layout will make it easier for both skimmers and true content consumers to read and digest your blog.

Blog Basics: Call to Action

Your last step to creating a blog that converts for your business is to include a clear call-to-action.  This can be handled via content or an image — just something that clearly states what you want them to do.

Whether it’s asking your readers to leave a comment, follow you on social media, or contact you for more information, it needs to be distinguishable and stand out.  It’s typically the last part of your blog as well (kind of like what we’ve done in the next paragraph, hint, hint).

Do you still have questions, need some additional guidance, or are you looking for someone to handle your business blogging needs?  Contact SBOW Web Solutions and we’ll take the fright out of your blogging efforts!