8 Tips To Avoid Customers Falling Asleep Reading Your Blog
Andrew Gazdecki (CEO of BiznessApps) shares some important tips for bloggers. Image courtesy of olly2 via Bigstockphoto.
Content creation in business is a vital part of keeping the business afloat. According to a recent survey nearly 61% of consumers made big purchases based upon a blog post. Additionally 57% of companies survived reported that they have gained new customers from a blog. Yet, turning a profit from a blog can be a bit tricky, especially if you are new to blogging. Here are a few tips to help your numbers and your revenue add up.
1. Make your message clear
People have very short attention spans and so we have a tendency to scan information. This means that your blog has to have content that is easily seen and read. Make sure that your content has information that will hook them in. If all that you are posting is material about how great your business is, your blog will not do well. Your blog must provide a service to the people and empower them. And where the goal is to turn a profit, the goal is also to drive customers to your site as a source for information. For example: If Joe owns a roofing company, he can make blog posts about home improvement. He does not have to tell them how to roof a house (as that is his bread and butter), but he can tell the consumer how to detect a leak in their roof.
2. Don’t spam posts with keywords and SEO
Organic content is the new name of the game. Where in the past you would find blogs that had the same word repeated 100 times to help boost it to the front of the SERPs, today the market departments are focusing on comments, shares, real discussions, tweets, etc. which build up the content in the blog. Whatever you post will need to have some SEO and keywords but do not go overboard. At most keep it to 3%.
3. Think like a journalist
By this I mean think of your headline. Journalists understand that they can have a great piece but if the headline is a dud then the content will not be read. Craft an attention grabbing header for your blog which encourages reading. With this being stated, you do not want to put a header that does not relate immediately to the content within the blog. It has to match up. According to an online study 8 out of 10 people will read a header but only 2 will go on to read the blog. Making your blog header interesting and encouraging further reading is the first key.
4. Update your blog often
Yes, the quality of your writing should be the first focus of your blog. No one wants to read junk. However, after this has been taken into consideration you must keep the information updated and new post flowing. A person will typically only read a post once. If the content is really good they may read it twice. It is recommended that you update your blog at least once a week with quality/engaging material.
5. Be involved with your readers
Being involved in your blog goes beyond just posting content. You will need to answer comments from your customers. If there is a specific questions that is asked of a competitor’s product, answer the question and show how your product is superior. Do not be afraid to comment on negative feedback as it will show that you are a person and not just a machine.
The premise of a blog is to provide a media that people can get information about your company in an engaging way. If you think of the blog as a miniature PR, FAQ and information page about your business and you as the head of that department, you will be far more successful in your approach and your success.
6. Break up that text
Blogs must have images and other content to break up the text. Think about a newspaper. Now, imagine all of the images and the fonts being gone and replaced with only a 14pt header and plain text. It would be so overwhelming no one would read it. The same is true for your blog. Add video posts that relate to your product, use headers, bold fonts and add images. Creatively construct your blog so that it is visually appealing and draws the person in.
7. Wake them up with your call to action
If you want to have revenue then you have to make it to where a reader can invest. Create a unique call to action button at the end of your blog post. Do not use a hyperlink only and do not use the clichéd call to action like “Read More” or “Click Here.” If you are selling a book put “Get My Book Now” or if you have products available for a simple task put something that relates to that such as “Get Your Go-Cart Starter Pack Here.”
Remember, a blog is a part of your business and not a byproduct of it. To have revenue from this source dedication and the same professionalism you show other aspects of your business must be present. Implementing these tips is a great way to start.
