6 Characteristics Of A Kick-Ass Blog
Blogging can work wonders for your small business. Does it require a time commitment? Yes. Will it be worth the effort? Yes … BUT to realize the fruits of your labor, your blog will need to possess six specific characteristics. Nail these qualities and you can rightfully consider yourself the owner of a kick-ass blog. Here goes!
Ok, so before unveiling the characteristics of the mystical kick-ass blog, let’s quickly recap why business blogging can be so fantastic in the first place:
A blog fuels SEO. Each time you publish a new post, you’re essentially creating a new page for search engines to index and rank! Google LOVES relevant and valuable content.
It’s fodder for your social media. Think of it this way: the blog post itself is content that can be shared. From it, you can also create infographics and other interesting messages and visuals that can be linked back to it. Two birds. One stone. You catch our drift.
A blog stimulates conversation. Blogging is a great way to not only share information with your target audience, but to in turn, get them talking and engaged.
Blogging is an extremely cost effective marketing strategy. If you can write the content yourself, the only cost to you is your time.
A blog is a prime place to capture new leads. When people land on your blog, they have arrived for a reason. They’re looking for an answer to a question or a specific piece of information. If they like what they see, there’s a good chance they’ll want to become a subscriber or explore other content you have to offer.
Yes, blogging can present a pretty awesome opportunity for your small business. However, there’s a method to the madness.
If you want a blog that generates lots of website traffic and new leads … which is what we would classify as a kick-ass blog … then you must do these six things:
1. Be helpful.
There’s absolutely no point in having a blog if your content isn’t considered valuable by your audience. Your blog topics should address the pain points experienced by your ideal buyer persona. Your posts should help them answer questions that pertain to your business and/or industry. It’s all about education … not brand touting!
One of the most common questions we get asked by new bloggers is, “What should I write about?” The answer is actually quite simple. Just think about the questions that customers or clients most commonly ask you and answer them! Another goldmine for content is your website. If you have access to your analytics, do some research on what areas of your website are generating the most traffic. This is a great way to determine high level subjects to address.
2. Be detailed.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but 300-word posts are not going to cut the mustard. To demonstrate authority on the subject matter, and to be taken seriously by Google, you’ll want to dig in and get detailed. You can definitely feel free to quote from and link to other authoritative resources in your industry. However, the bulk of your posts should reflect your own unique ideas on whatever topic it is you’re writing about.
3. Be consistent.
Consistency is the key to being successful with blogging. Don’t leave your subscribers hanging. If you publish a great piece of content only to then go silent for the next two months, you’re setting your audience up for disappointment. Consistency is also critical if you want to see results in SEO. We recommend blogging once or twice a week if possible!
4. Be human.
There used to be a time when keyword stuffing worked. This is absolutely not the case anymore. In fact, Google will penalize you for doing it. When you’re writing your blog posts, the tone and style should match the tone and style of how you actually speak to your customers or clients. It’s perfectly ok to sound like a human being when you write … and, truthfully, it’s encouraged! It’s actually another great thing about blogging. You can be you! There’s no need for a degree in English. If you can string sentences together in a grammatically correct way, you’re qualified to blog. (Note: Spelling and grammar will make or break your audience’s confidence in you so definitely be sure to proofread!)
5. Be strategic.
If you’re not utilizing calls-to-action (CTAs) in your blog, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Think of your blog as the thing that draws people to your website. Now it’s time to keep them active and engaged while you already have their attention! By strategically placing CTAs in each blog post, you can subtly let your site visitors know the next steps they should be taking. Case in point: at the end of this post, you’ll see a CTA to download our guide to blogging! (Definitely be sure to grab a copy of that before you go!)
You’ll also want to optimize each and every post for SEO. While you never want to stuff keywords into your content, you’ll want to sprinkle them around in a way that makes sense.
Also, be sure each URL contains the primary keyword you’re looking to rank for and is easy to read. URLs are better left short and sweet. You can drop stop words like “a,” “but,” “and,” “of,” the,” etc.
6. Be unique.
As we all know, there is a plethora of blog content already out on the Internet. It’s next to impossible to generate subject matter that no one else has ever written about. However, what you can do is put a unique spin on your content. In our experience, sharing your actual stories or experiences as it relates to a subject works very well. Get creative with your posts and never be afraid to add your own personal touches!
We hope this helps in your small business blogging endeavors! Oh, and as promised, here’s that CTA we mentioned above! ;)