Opinions, news, events, solutions, tutorials – all are great subjects for a few words from you. It becomes an article, a blurb, your web news, yes, your blog.
Many websites use their Blogs to plug their product or services. Not a good idea. This is supposed to be new info, directions, events, not a rehash of your product descriptions. Better is a testimonial where your customer tells your story for you. Tell how your customers are using your widget, not how great your widget is.
Tips and tutorials relating to your business or an event relating to your business are always good subjects. Visitors will enjoy reading these, gain some knowledge, and come back again to find more. (Isn’t that what you do on the web?)
Use your new blog. Write about a new way to use your product or service. Ask for feedback. Readers are going to give you comments that will tell you whether you explained something they wanted to know and answer the question you asked, too. Isn’t that what a survey would do? This is better. You can reply to the commenter. Be sure to add a social media link so that they can tell their friends, too.
And, keep those words of wisdom coming! Write your posts regularly so that your first-time readers will find something new next time they come. Make sure you have a call to action to subscribe to your blog, via email or an RSS feed (WordPress software includes this automatically and is usually yourwebsite.com/feed).
See some of our web improvement articles where you’ll learn more about the importance of a blog within your website. Besides bringing prospects back to your website for more information, they help to give you a better search ranking by using words in the articles that your prospects are searching for. A couple of suggestions: “How to Improve Your Website Right Now” plus “Does Your Website Connect with Customers?” and “You Have to Do a Blog.”
Here are some sources to help you learn more about blogging:
- Denise Wakeman’s Building a Better Blog: www.buildabetterblog.com
- Content Rules by Ann Handley www.annhandley.com
- Unmarketing by Scott Stratten www.unmarketing.com
- ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse & Chris Garret do e-Learning www.learnable.com
- ProBlogger Darren Rouse’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
- Twitter.com Following many pro bloggers and reading linked articles.
With a WordPress website, you just go to the Post section, select New Post, and off you go. I suggest you keep a notebook of ideas for good articles so you can keep them coming. Good luck!
Please let me know if this post told you everything you needed to know about a blog in the comments below. Or, set me right if you have another way to go.
About Sally EricksonErickson Creative's Sally Erickson is a WordPress website builder, specializing in evaluating and improving business websites for more leads and better profits. Making better websites everyday…. connect with me on Twitter and FaceBook.
