What makes a good business blog?
One of the things that can really hold a business back from making effective use of social media is a lack of content. We recommend posting a new blog article at least weekly – it gives you stuff to Tweet, updates for your LinkedIn status, fresh content in which to seed SEO phrases, etc. 
Which is all well and good, if you can think of what to write!
Blogging basics
This seems to go well for the first month or so, as you work through the first batch of ideas… then ideas often start to run dry. So here’s a quick run-down on what you should aim to hit to get a blog post out there that people want to read, and feel inclined to pass on. The bare essentials:
- Limit your posts to 500 words maximum, our rule of thumb is about ten minutes to read… about long enough to read with a cuppa.
- Break your post up on the page into headings and bullet points to enable quick scanning.
- Make it useful – give some advice or insight that is genuinely useful to the reader.
Blog ideas to get you started
We get our best ideas from the questions we’re asked by clients. If you find yourself answering the same question often, then you’ve found a great blog topic. One technique that I find handy is after a networking event, client workshop or coffee meeting, I take five minutes to jot down anything in the conversation I’ve just had that could make a good blog topic. Here are a few thought starters for blog structures that always work well:
- # top tips for… (e.g. 5 tips for effective note-taking, 10 tips for proofreading marketing content)
- # step guide to… (e.g. 7 steps to creating marketing material from your desk)
- How to… (e.g. How to write a marketing brief)
- 3 reasons why… (e.g. 3 reasons not to blog)
- Why X is like Y (a good analogy is one of my personal favourites, e.g The Jamie Oliver approach to marketing)
- Have you ever wondered…
- A day in the life of… (e.g. Experiences of a first time blogger)
- In response to…
- An interview with…
- Jargon busters (e.g. Your marketing questions answered)
As well as the five minute review of interesting conversations, we suggest that our clients have an area on their intranet, or desktop, to jot ideas as they come to them through the week… train journeys always work well for me. And, a bit of teamwork to share and enhance ideas works brilliantly too.
You don’t need to start with a blank sheet of paper
You may not know it, but you already have loads of great blog material. Take a look through your back catalogue for things you’ve previously prepared that could be re-purposed into a blog. This blog is being written using a training handout we often use. Think about:
- Presentations you’ve given
- Reports you’ve prepared for clients
- Proposals you’ve prepared
- News coverage you’ve achieved
- Case studies you have
- Campaign material you’ve prepared – like papers
- Training material you’ve created
A business blog is an excellent way of getting the word out, demonstrating your credentials, and of drawing people into conversation with your business. And, from conversations come sales – so, what’s stopping you?
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
If this blog is of interest to you, you my also like to read:
- Blog: One piece of content, 20 ways to use it
- Blog: Three reasons not to blog
- Blog: Copywriting, seven reasons why medium matters
Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
What sort of blogs do you like to read?
Please use the comment function below to share your thoughts on what makes a good blog.
Published on 1 September 2010
