How to start a blog for your business
The blog, a platform where you can inform, educate and engage all at the same time. It is a place where you can share thoughts, tips and even work to promote your business or yourself.
Why is blogging important? Well according to a study done by Optinmonster, 77 per cent of Internet users read blogs. So if you aren't sure if you should start a blog for your business, just have think about that stat, also read more on why here: “Six reasons why you need to start writing content and a solution to get you started!”.
On top of this, approximately 409 million people view more than 20 billion pages a month! That is a lot of content consumption.
So how do you begin? Well, let’s go through the stages of starting a blog so you can get your valuable content out there!
Platform
Before you start planning out the blog and actioning posts, you want to look at the platform you will be using to post your blogs on. If you already have a website, there is a very high chance the website platform will offer a blog plugin.
If this is the case, jump in and have a look at all the settings, how to post photos, what type of backend information is needed and how you will post to it.
You want to make sure you know how to post before you promise blog content, just in case you have any issues! Each platform will have a “help” information guide to help go through all the elements of creating a blog - so make sure you read this!
If you don’t have a website, I recommend starting with WordPress, it is one of the largest blogging platforms and is very easy to use!
Content plan
Once you have worked out your blogging platform, start planning out your content. How many times a month will you post?
Make sure you have a plan around how often you will post, what topics you will post on and make sure it all flows with your business and marketing strategy.
How often should you post? This is completely up to what feels right for you! But you want to make sure you are consistent and that your readers are hearing from you. My recommendation is weekly or fortnightly!
You want your content to be engaging for your readers, so make sure you are asking them the types of topics they want to know more about!
You can start forming this after your first blog post. Ask these questions at the end of each blog or on your social media platforms.
Of course, you also want to generate content ideas. If you are stuck on this part, you can get inspiration on how to never run out of content ideas here!
NOTE: you want to make sure you blog is also optimised for SEO with the keywords you use.
If you want to learn more about SEO, we have some great resources you can read.
Image library
Once you have set up your plan, have your platform and are ready to start writing content, you want to have a bank of images you can use.
You might have your own images to post (which is recommended) or can generate images from photo library sites like iStock. If you are looking for a free platform, try Unsplashed!
Personally, I think your own images work well, but it depends on the type of business you are running!
You can also embed GIFs like I have done within this article.
Batching content
You have your plan and your images, now try and spend some time batching content! That way you will have a good bank of posts and won’t waste time each week or month trying to get the content out.
This will also ensure you are consistent because all you have to do is post, rather than write and then post each time you want to get a blog out. But batching is something that needs to work for you!
Schedule days for content writing.. or if you are a traveller the plane is GREAT!
Dedicate time each month (or week) to start batching content!
Editing
The content might be ready to post, but have you made edits and proofread the blog? This is the most important part! Run your work through the platform Grammarly (this is my FAV app) and also get your computer to read your content out to you - this will help you pick up on mistakes.
Both of these will help to ensure you haven’t missed anything! Even print it off to read the blog in hardcopy, let's go old school!
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HOW IMPORTANT EDITING IS!!! Make sure you do this part, even leave it for a few days before you read it - makes for fresh eyes!
The Marketing Funnel to start your own blog
Promotion
Once you are happy and have posted the blog, make sure you promote it! According to the stats, 95.9 per cent of bloggers promote their blog using social channels!
It is very important you do this so people can read your content!! Add it to your IG website link, share it on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook! Get it out there so people can see what you have to offer!!
If you SEO has been done “right” you will also find you will get organic traffic through Google Search, but remember, this takes time! Consistency and good content is key!
Make sure you add this to your content plan.
Get producing content
When you are producing any form of content, the key is consistency and free added value! Make sure your content is providing value to your readers and make sure you are showing up to promote the content as well!
Talk about it on social media, get it out there! But at the same time, make sure it adds value and isn’t generic content. On average 53 per cent of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority, however, 60 per cent of B2B marketers struggle to create content that is engaging! SO MAKE IT ENGAGING!!
How do you create engaging content? Have a content strategy, listen to your audience and start giving away value for FREE!!
Long-form content is key for not only adding value to your clients, but it also boosts your search engine optimisation. You can read more on that in another blog: “The 6 content SEO myths that will shock you - but also make content production so much easier!”.
If you are struggling to get your content out there and need more guidance with a strategy, get it down in a document and start planning! You can only learn by doing! We have the perfect content strategy template to get you started!
Or if you want the how to steps to start a blog, we have a guide as part of our Content Templates bundle. You can buy it here.