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Every startup business needs to have a home on the web, and you’ll want to take the time to assess your competitors’ websites. Regardless of whether those in your niche are blogging or not shouldn’t make blogging an option for you as well. A business website without a blog is simply a business that is not taking advantage of the practically unlimited opportunities made possible by blogging. All that content can serve many powerful purposes.
Blogs are a dynamic aspect of a website. The influx of new blog posts helps keep a website on the radar of various search engines. A great offering of blog posts should also be balanced by static web pages that offer information about your business as well as cornerstone content of key pieces that can help visitors determine how useful your site will be to them. Great content will pull visitors in and keep them there, and this is a boon for your business.
Establish Brand Authority
Traffic will come in time as you continue to add new posts to the blog associated with your custom domain name. You’ll want to pick topics that will lead to readers viewing you as an industry-expert in your field. Take the time to weigh the pros and cons concerning writing blog posts aimed at fellow experts or for potential customers. In either case, aim to produce high-value content that can help others solve problems related to what your business offers. Veer away from spammy posts that sing the praises of your products or services.
Generate Targeted Traffic
It can take a while to get the hang of consistently publishing posts within a set number of categories on topics and content that appeals to your audience. This process can be helped along significantly by taking the time to do homework on what keywords are most likely to drive search engine traffic to your site. It’s also advisable to value quality or quantity. Longer blog posts are favored by search engines over shorter posts. Never put out a placeholder post for the sake of getting something out. Readers’ time is valuable. Treat it as such.
Convert Visitors To Customers
Once you’ve amassed a collection of posts and have taken the time to focus on keywords within those posts that will help you establish brand authority, the next step is to convert those visitors to customers. The longer a new visitor stays on your site, the higher the chance they will return again. Consider offering a download freebie as incentive for signing up for an email list to receive posts via email. Or consider segmenting your email signup to offer a subscription to your newsletter as a way to take advantage of exclusive content and special offers.
Build A Community
When it comes to reasons a blog if vital to your startup, never underestimate the power of building a community. Engaged readers will often leave detailed comments that further elaborate on a topic in a post. They will also share your blog content on various social media sites. Guest posting on established sites can help draw traffic to your site as can being active in various online groups and discussion boards. This can be time-consuming, so spend that time wisely. Take all comments seriously, and also take the time to reciprocate blog comments on a regular basis. Being helpful and giving of information in your comments can go far.
Become A Better Entrepreneur
Blogging success doesn’t happen overnight, but a blog’s growth can be a crucial indicator of areas a business could stand to work on. Producing content for a blog can serve as a great excuse to allow yourself to do research in a needed area to help your business grow. This is a great way to have a post do double-time while you make money from your blog. A business blog is also a good way to show reader a bit of your personality. It’s no secret that customers connect more and more with people these days rather than faceless brands.
If you’ve yet to start a blog, now is the time. Of course mistakes will be made, but you will grow from those mistakes. The key is to not give up. Blogging is for the farsighted and takes time to fully take root. It’s also a great way to give new and repeat customers a sense of what life is like behind the scenes of your business. With each post, you are telling the story of what you have a passion for when it comes to earning a living, and that is some mighty powerful stuff.
