If you have a Web site to promote your brand, book or business, do you also have a blog?
A blog adds something valuable to a Web site if you post articles several times a week – fresh content to let the search engines know your Web site is active.
Yet blog posts done well can also add to the attraction human visitors find when they visit your Web site. And if you’re blogging to support your business goals, then there are two important elements:
• Your blog posts should relate to those business goals.
• Your blog posts should be easily read.
The second point I’ve talked about before – short paragraphs, black type on light background, boldface subtitles for long posts, an illustration if possible to draw the reader into the content.
It’s the first point I’d like to address here:
Do your blog posts relate to the business goals of your Web site on which the blog is located or links to?
Many of us have various interests – some professional, some personal. And these interests may not get along so well within the format of the same blog.
People who regularly follow your business blog will probably not be pleased to read an entire blog post about your Thanksgiving meal with your family. At least not unless the meal triggered an incredible business application that you’re willing to share in the same blog post.
Your report on your Thanksgiving meal may warrant a status update on Facebook. Or, if you want to write a long report, email it to your best friends and family members. But don’t expect your business blog readers to be enthralled by what you ate.
That said, it’s actually a good idea to add personal information in business blog posts in order to indicate that you’re a person and not a robot. But these personal tidbits should fit within the framework of an overall business blog post; they should not be the focus of the post.
Another possibility is to have numerous blogs. Then when you are hit with the inspiration to write on a specific topic, the question becomes on which blog does this post best fit? While there may be post topics that could fit with more than one of your blogs, it is still a good idea to consider the topic consistency on each blog before deciding where to publish that specific post.
As you create your online presence for your business, you want to always be aware of how you are presenting yourself and your brand. You want to be careful not to turn people off because you have forgotten which hat you’re wearing when you write a new blog post.
Bottom line: Share valuable and theme-related information on your business blog to establish that blog as the go-to blog for that particular information.
(c) 2009 Miller Mosaic, LLC
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the Twitter marketing expert at Site-Booster.com. If you liked this article, you’ll love her company’s free report on “Power Marketing’s Top 3 Internet Marketing Tips” – claim your report now from www.millermosaicllc.com/free-report
Plus this information package may interest you:
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For more information, read these articles:
Internet marketing: It is important to have a consistent message across cyberspace
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Comments
Great post! A lot of people know they should have a blog for their business, but that's about it. I love the way you tie in your blog to your brand-building business plan. That's what it's about as a serious business owner.
Tony --
Thanks, as always, for your support of what I write. I really appreciate it!
Phyllis
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