What you should always keep in mind, when it comes to blog writing for business, is that you’re not just writing for writing’s sake. Your content has to be driven by clear objectives. Your approach should be aligned with your overall business goals. And at the end of the day, it should always be able to promote your business, inform your customers, and engage your audience.

Keep in mind that companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month than those without. That said, there are some tried and tested guidelines that we ourselves follow when it comes to blog writing to develop a business.

Here are some that you should take note of:

1. Write for your customers

Remember that your blog isn’t for you. It’s for your customers. Business blogs are meant to be more of a platform that solves customer problems and answers questions about your product or service, instead of a platform for your own artistic ideas.

That’s not to say that you can’t give your blog your own voice or take a distinctive writing approach that’s recognizably your own. However, at the end of the day, whatever you publish should always be of value to customers. That should always take precedence over your own creative merit. So, be sure to establish the right balance between your creative ideas and your ability to provide fresh insight into a particular topic.

2. Plan your content

Map out what you want to write on a calendar. Business owners often cite lack of time and ideas as the main reasons why they don’t have a blog or are unable to maintain one with consistency. This can be addressed with a bit of planning.

I would advise planning articles or content a full month ahead. Dedicate one day to research possible ideas. Read through your customer’s comments to find out their frequently asked questions. Perhaps you can create multiple articles out of this by answering it. Use Google Adwords Keyword Tool to determine what your audience is actually searching for and incorporate that into your blog.

Once you’ve created a full calendar, make sure you allot time to developing these articles. If you find that you really don’t have the time to do it yourself, try tapping into the services of a professional writer or content provider.

3. Be consistent

People often debate how frequently you should update a blog, but I find that it’s not really how many times you post, but how consistent you are about it. Don’t start a blog, post every day and just as you’re starting to build momentum, abandon it because you don’t have the bandwidth to keep writing and publishing posts daily.

From the get-go, set a feasible schedule that you can maintain. If you can only produce and post something once a week, that’s fine—just be consistent about it.

4. Engage and interact with your audience

The great thing about the Internet is that it gives you a chance to directly interact and engage with your readers. It helps give a human voice to your business. Often, people leave follow up questions and clarifications in the comment section. Sometimes, they share their personal sentiments and opinion. Be sure to reply.

Blogs can definitely help grow your business by giving it additional visibility and by being a platform for engagement. If you don’t already have one, it’s time to start. Of course, not all businesses are equipped with the skills or have the time to dedicate to this task. So, if you think you need help building your business blog, contact us. We’d be happy to discuss how we can help.