You might not think writing for a business blog is much different than writing for anything else, but, when done right, it absolutely is. As modern-day readers, we are inherently trained to distrust big corporations, and breaking through that wall can be difficult for business blog writers. We’ve come up with some crucial elements, from one blog team to another, that we hope will make business blogging a tad easier.
1. Select original topics.
This a great idea that will actually help the popularity and authority of your blog post. If everyone and their mother have written about the same topic, it’s unlikely your post on this topic will be found by the everyday searcher. If you are doing research on a potential idea and you find very little written about it, that’s the jackpot. Odds are, within your industry, there are people who want to know about it – and you can establish yourself as the authority. People Google specific questions all day long, and your blog post will be there to answer them.
2. Devise a clear, concise, catchy title.
Before we played around with it, the title of this post was “Some Number We Haven’t Decided Yet to Help People Blog Better About Businesses…”. People lose interest in titles that drone on and on because they assume the meaty text of the post will be conducted the same way. In order to gain the short attention span of today’s searchers, you need to make it clear that your business blog post will help them by:
- Including the searched keyword in the title – this is what will make Google like your post enough to suggest it to searchers.
- Keeping the title short and sweet – this will ensure your message is established before searchers have time to scroll past.
- If possible, making the title catchy – this is what compels the searcher to click, intrigued by what you have to say.
3. Write for your audience.
Who is your audience? Soccer moms? Progressive teens? Do they know the ins and outs of your services? Or do they not even know what your service is? Writing to the mindset and knowledge of your audience is imperative. If you can assume that most readers won’t know the technical jargon of your industry (which is often the case), then you need to take that into account as you write. Don’t overwhelm them with specific lingo, and if you choose to use a bit of industry jargon, make sure it’s clear what you mean. This is different than dumbing it down. This is merely clarifying yourself for the sake of your readers that are less-educated on your industry. Your tone of voice has a lot to do with your audience, as well, but we’ll get into that in the next section.
4. Establish an appropriate tone of voice.
The tone of voice has a big impact on whether your readers trust your opinion on the topic at hand. Readers tend to distrust writing that is robotic, making it feel inauthentic. But they also tend to distrust writing that is too informal, sounding sloppy and uninformed. They key is to strike a balance between slightly informal, but still informative and educated. Keep in mind that different industries attract different audiences, and different audiences respond to different tones. If you’re a bank, readers might respond better to a more formal tone. But, if you’re a local ice cream shop, readers will probably enjoy something loosey-goosey, but still knowledgable. Pay attention to your desired demographic and write to them.
5. Implement bullets, numbers, and lists.
When you clicked on this post, you probably scrolled a little, saw the bulleted list a couple sections above this one, and went immediately to it. That’s because, in the effort of speeding things up, our eyes often gravitate to anything we feel can summarize the information in front of us. This is why bulleted or numbered lists are prime for keeping readers on your page. They draw the reader in with a taste of the awesome information you have for them, encouraging them to read the rest.
6. Use a compelling image.
Images are key. The featured image (the one that pops up in blog feeds and at the top of the article) should be thought-provoking and relevant. Of course, the more the merrier, so add in other images, screenshots, data plots, gifs, videos, etc. throughout. People are drawn to and retain 65% more information when it is paired with visual content (Source), so it goes without saying (although we said it anyway) that including visual materials in your business blog is not only useful, but integral.
Above all, write.
Keep in mind, these are only a few of the basics of a business blog. You’ll develop more as you write, so pay attention to patterns in your audience and their responses to your posts. Our team at Presentation Multimedia is always happy to answer questions and give tips. Keep marketing and keep writing!