In part 1 of our blog about blogging, we discussed the value of blogging as an effective way for businesses to reach customers using content marketing. In part 2, we are going to give you tips on how to map out a solid blog that will keep readers coming back for more.
After you are set up with your blog, you are now going to start publishing blog articles. Before you start writing, it is a good idea to figure out what the message of your blog page is going to be about. A message that has consistency will help your readers to know what to expect and make it easier for you to promote your blog. For example, National Technologies Group's blog is primarily about helping people understand technology; people that routinely read our blog articles have this expectation in mind. If you are blogging on your company's website, then you will want to write about themes that are consistent with the message of your business.
One important rule to point out when blogging is the lack of rules for blogging. Blog articles are designed to give writers a lot of freedom to express opinions and be personable; many people even use blogs as a sort of published dairy. When writing for your company, you might find yourself limited about how personal you can be. Although, this is not always the case, sometimes a personal blog article about your family, pets, or fun stories from around the office, will help to give your blog a touch of humanity that readers will appreciate.
Being personable is a good writing strategy, but when you are writing for the voice of your company, it's a good idea to not get too personal and go on rants about controversial topics or blast other businesses--you can make your own separate blog for personal rants such as these. When blogging, the same rules that have always applied as to what a representative of a business should or shouldn't say, also applies to blog articles.
You will also want to have a clear picture of your target audience and adjust the tone of your blog articles accordingly. Again, using National Technologies Group's blog as an example, we write blog articles with an audience of technology users in mind who can benefit from our managed IT services. If we were writing a blog article for our professional peers in the IT industry, we would have to adjust our writing and be a lot more technical.
Knowing your audience and your message will not only determine what you write about, but it will also affect the tone of your message. While there is no set rule for using a writing style that is formal or informal, your target audience will play into this. If you are writing to a specific group like your customer base, then use a writing style that is consistent with how you talk to them in person. If you are trying to get your message out to everybody on the Internet, then you will want to be more formal.
With your message articulated, your audience determined, and you tone all set, now comes the fun part, writing! We will dive more into the writing process for blog writing in part 3 of A Blog about Blogging.
