Writing a Blog for Your Website

So you want to write a blog for your business, but getting started is a battle.

You have a marketing plan. You know you need to be using social media platforms. You have great ideas and a great product or service to sell. Unfortunately, none of that will matter if you can’t tell your story. A well-written blog can garner some respectable recognition for your business. Some bloggers are known as experts in their field, just because of their blogs.

So where do you start? We hope this guide will help.

Generally speaking, a blog can be broken down into three main sections: Title, Body and Conclusion. Let’s start with the title.

Decide on a Title?

What do you want to write about in your blog? Once you decide, try to describe what you want to write about in a few key words. It could be something like “Spring Mulch Delivery” or “Leadership Training,” or “Beginning Ballet Classes.” Once you have decided on your subject, then work on a title.

Some bloggers will write the post and then write the title at the end. We do not recommend this. If you’re stuck for a headline, flip through a magazine or skim the internet to see how the pros do it. Having a clear title means have a clear subject established in your own mind. It may take a little time, but having a solid title from the beginning will help keep the rest of your blog on course.

Great Blog Titles Usually…

• Solves a problem
• Simplifies a process
• Encourages an action
• Offers insight and advice

The Body of the Blog

One important thing to remember about blogs is your audience(s).  Not only are you writing for your reader, you are also writing for Google. Your website is the main source of information about your company, on the internet. Professional bloggers suggest keeping your paragraphs short and language clear and easy to read.

First Paragraph

The first sentence of the first paragraph should be an expanded version of the title. You don’t want a title that takes the reader in one direction and a first paragraph that takes them in another. Make sure Google, and your readers, understand what you are talking about.

Headings

Headings allow the reader to navigate the page easily. Often readers will skim over blog headings before deciding if they want to invest the time to read further. Headings are also an import place to repeat those keywords. Try to work them into one or two headings.

Length

Not so long ago, a 300 to 500 word blog was considered “strong content.” Now the new standard is somewhere around 1,000 words per blog. As the internet continues to grow, so does the competition for Google’s attention. While there are always exceptions to any rule, longer blogs with more keywords, are better than short blogs.

Writing 1,000 words is easier than you think, especially when you are writing about your own business, or any subject about which you are passionate. But 1,000 words does take time. Carve out a minimum of a few hours, where you can write without distractions.

Writing teachers will often tell you, “Great work is re-written.” Sometimes an idea might take you to your computer, where you will write a blog start to finish. For most of us, we bang out a first draft, leave it alone for awhile, then go back and polish it up. When you’re editing gets down to single word choices, that’s when you know you are finished. Some writers work faster than others. However long it takes, is how long it takes.

Paragraphs

It’s not a hard rule, but in general professional bloggers suggest keeping your paragraphs to five or six lines, at the most. Sometimes you might have a paragraph that is only one line. That’s completely fine. When it comes to paragraph length, less is more.

Images

Don’t forget to break up your paragraphs with images and graphics. Most people these days will not read a whole page of grey text.

Conclusion

The conclusion is an important part of your blog. In the conclusion you will summarize what you’ve just written in the blog. As mentioned above, many readers will skim to the bottom and read the conclusion, to help them decide if they want to invest in reading the blog.

Some professional bloggers recommend ending your conclusion with a question. That way the readers are more inclined to leave a comment. When readers respond to you blog, you have created “engagement.” And engagement usually generates more engagement, as well as more attention to your website. Another tip for the conclusion is to include a call to action.

Start with Facebook and Twitter. These formats are a great place to start because you probably already have connections there. You can share the link to your blog on your Facebook or Twitter account. If your friends share your post, you will get more engagement.

If your blog is shared multiple times, through multiple generations and connections, then is could go viral. In this case, “viral” is good.

Email Marketing

Once you have a few blogs written, you’ll want to make sure you are remembering both your old and your new readers. A good way to do this is through email marketing. You can use the email addresses of your visitors (with their permission of course), to notify them of your next blog.

We hope this helps those of you who like to write your own content. At Web Design by Knight, we really believe blogging makes a difference in your presence on the internet. Are you happy with your blog content? If you don’t have time to blog, or you would rather not, contact us.  We can take the stress of trying to write a regular blog, so you can focus more time and energy on managing your business. We’re happy to answer your questions about our professional content writing services, with includes search engine optimization (SEO).