Blogging is obviously an important way to present your brand as an authority or industry leader. However, this is not an easy task. As a small business owner, you really need to work hard to attract more readers towards your blog and make them interested in building a business relationship with you. Here are 8 Blogging Tips for Small Business Owners to Attract More Readers..
#1. No sales pitch please
The purpose of your blog may be to increase traffic, generate leads or to build your brand as an authority. However, nobody will be interested in reading your blog post if it is only spreading sales messages. This will not impress the customers that you are looking for, and finally you will end up with disappointment.
For this reason, it is important to be helpful to your readers. You need to present yourself as an expert who solves your customers’ problems rather than sounding like a salesman who just wants to make sales.
#2. Compose catchy headlines
A headline is the starting point that directs your readers to read your blog post. If your headline is not impressive, then you can’t attract your readers. There are certain factors that differentiate a catchy headline from a generic one. A catchy headline should be specific, reader-focused and invoking curiosity.
#3. Maintain a personal tone, not a corporate tone
People are more interested in hearing from a person rather than a company. Thus, make sure that your blog post is conversational. You need to talk to your readers as a person, not as a company. Maintaining a personal touch would allow you engage more readers and build relationships with them.
#4. Have a strong opening paragraph
The opening paragraph is very crucial in determining whether your blog bost is going to get read completely or not. Your opening paragraph should keep your readers attention and make them interested to read more. If it is not interesting, then your readers would probably skip your article and try to find something better.
#5. Include the right keywords for SEO
No matter what your blog’s purpose is, doing a bit keyword optimization for SEO is very useful. Many bloggers overlook this and they don’t receive any long term advantages for their blog posts.
Ask yourself this question first.
Do I want my blog post generate long term traffic or just act as a newspaper?
Obviously you want long term traffic to your blog. This is why keywords are required. You know search engines are “long-term traffic drivers” to your blog post. For this reason, you need to include the right keywords on your blog post with search engine optimization in mind. Keyword research tools like Google keyword planner can help you find the right keywords.
#6. Inspire your readers with a conclusion
Your duty as a blogger isn’t finished after giving some helpful tips or advices to your readers. You really need to inspire your readers and encourage them to take an action. This is why you need a good conclusion part. This will make your readers remember you and they would probably come to your blog again and again for more information.
#7. Always include a call-to-action
Call-to-actions are important if you want to engage with your readers. Tell your readers exactly what you want them to do. Whether you want your readers to follow you on Facebook or Twitter or sign up for your email newsletter, make it clear for them. You don’t get unless you ask. However, make sure that you’re not asking them to buy from you in the end of your blog post. It will not do anything good for your business as it will only lose your reader’s trust.
#8. Write less and promote more
Writing blog posts on a consistent basis is good for you, but what if you don’t promote them? You need to pay more attention on promoting your blog posts as it will help you get more readers. Remember, it is always better to “write less and promote more” than “write more and promote less”. For promoting your blog posts, here are 4 cost-effective content promotion strategies for small businesses.
Conclusion
Every business is different, so does the customer. In order to succeed with blogging, there are two things you need to take care of. The first thing is you need to know your niche well. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify the areas that you can best serve your audience.
The second thing is that you need to keep your readers in mind while writing content. See what questions they want to get answered, what kind of solutions they are looking for, what are the struggles they are facing in day-to-day life, etc. This will help you craft great blog posts that grab the attention of your readers and customers.