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Published by: Judy Cobb 04-16-2013  |  POSTED IN: Traffic Tuesdays

Words Blog 19: Building an Effective Blog - Have a Plan

 
A blog is an informational website that features regular updates (posts) and comments. Many blogs not only include the topics written by the blog's owner but also have comments and questions from people who read the blog or from guests who have been invited to write one or more postings.
 
An effective blog on your website can improve your website's visibility in Internet searches and build your business's credibility with customers, potential customers and the public. It also allows you to maintain the currency of content on your website, which can improve its visibility in web searches. 
 
Whether you already have a blog or are thinking about starting one, consider how to make your blog useful and interesting. Ask yourself what you are doing or intend to do with your blog and whether a blog can improve your website and support your business. Use this analysis to develop a plan for the website: what type of blog you are going to create, what content you will post, how frequently you are going to blog, whether you will allow comments and other high-level decisions.  
 
Blogs can be as individual as the people who write them. Business blogs most commonly discuss their industry, business trends, expert information about their business or customer questions and issues.
 
That said, there are many business blogs out there, particularly in highly competitive industries. Your blog will work best if you find a way to make it unique and interesting or to focus it on the community your business draws most of its customers from. 
 
For example, most realtors in large metropolitan areas focus their services on particular communities, geographical areas or types of real estate. Many realtor websites include blogs about current real estate trends, values and offerings in their area. 
 
That isn't necessarily the only type of blog that would build traffic to a realtor's website. Here are some other blog strategies that might work:
 
- Interesting facts about the communities he or she serves.
- Current community events and activities.
- Architectural history of the community and buildings of note in the area.
- Community issues and challenges, which might include guest posts by key community leaders and activists.
 
In one community, a business owner has a humorous blog where he creates silly contests or posts jokes and odd facts. That strategy would not work for most business people, but this person is well established in his community and has always been known for the gimmicks he uses in his business.
 
As a result, he has many local followers who can't wait to see what he's written on his latest blog. Using humor is a tricky strategy because everyone's sense of humor is a little different, and the wrong joke can on easily offend individuals or groups. However, a humorous blog works for this business.
 
Look at your competitors' websites and blogs and at blogs posted by similar businesses in other parts of the country. Identify areas that are not covered by those blogs or think of ways to make your blog stand out from the others. Particular expertise in subjects related to your business or your willingness to deal with challenging issues like hidden costs or potential hazards can build interest in your blog and a following.
 
Whatever direction you set for your blog, you have to be able to maintain it over time. That means posting new blogs when people expect them: hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. That represents a commitment of someone's time and energy. Maintaining a blog can build credibility for your business, but starting a blog and letting it languish can hurt your credibility.
 
These days, a number of successful blogs are built around guest posts. The owners of these blogs invite key people in their industry, researchers and members of the community to write posts for the blog. If you have a good network of contacts, this strategy could pay off. Blogging as a guest has advantages for the guest as well: it provides him or her with visibility on the Internet and can be a source of backlinks to his or her website.
 
Allow your blog to evolve over time. You may start with a plan, but writing a blog and hearing from people who follow you blog can provide you with important information about how to improve what you are doing. And one approach can get stale with time.
 
Continue to look at what your competitors are doing. If you had a good blog strategy to begin with, others may have copied your approach, and it may no longer be as fresh as it originally was. That does not necessarily mean that you need a new approach, but it may mean that you should come up with other ideas or expand what you are doing.
 
Building and maintaining a blog can be an interesting and rewarding experience, both economically and intellectually. It also represents a commitment over time. The benefits in terms of credibility and following can far outweigh the costs to assure the blog maintains its value and interest for your customers and potential customers.
 
 
As always, you can help us assure that every blog post in this series provides you with tangible suggestions and ideas for building or improving your website. Please share your ideas, comments, questions and suggestions with us. Feel free to leave comments below or to email Judy at [email protected].
 
Judy Cobb is an independent writer and business writing coach whose clients have included Parsons Engineering, Mattel Toys, The Los Angeles Times and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has specialized in developing training materials for instructor-led courses as well as interactive online courses and websites. She holds advanced degrees from Columbia University and Stanford as well as an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management.
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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