Tips for Creating a Successful Blog

Blogging has been around for a while, but a lot of people still think of it as something people do to spout off random thoughts. Surf around the internet a bit, and you will see how wrong that thought is. Just about every business I know has either added a blog as a companion to their website, or they are in the process of doing it. But, many of them don’t know how to go about starting it, or helping it grow.

First we’ll start off with what a blog is; according to ProBlogger, one of the best sources for blogging there is, “- a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.” These entries can be found on the internet by doing a google search for the topic or company, or you can find them through social media. There are just as many types of blogs as there are people blogging. There are blogs that talk about people’s daily lives, blogs that focus on politics, The Huffington Post being one of the most popular in the niche, and blogs that provide businesses the opportunity to tell the public more about their services and/or products. You can see, it really runs the gamut. While there are more and more people starting blogs on a daily baisis, it can be hard to understand how to begin.

Pick a Good Blogging Platform

By this I mean, sign up for WordPress.com, Blogger, Typepad or any of the many other platforms that are out there. These websites give you access to easy-to-use templates that allow you to write your posts, insert pictures, audio and video, insert the relevant keywords that help you get picked up by search engines like Google and monitor your visitor comments; and that’s just to name a few. They are all really easy and fun to use. If you are starting a blog for a business, you may want to hire a ghost writer that already has experience in blogging. This will save you time and, in the long run, money. If the ghost writer knows what they are doing, they can get your blog noticed more quickly by search engines and the public.

Come Up With a Clear Focus for Your Blog

This is realy important. You want to make sure your blog sticks to a main topic. That isn’t to say that you can’t branch off into relate topics. For example; my business is internet marketing, and my blog has categories that fit into the large scope of my topic. So, let’s say your business creates websites; you could have categories on your blog like Reviews of New Computer Technology, Different Reasons You Need to Upgrade Your Website or Content Management for Your Website. You see how these are all related to website development, but broad enough to give you enough material to write about? A good way of trying to figure out what categories to write about is to ask your clients, check out related blogs or asking others in your industry what their thoughts are.

How Often Should You Blog

There are two schools of thought on this. Some feel it is best to update your blog daily, while others believe this just inundates the reader and is too much. Personally, I think three posts a week is good. First of all, three posts give your readers enough new information to want to check back on a regular basis, and more importantly, the search engines scour the internet several times a week looking for new information on websites, so posting three times a week ensures you’ll have new stuff for them to find each time.

These are just a few tips to help you get started. I’ll be writing more indepth articles on blogging, in the coming year. Please let me know, if I’ve left any important tips out, or if you have information to share with the readers. Your comments are vital to everybody who visits.

Advertisement