7 Rules For An Effective Blog

Content marketing has now officially proved itself as part of any modern marketing campaign. Put simply – if you don’t have a blog, you should do.

Why Do I Need Content?

Why? Because you can save yourself time and money by creating content that replaces phone calls, meetings, and lengthy explanations – all by articulating your expertise online and simply sending links to your potential customers in advance of meetings.

People interested in your industry will follow your blog and build trust in your business. The more great content you put out, the more trust and interest you gain. Your website works for you 24 hours a day. It amplifies your authority in your industry for you while you sleep.

But mindlessly publishing tonnes of words isn’t the answer.
Information is freely available online for almost anything, so don’t pump out worthless content. Give your audience a reason to read and to come back for more. More importantly, do not put your readers off..!! Follow these seven top tips to keep your site content up there with the best:

1) No Bad English

Yes, we may be in the world of instant messaging where everyone is rushing to make themselves heard, but putting “cud” “gonna” or “lol” on your blog is going to make you sound like a 15-year-old planning a cinema date. In addition, I see lots of bad grammar splashed over the web, often from high profile companies who should know better. Bad grammar is bad branding.

Your posts are representative of your brand and your values. If your blog is badly kept, then maybe your products and serves are delivered in the same way. That’s the image you’d be putting over by not covering this base properly.

2) Call To Action

Why is your blog there? To serve you and your customers. If you don’t have any calls to action, you’re not asking your audience to do anything. People don’t magically do things – they need a nudge. It could be anything. For example:
“Next time you go a website, think about what you do first” is a call to action. You told your audience to pay more attention to their website behaviour. This is useful to them. You just did them a favour by making them aware of something new. Good blogger!

Others you might consider:

• ask us a question
• drop us an e-mail
• make a comment
• sign-up for a mailing list
• try our free demo
• buy now
• implement our idea

3) No images

A picture really does speak a thousand words. Not only that, but it will ramp up your conversion rate and the attention of your readers no end. Even if you just break up blocks of text, some simple images will improve the look and feel of your posts and encourage readers to spend more time on your page.

4) Don’t Ramble

People often ask what is the perfect length for a piece of content. The answer? There isn’t one. Top marketer Seth Godin publishes daily but cuts to the chase with less than a paragraph each time – he has one of the most popular blogs on the planet. (Just type “Seth” into Google and see for yourself).

Longer content tends to perform better, but only in the fact that you have the chance to give more depth and value to your points. Sometimes you need 1500 words to properly explain something to a dedicated audience who are really getting some substance from your content. If that’s the case, do it. Just make sure that your delivering value and not filling your site with fluff. Re-editing is the key -If in doubt, take words out!

5) Shallow Sales Pitches

Always remember that your blog is there to help first, and sell second. Ever given a marriage proposal on a first date? Probably not. That’s because you already know that getting to build a relationship is crucial before entering into something serious. Business is the same. Think of blogging as dating. A sales-pitch is a marriage proposal. Don’t go making a fool of yourself by ignoring the natural order of things and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

If you want to promote something that you sell, that’s fine. Frame it as educational support, rather than a sales pitch. Those pushy sales techniques may  work on the web, but they are dying out. Showing that you only care about the sale damages your relationship with readers. They can easily hop elsewhere and find a blog that serves them well – so better to make it yours that they choose, rather than your competitors. If no one is reading, then no one is buying….

6) Clickbait Headlines

This stuff is the scourge of the web. Often found on cheap adverts, clickbait lures you in with a deceptive headline so you’ll click, and then disappoints with empty or pointless content – often used by trashy sites. This is a sure way to waste your readers time & develop a terrible relationship with your audience, so best avoided.

Oh, and search engines hate click bait as they know that people run from your site once they realise they’ve been duped. Search engines pay attention to how long people spend on your page, as it is a signal for relevancy to the terms you typed into the search bar. In short, the longer people spend on a search result, the better – so keep that content quality high and relevant!

7) Unprofessional content

What tone are you taking with your audience?

The tone of your blog should reflect how your company operates as you are writing on behalf of the company.

If your company is an informal and chatty environment, then reflect that in the blog. Do be a little careful of becoming too casual, as your customers are still looking for a solid solution to their problem.
If you’re finding that you do want to express yourself in a more relaxed way, then another platform is probably a better place to do

Content is a massive part of your marketing and is now a critical part of generating customers for any business. Don’t get left behind! If you want to know more about how you can use content successfully in your business, drop us a quick question in the comment box. It takes you less than a minute & could save you hours!