Wondering how to start a blog for your business, where to start and what to blog about?
Well, what better way to start my own blog than telling you how to start your own blog?
Ultimately, my goal as a copywriter is to help you find you voice, whether that’s via my keyboard or yours.
That’s right; in the words of Shayne Ward, that’s my goal.
I am certainly happy to be your facilitator in getting the right words onto your business’s website, into your brochure or anywhere else you’d like them to be. However, I’m also delighted to help you find a way to do it yourself if that’s what you’d prefer.
Maybe you need a little support to get your business website up and running with a few pitch-perfect pages and a handful of banging blog posts. But after that, you may feel like you can incorporate the time needed for a weekly blog into your schedule. If that’s the case, that’s great.
Or, perhaps you’ve actually overcome the dilemma of how to start your own business blog. Yet now, you don’t have the time to keep the content coming as quickly as you’d like. So, I can step in to support you and take a weight off your shoulders.
Either way, we can all agree on one thing. Starting a blog for your business is a brilliant idea.
So enough waffling from me, let’s find out exactly how you can start your own business blog. And in no time at all, you can become the content king or queen of your industry.
Can I really start a blog for my business? (Spoiler alert: yes)
Many people fear starting their own blog as they don’t feel like a “content creator”. Well, reality check – now, everyone is a content creator, so have a word with yourself and get cracking.
Nobody knows your business or industry better than you do. So the good news is, you’re already an expert voice on any subject surrounding it. And who better than an expert to blog on any given topic?
Cast your imposter syndrome aside and go all Nike on this situation. The best way to start a blog is in fact to simply just do it.
How do I set up a blog for my business?
If you already have a blog function on your website which has been lying dormant, then starting a blog for your business should be straightforward and stress-free. However, if you haven’t got a blog and you’re starting from scratch, fear not. It’s really not that complicated to set up your own blog, and here’s how.
Got a WordPress website? Then adding a blog to it is a simple option on your dashboard.
Or, if you’re not yet online, you can use WordPress to create your own blog in a few simple steps. WordPress is a great option for beginners, as it’s easy to use. It’s also free, although it will cost you a little to register your own domain if you haven’t done so yet.
One of the major plus points of using WordPress to start a blog for your business is the ease with which you can choose a theme to personalise your site. Have a play around and find the style that suits you, as well as a format that works for your business and its products or services. Just don’t forget to test how responsive your chosen theme is on mobile and tablet too, if you anticipate a lot of your traffic to come from different devices.
You could also start blogging on a platform like Medium to get started even faster.
Planning your business blog content
Once you’ve got the confidence and the tools to start a blog for your business, it’s time to make a plan. What do you hope to achieve from your blog? Do you want to sell products? Drive traffic? Grow your database? Position yourself as an industry expert? Or improve your SEO?
The best blogs have a clear focus, and a specific target audience in mind. This can be seriously specific, as in “a 30-40 year old female marketing director with children”. Once you can picture your audience, you can ask yourself before posting each blog: would my target customer find this interesting/informative/useful? If the answer is no, it’s probably not worth posting. After all, if they won’t share or engage with it, who will?
A crucial part of your blogging plan should also be how frequently to post. Two or three times a week is ideal, but once a week should be the minimum. It’s easy to see how small business owners struggle to maintain this kind of frequency. So, if it seems too daunting, speak to a professional copywriter about how they can support your business blogging goals.
What should I blog about?
So now you’ve overcome the deliberation over how to start your own blog. You’ve taken the plunge and set it up. WTF are you supposed to blog about?
The easiest way to start blogging is to write a list of the questions your customers ask you, then answer them.
Don’t put any pressure on yourself to write thousands of words on each subject. Simply answer each FAQ to the best of your ability, then upload it.
Already, you should have a decent bank of content to add to regularly. And if that all becomes a bit too time-consuming, that’s where a professional copywriter can step in and keep the momentum going on your behalf.
What tone should I use for my business blog?
Every business has its own unique style and personality. That’s why business blogging is never a “one size fits all” situation. If you’re the owner of a small business, you should have a good idea on the tone you use in your marketing, and this will extend to your blog.
When it comes to setting up a blog for a larger business you work for, it will be beneficial for you to determine the right tone of voice before launching a blog, so you can stick to the company ethos and avoid confusing customers.
You may feel like you’re the only one who can blog about your own business, but a great copywriter will be able to pick up the baton if you are struggling with the upkeep and maintain (or even evolve) the unique tone you have established for your blog.
Experienced writers are adept at switching tones easily for different purposes and audience. Therefore, as long as you get to know a little about each other and communicate what you need from a copywriting support service, your beloved blog will be in safe hands (leaving your hands free to do what you do best).
Where to turn if you need copywriting support for your business blog
Now you know a little about how to get started in setting up your business blog, I’d love to hear how you get on. Please post any questions or experiences of this in the comments.
And if you have hit the ground running with your blog but have found yourself struggling to keep the momentum, I’d be more than happy to have a chat about how I can support you in hitting those blogging targets to help you achieve your goals. Drop me a line and let’s chat.
