Eight Keys to Building Blog Readership

You know it’s time to get your blog up and running, but you’ve got tons of questions. What kind of content should I be writing? How often do I need to write? It’s worth investigating: When done right, a blog can become the perfect platform to educate your audience about your company and core competencies.

Check out these eight tips on writing a blog that will have readers coming back for more:

1. Find your niche. If you’re writing a blog specifically for customers, you’re likely to share some of their interests. What types of posts grab their attention? Plan your content around specific topics that you know well and that your customers would like to explore. Ideally, you want them to relate to your business and perspective without making your blog an overt product pitch.
2. Develop your voice. Your blog can’t sound stuffy. Even blogs from big companies have moved away from sanitized corporate-speak, preferring casual banter with their audience. Your blog is a way to relate directly with your readers. If you write as if you’re having a conversation with them or telling them a story, they’re more likely to have a better response than if you talk “at“ them.
3. Post regularly. How regularly you add new content depends on your audience, but remember, posting for posting’s sake is never a good idea. Two to three posts a week that are a perfect fit for your intended audience are better than 10 that miss the mark.
4. Add an RSS feed. Having an RSS feed allows you to send just-posted content directly to readers. Your readers won’t have to check the website for new content, and that could increase your readership.
5. Use blog content in different ways. If you have a customer newsletter, make sure it always includes your latest blog content. Contribute content from your blog to other sites, such as association websites and newsletters. Continue to look for new outlets for your content that will drive visitors back to your posts.
6. Share, share, share. Think about your audience and where they like to go to find content that fits their interests. Is it LinkedIn? Twitter? Find the most appropriate social media outlets for your content and share it. This infographic provides some interesting thoughts on how to structure your social media posts to attract the most attention for your blog. Remember to hashtag terms that resonate well with your audience, and to use different phrases for different social media sites.
7. Comment on other blogs. Lend an expert voice to the comments section of other blogs and some of that audience may follow you back to your own blog.
8. Make sure you have a call to action and respond to comments quickly. What’s the best way to get comments on your blog? Ask for them! Interact with customers and respond to their questions and posts in a timely fashion. In many cases, their comments might be rich enough content-wise that you can turn the topic into a completely new post.

Once you get started with blog content, you’ll quickly see what resonates with your audience and what doesn’t. It’s OK to make adjustments when you see something that isn’t working. But likewise, if you see something works incredibly well, follow up on it with equally compelling content.