How to write a good blog.

Blogs, or if you want to use the technical term ‘web logs’ are simply put, online diaries which are often updated and record the progress of your life or business. An entry to a personal blog is usually quite short, just a few sentences. Whereas a blog for your business is an opportunity to get great relevant content into your site , without cluttering the site up and helping towards pushing your business higher on search engines.

Based on the industry I’m in now and the audience I’m trying to reach, the rest of this blog will be aimed at small to medium businesses that have yet to get to grips with blogging.

Here are a few principles to bear in mind when writing a successful blog for your business:

• Develop your own writing style; try your best to get your personality across. Don’t be afraid to be informal.
• Post often, even if your posts are short. The longer the blog the better, but always make sure you are offering insight or advice in your industry.
• Allow your readers to comment on your posts.

Develop a writing style and voice

website design and technical gimmicks no matter how great they are can’t be a substitute for a readable and interesting writing style. It’s common to find difficulty in writing about yourself even if it’s your business, you may find yourself just stuck in front of the computer with a complete blank on what to write.

I’m going to offer a couple of suggestions that can help you to build your own style and voice online. Never forget that a blog is basically just a online conversation. Always write in the same way you would talk about your business if someone at a party asked you what you do. As silly as it sounds, speaking out your blog as you come up with it can help immensely.

Secondly, always write your blog with a relevant subject and audience in mind. Imagine you’ve just heard a common question they all want the answer to, set about in answering that question just the way you would if you were trying to help them face to face.

Lastly, take your time to check out competitors blogs which feature well on search engines. Get familiar with layouts and how images are used. Take note of the attitude and tone of the writing. You can gain great insight and ideas by taking note of well-established blog writers.

Update, update, update

Do not underestimate your audience. They will want as much information as you can supply. The real key is to offer a frequent flow of relevant information. If you want to push your site into as many people’s browsers as possible then you’ve got to get busy!

If you are going to set yourself a target of at least a bi weekly blog then stick to being consistent with it so your readers can come to expect when to find your blog.

Invite comments

It can be a real advantage to try and engage with your readers, so enabling comments and discussion can be really useful. Not only will you engage your audience more, but you may find information that helps you understand your customer better.

But if you do allow this function make sure you are in control of administrating them. A silly response could throw the whole integrity of what you are trying to achieve.