We build a lot of websites for
small business. We almost always recommend and include a blog in our designs,
then we train on how to blog...but to be honest, I'd say only a rare few
clients actually use their blog the way they need to. Blogging has become the
small business equivalent of a diet. You know you should? It would make your
life better. But there's always a reason to not do it..
So what can you do to overcome
the blog-procrastination-wave and turn your blog into the content-rich,
traffic-generating powerhouse that it needs to be in this day and age?
1. Confront why you're not
blogging.
Don't use "I don't have
time" as an excuse. This will almost always be your first go-to reason for
not blogging. Dig deeper. There is more to it than that. Likely you have some
fears associated with blogging. They might be simple:
"I don't know what to
say."
...Or they might be complex:
"The software is
intimidating to me."
When you get behind the specific
reasons for the problem, then you can start to overcome the problem. As long as
it remains under the "I -don't -have -time" umbrella, you won't ever
get to it, because you're not dealing with the real issues. The real issues are
the reasons underneath your avoidance.
One of the biggest underlying
motivations for putting off writing is that you're not really sold on the idea
that publishing a blog is important. Again, to use the diet analogy, when you
just begin to blog you haven't seen any results. When you first start to diet,
most likely you don't see results after two or three days, or even a week. It
takes time and consistent effort to begin to see changes and the real effect of
your work. it's hard to do something and stick to it when you don't see fast
pay-off. Blogging is a lot like that. For a blog to show you results in terms
of search engine optimization, traffic, fame within your field, more sales,
whatever you are trying to achieve, you have to be consistent and stick with
it.
And then you will see results.
I can say that because we literally make our living off of our blog and social
media. In 11 years off business, I have spent $60 in advertising, including
pay-per-click. We're frequently linked to and have a very sound search engine
rank, coming in on the top three for our targeted keywords on a Google search.
So when I tell you that blogging can make an impact on your sales, I am
speaking from experience.
"But I'm not in a
technical field," you might answer.
Doesn't matter. The way search engines rank you will directly
correlate to the quality (or lack thereof) of your blog, even in a
non-technical field. It also will affect the amount you pay for PPC
advertising, significantly lowering your costs. Lawyers, bakers, florists... we
tell them all that they need to blog. If they listen, they do very well.
2. Buy a kitchen timer, the kind that ticks.
The ticking is essential. No, an app will not work. It needs
to be a timer that is devoted to the purpose of blogging and it needs to be an
actual physical object for psychological reasons. It's much harder to ignore it
if it is sitting on your desk, rebuking you. There is power in having such an
object. Trust me, go get one.
3. Decide who your audience is.
We all have different types of customers, vendors, and
peers. You must decide who your blog is aimed at. Are you writing to customers?
Great. Make a profile of the different types of customers you are writing to.
The profile doesn't need to be elaborate. Think of your three best clients. Can
you see them in your mind? Describe who they are and what they are like and put
one description on one page and print it. That is a profile or persona.
Share the reader profile or persona with anyone who writes for your blog so you
have a consistent message and tone. And then make sure your blog is addressing
those people, their needs, their interests, their questions and concerns. Your posts
will reach others just like them out in cyberspace and you will start to see
them coming to you for answers ...and buying from you.
If you're pressed for time and have a small staff of a few
people, sometimes just a post-it note on the edge of your screen with the names
of the "persona" customers can serve as a profile. The names will
vividly bringing to mind who you are speaking to. You can see the names and
think about what they need, and then compose your post accordingly. It makes the
process much more like writing an email and can completely lessen the anxiety
that so often goes with blogging.
4. Set up your idea bank
An idea bank is just a text file. It can be a small notebook
you carry in your pocket, a text file posted on an intranet or an Evernote file
you access on your hone or tablet. It can be a Word Doc on your PC desktop or a
legal pad in your desk drawer. It doesn't matter the form it takes, the
important thing is that it is also devoted to your blog. If you work with a
team, you want to make it accessible to the team. We have a large whiteboard
centrally located that serves the purpose.
What goes in the bank?
Ideas do. If customers ask questions that others are likely
to have then you add the topic to the bank. A great source of ideas is a sales
team's email inbox. Look through it for questions asked and add them to the
bank. Do you have a brick and mortar store? Think about questions or problems
that need clarifying with the customers who come into your shop, and then add them
to the bank.
Once a month, look at the bank and schedule your posts. Most
blogging software has the ability to preload posts and then publish them on a
timer. Plan to write more during slow periods of your season and preload the
posts, then set them to publish when you are more busy. This way you manage the
schedule on your own terms.
5. Use the timer.
The timer that you purchased just for blogging will do you
no good if you do not use it. How do you use it? You set it for 15 minutes. You
have 15 minutes. Everyone has 15 minutes. For that 15 minutes, you write. Or
you add to the idea bank. Or you sort the idea bank and plan your content
schedule. But the point is that you do something with the blog, related to the
blog for 15 minutes every day.
Every day?????
Yes. Every day. You're forming habits. If you don't take it
seriously and work with it every day, you won't do it. Be honest with yourself.
However, you do have 15 minutes. The timer will remind you and the ticking will
keep you focused. (You can focus on anything for 15 minutes. )
Blogging for small business is profitable, enjoyable and
necessary in our digital age. At the same time, it can seem like an
overwhelming chore and yet another in a long list of things to do, making it
easy to ignore. But like diet and exercise, if ignored for too long, it will
negatively affect the health of your online business. The good news is that
with smart routines, honesty and a small kitchen timer, you can keep in shape
and reap the many rewards of blogging.
