Blogging for Small Businesses and Tips for Blogging Success

I hear you. Really? A Blog? YES! I believe every small business (actually any size business) can benefit from a blog and in this blog post I am going to tell you why and give you some tips for creating a successful blog for your business. Blogging for your business is a great way to connect with new people and also to continue to provide fresh content to your existing audience.

It’s not a secret that I believe in the power of Pinterest Marketing for Businesses. Blogging and using Pinterest Marketing together are an amazing way to share your brand, content and business with a the large audience on Pinterest who are looking for solutions to their problems! Pinterest is a visual search engine and as such, is one more place, in addition to Google, for people who are searching for answers. They search Pinterest and find lots of beautiful images offering content related to their search and guess what’s included….links to blog posts with information related to their search. They click, and land on your website.

How are you communicating your business and message to the world? How do you get your content in front of people? What is your content marketing strategy? As business owners, we use social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook, we use Pinterest and our business’ website. Blogging for your business is an amazing way to add to how you share your brand and message with the world! Share with new potential customers and also with your current audience…they signed up for tips from you! Give them what they came for, they want to be inspired! Show them that you are an expert in your field!

As a Pinterest Marketing Consultant, I encourage my clients to include a Blog on their business’ website. I encourage them to write about their expertise and share what they know. Pinterest is an ideal platform to drive people to a Blog and business’ website. Potential customers search Pinterest (yes, it’s a search engine) for a solution to a problem, they find a Pin about your Blog post, click and find you, offering them amazing information about how to solve their problem. You now have the opportunity to engage them and invite them to be part of your world.

Blogging is how you can begin to reach a NEW audience. Blogging can draw a new, cold audience to your business. These are people who don’t know anything about you and by using a blog to deliver content about your specialty, you are increasing your visibility and reaching a brand new audience. You are welcoming them into your world, you are teaching them what you know, you are creating trust and they will come back for more. When they trust you, they are more likely to become paying customers. They will also SHARE you with their friends.

Do you see where this is going? As you blog, you are GROWING, reaching a new audience, teaching them with your amazing content and warming them up to become customers. This is incredibly powerful! When you use good SEO and relevant keywords in your blog posts, your blog helps new people find you when they search Google and Pinterest.

Blogging is one of the best ways to gain trust in people as they get to know you and to drive new visitors to your website. Often times when a new visitor comes from a Google or Pinterest search, they don’t know you when they arrive, but they read your blog, they learn from what you are teaching, they start to trust you and they come back for more.  Eventually, when they are ready, they are more likely to buy from you because they know and trust you.

Let’s talk about some best practices Blogging Tips!

Blog Length

Pinterest traffic prefers longer content. Visitors coming from Pinterest want to get to know you, they are unfamiliar with who you are. Long form blogging of approximately 1000-3000 words is recommended. When you are drawing in a cold audience (people who don’t know you yet), you want to give them lots of your great knowledge. Your goal is to teach them something that is valuable to them, something that they can learn from and use. The benefit of a longer form blog is you are able to keep them on your site longer, to engage them in your content and let them get to know you. You want them to come back for more. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to look around at other things on your site, sign up for your newsletter, to share your business with a friend and to eventually buy from you.

Images

Use clear, attractive images. I recommend up to five images per blog post. Some should have text overlay (for Pinterest) and others can be plain images. Make sure they are appealing and relevant to your blog post. Images will break up all of the text in your blog post and lead to a more positive user experience. Images also give readers something to Pin and come back to later. Plus, when they Pin your image, it is then out on the Pinterest platform, ready to be found in your next visitor’s search.

SEO and Keywords

It is critical to do some keyword and SEO research on your topic as you write your blog. Figure out what people are searching for and how you can offer them a solution to that problem. By using popular, relevant keywords and phrases, you are more likely to be found and rank higher on Google and Pinterest. Use keywords throughout your blog post but be careful not keyword stuff. Don’t overuse keywords to the point where your user has a bad experience reading your blog.

Emails

Make sure you are capturing emails in your blog posts. I’ve heard so many times so I am going to share….you don’t own your social media followers, but you do own your email list. You want to build a group of followers, who want to hear from you and who you can reach out to with new information. These are the people on your email list. They are joining your list because they want to hear from you. In your blog post I recommend you include at least 2 opportunities for email sign ups. I place one in the top 1/3 of the post and one later. You can also add one at the bottom or in your blog side bar if you have one. Make sure you make it very appealing to join your list by providing them with great content in your blog. If you have a freebie for them, this is also a great way to capture emails too.

Blog Sidebar

If your blog has a sidebar, not all do, make sure it is clean looking and doesn’t distract your reader. It can contain information about your business, links to other pages, and links to other relevant blog posts to help them navigate your website. It is key that as your reader scrolls through your post, that they are having a positive user experience. So, no clutter or unattractive content in the sidebar is best.

Repurposing Content

It is ok to repurpose old content. If you have an older blog that is still relevant, go for it. Spruce it up, try some new graphics, add some new information and pin it. Sometimes your newer followers haven’t seen your older teachings. So, go ahead and share it with them.

So, as I said in the beginning, I believe any business will benefit from a blog and I encourage you to add a blog for your business. Blogging is a great way to connect with new people and also to continue to provide fresh content to your existing audience. And when you combine the perfect pair of Pinterest and a Blog, you will see that this is a combo for success!

Blogging is how small businesses are getting their content, information and teaching out to a larger audience. It allows you to set yourself apart from others as you can share your unique perspective with potential customers. More and more businesses are doing it! Potential customers are looking for a way to get to know and trust you. I highly recommend you be there, with a blog, to give them a chance to get to know you. They will stick around. They will share what they learn from you. And you will see an increased reach and audience from it.

Happy Pinning! (And Blogging)