Expert Tips to Use Blogging to Promote your Business

Blogging has become one of the most popular ways to share information, expert insights and business tips on the internet. It’s a powerful tool for businesses and individuals looking to establish their presence online. 

Through blogging, you can build credibility, improve your search engine rankings, and connect with your audience on a deeper level. If you are not blogging  you are missing opportunities to generate website traffic and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. 

5 reasons you should be blogging on a regular basis.

1. Attract new customers. Blogging isn’t just a platform for sharing ideas; it’s a potent tool for attracting new customers to your business or personal brand. By creating content that resonates with your target audience, you can draw in readers who may not have found you otherwise. Each blog post is an opportunity to showcase your expertise, provide value, and solve problems for potential customers, ultimately leading them to your products or services.
2. Rank higher in search engines. One of the strongest reasons to blog is for search engine optimization (SEO). Regularly updated websites tend to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), and blogging is an excellent way to keep your site fresh. By targeting relevant keywords and providing high-quality content, you’ll improve your visibility online, making it easier for people to find you when they’re searching for information in your niche.
3. Build your reputation.  Blogging allows you to build or reinforce your reputation as an expert in your field. By sharing your knowledge and insights, you can become a trusted source of information. This credibility can open doors to networking opportunities, speaking engagements, and collaborations that can further enhance your standing in your industry.
4. Additional revenue stream. Through methods like affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and advertising, you can turn your blog into another revenue stream. As your readership grows, so does the potential for monetization. Moreover, a successful blog can also lead to other lucrative opportunities such as book deals or consulting gigs.
5. Generate leads. Even if you don’t want to put any advertising on your blog, you can use it to promote or capture leads for your own programs. A well-maintained blog is a lead generation machine. By offering valuable content, you can encourage readers to sign up for your newsletter, download resources, or contact you for more information. These actions turn casual readers into potential leads, giving you the chance to nurture these relationships and convert them into customers or clients.

The reasons to blog are numerous. It’s an investment in your online presence that pays dividends in visibility, credibility, and financial gain. So, why blog? Because if you’re not, you’re missing out on a wealth of opportunities that could propel your business or personal brand to the next level. And  when it comes to content marketing the best way to take your blog to the next level is to write more content.

Publish More Content on Your Blog

Consistently publishing quality content is key to keeping your audience engaged and driving traffic to your blog. It’s not just about quantity, though. Quality content is the cornerstone of a successful blog. It’s more than just churning out posts; it’s about delivering value, engaging your audience, and becoming a trusted voice in your niche.This commitment to quality will help in establishing your blog as a reputable source in your niche and your readership grow.

How often are you currently publishing content on your blog? For most business owners the answer ranges from one to four times a month. To take your blog to the next level, consider creating a strategy that supports your blogging at least once a week.

Now that doesn’t mean you personally have to write a blog post every day. In fact, a variety of blog post formats will actually help improve your audience experience. Consider adding graphics, infographics, video and lists to your traditional blog post content. 

The more you blog, the higher your search engine rankings. As your rankings increase so too does your inbound traffic. You can take your everyday blog and turn it into a media center by providing multiple streams of content and increasing your publishing schedule.  Here are a few ideas to a variety of content:

• Utilize quality guest bloggers
• Hire writers/ghost writers
• Ask for submissions from your audience
• Repurpose content
• Update older content
• Invite well-known industry leaders to blog

Don’t Neglect Marketing Your Blog

But wait, creating great content is just the first step. The real challenge lies in promoting your blog effectively to reach your target audience. As a blogger, I’ve learned that blog promotion is just as crucial as the quality of the content itself. 

Promoting your blog can feel overwhelming, but there are tried and true methods that can help you increase your reach and engagement. These are some strategies that have worked for me and could help you amplify your blog’s presence online.

• Social media platforms are a goldmine for bloggers looking to promote their content. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest allow you to share your blog posts with a wider audience. Tailoring your posts to each specific platform can help you maximize engagement and drive traffic back to your blog. Also, don’t forget to LINK to your blog!
• Missinglettr.com I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my #1 blog promotion tool. It’s been a game-changer for my content strategy! Missinglett_r automates social media campaigns by transforming new blog posts into a full year’s worth of engaging posts, complete with images. Talk about maximizing your content’s reach with minimal effort! 
• YouTube isn’t just for vloggers; it’s also a powerful tool for blog promotion. Creating videos related to your blog content can attract a different segment of your audience who prefer visual content. Plus, embedding these videos in your blog posts can improve the time visitors spend on your site. If you want to promote your posts with videos, I can make it super simple for you with my Video Creation Services.  
• Medium.com Republishing your blog posts on platforms like Medium can expose your content to a broader audience. Medium’s built-in community of readers often engages with content that’s insightful and well-written, which can be an excellent opportunity for bloggers to gain new followers.
• Create an article on LinkedIn. If your blog targets professionals or is in the business niche, LinkedIn can be a valuable platform for promotion. Creating articles on LinkedIn can help establish your authority and expertise, while also driving traffic to your blog.
• Bookmarking sites such as Reddit, Digg, and StumbleUpon can be a great way to promote your blog to communities interested in your content’s niche. Be mindful of each community’s rules and best practices to avoid being seen as spammy.

Easy Blog Navigation is Essential!

User experience is crucial for keeping visitors on your blog. A well-structured navigation system helps readers find the content they’re interested in, which in turn can lead to higher engagement rates. Clear categories, a search bar, and a responsive design are all essential components of a blog that’s easy to navigate. Isn’t it frustrating to land on a site and not be able to find what you want? Most people will just click away. Make sure your visitors can find their way around your website quickly and easily.

If you’re uncertain about how to accomplish this, then study websites that you visit often. Notice how they guide you through the site. Do they provide relevant and easy to recognize navigation tabs? Does the flow of the site seem logical? Is there a search function so you can head directly to the page or information you’re looking for? 

Use keywords, “tags”, to facilitate searches. Keywords are in the simplest terms the search words that people use to find your site on the internet. They also tell search engines what your site is about and are one of the elements that affect your Google ranking. When you use the right combination of keywords, you will find that you are attracting your target audience who is actively searching for your content or services.

A big part of choosing the correct keywords is knowing your ideal customer very well.  Think about who they are, what they do, and what they will use your product or service for. When you pick your keywords, keep this in mind.

Avoid terms that are too broad.  Remember your prospective customers probably have at least a little bit of experience related to the goods or services that you provide, so you may be able to use a certain amount of niche-specific words or phrases. For instance, if you sell tropical fish, you could list the different breeds that you have.  While you may not want to use the scientific names, using names like Hawkfish or Lionfish will distinguish you from people who sell fish wholesale to supermarkets.  Your keywords should speak to your target audience.

Internal Linking Is a Powerful Strategy

For bloggers looking to enhance their site’s SEO, improve user experience, and increase the overall value of their content internal linking is powerful. Here’s why:

• SEO Benefits: Internal links help search engines crawl and index your site more effectively. By linking related posts, you’re signaling to search engines that there’s a network of relevant and authoritative content, which can boost your rankings.

• Reduces Bounce Rate: When readers find additional relevant content through internal links, they’re more likely to stay on your site longer, reducing your bounce rate and signaling to search engines that your site is valuable to visitors.

• Increases Pageviews: With internal linking, you can guide readers to other articles, increasing the number of pageviews per visitor. This not only improves the metrics of your site but also exposes your audience to a wider range of your content.

• Enhances User Experience: Well-placed internal links provide a roadmap for your audience, helping them navigate your site with ease. This can improve the overall user experience and satisfaction, keeping readers engaged with your content.

• Distributes Page Authority: Internal links pass on link equity from one page to another. This means that your newer or less popular posts can benefit from the authority of your more powerful pages, helping them to rank better in search results.
• Encourages Longer Visit Duration: By offering additional, relevant information through internal links, readers are encouraged to spend more time on your site, which can contribute to building a loyal readership and a stronger brand.

Remember, the key to effective internal linking is relevance and moderation. Links should always provide value to the reader and feel like a natural part of the content. Overdoing it can have the opposite effect, making your content look spammy and overwhelming to visitors. Use internal linking wisely to build a cohesive, informative, and user-friendly blog.

The Call to Action

No article about blogging would be complete without a mention of the call to Action. If there’s one thing many bloggers do wrong, it’s not giving their readers anything to do at the end of the blog post. Put yourself in the shoes of your readers. You read a great article, get to the end and there’s no call to action. What do you do? You go back to Facebook or go watch some cat videos on YouTube. Why not give your readers something more?

What if they would like to learn more from you or connect with you via email or social media or even take you up on a product recommendation? That’s what a call to action at the end of your blog posts is all about. 

Integration

There’s that word again, Content Integration. Blogging should be a key piece of your overall content marketing strategy. It provides a home for your original content, which can be repurposed across various channels. By integrating your blog posts into email newsletters, social media updates, and other marketing materials, you can ensure that your content reaches a wider audience and drives more traffic back to your blog. Utilize the tips in this post to ensure an integrated content strategy.

Blogging is a strategic component of content marketing that can yield significant rewards. Whether you’re looking to build your brand or drive sales, a well-maintained blog can be your gateway to success. Start or turbo charge your blogging journey today and watch as it transforms the way you connect with your audience and grow your online presence.