I was recently quoted by NCR Silver in an article they wrote on common blogging mistakes small businesses make. Below is my full response to their questions for the article.
Read NCR Silver’s full post: Blogging Mistakes Small Businesses Make and How to Avoid Them
When done right, blogs are a great way for small businesses to build authority and earn the trust of potential future customers. When done wrong, they can end up being an giant, ineffective time suck.
To ensure your small business blog is the former and NOT the latter, here are some common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
Biggest blogging mistakes:
- Not having a goal. Many small businesses start blogs because they heard that’s what you need to do. But you shouldn’t just do it to do it. If you don’t have a goal for your blog, how do you know if it is successful? You can avoid this by simply sitting down and figuring out what you want to achieve with your blog. Do you want to drive more traffic to your website? Gain subscribers? Retain customers? Whatever it is, make sure everything you do on your blog is driving you toward that goal.
- Not building buyer personas. We find that small businesses often fail to clearly define the audience for their blog. This is where buyer personas come in. Buyer personas are hypothetical profiles of your ideal customer. They include demographic information, potential customer pain points, wants/needs, and their common objections to buying. We have a Free Buyer Persona template to make this process easier for you.
- Not being consistent. You can’t start a blog and just post when you feel like it or when you “have time.” You need come up with a schedule and stick with it. How often depends on your audience and how often you can realistically commit to posting, but it generally needs to be at least once a month. I strongly recommend having an editorial calendar where you not only schedule when but also what you are going to post. This also helps ensure you keep a variety of content on your blog.
Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to having an effective blog that helps your company and reputation grow.
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Blogging