How to Write a Blog Post

Blogging can help you grow your business. It allows you to shine as an expert in your industry.

Blogging can be tough for many small business owners.  We know that small business owners are busy and struggle to find the time to blog and the ideas to blog about. Are you one of these small business owners with a multitude of excuses why you can’t blog?

Well, the time for excuses is over! This blog post will give you a simple method to follow so you too can blog for your business.

Know Your Readers

Before you start writing your blog, you must know who your audience is. You need to be able to write posts that speak to their problems or issues. Is your ideal customer the end user or the decision maker? Are they male or female? Is age a consideration?

You should know and understand your target audience before you do any marketing of your business. You don’t want to waste your time and your money marketing to the wrong people.

Pick a Topic

Before you start writing your blog, you need to pick a topic. You can pick a general topic to start with and then come up with some different working titles for the topic. For example, if you are a used car dealer, you might want to talk about the benefits of buying a used car. You can narrow your topic focus down by creating working titles such as “3Tips for Getting a Good Deal When Purchasing a Used Car” or “A Checklist for Purchasing a Quality Used Car.”

A working title this specific will guide your writing of the post. The more specific your working title is, the easier it will be for you to write about the topic.

Create an Outline

Outline your post. Collect all the information you want to share with your readers and organize it. This will let you know which points you want to address and the best order in which to do it. 

By organizing your post, you won’t overwhelm your readers with too much information. If you have a lot to say, perhaps you can break the subject into two or three posts.

Write!

Now that you’ve got your blog post outlined, start writing. It’s kind of like filling in the blanks if you have a good outline.

Your first sentence or paragraph must catch your readers’ attention. If you don’t, they’re off your blog page. How can you grab their attention? You can tell a story about a customer’s problem or share interesting facts. Let your readers know right away what they will learn from your blog post. Will you address a problem they have and give them a solution? You know they’ll stick around for that!

Add a Call-to-Action (CTA)

At the end of your blog post, you should have a CTA. This tells your reader what their next step is. Do you want them to register for a webinar, subscribe to your newsletter or download your free e-book?

Write a Catchy Title

Now that you have your blog post written, it’s time to revisit your title. The working title got you through the blog post writing. Now you have to create a title that will make your audience want to read your post.

Your title should be clear and accurate about what the post is about or what your readers will learn. Keep it short. If your title is longer than 65 characters, Google will truncate it on its search results pages.

Proofread

Before you publish your blog, be sure to proofread your work. Check for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You want to make a professional impression on your readers so take the time to make sure what you’ve written sounds good and is error free.

If you really don’t want to spend the time blogging, then hire an expert blogger, like Blue Dog Marketing, to ‘ghost-blog’ for you. This can free you up to focus on your business while still having the benefits of a robust blog for your target audience.