Blogs 101: Your Quick Guide to Starting a Blog Strategy
Is blogging still worth it for small businesses?
Girl, yes.
And, we get it. Blogs are often like that research paper you kept putting off in school.
A blank page?
Ugh. No thanks.
And while it’s easy to say, “Uh, nobody is gonna read that,” the truth is - the right people will.
People are looking for the answers you have.
We’re currently seeing a surge of website traffic coming from AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
You have the answers.
And AI platforms prefer - nay, they love - blogs because these are easy to search. As long as you are answering the questions people are asking, your blog could be the sharpest tool in your marketing toolbox.
What should I blog about for my business?
If your goal is to connect with your audience and maybe just share some interesting stories from your work, you can write about literally whatever you want.
Side story: About six years ago, I wrote a blog post about meeting someone on a dating app who - when he learned I owned a marketing agency - decided to send me his resume because he was looking for work. Dude. This isn’t LinkedIn. It had little to nothing to do about my work and probably didn’t answer anyone’s marketing questions, but it was a funny story that people would often bring up to me again and again.
However, if your goal is to get potential clients to your website and become interested in talking with you, then you want to include topics and frequently asked questions that are relevant to your client’s pain points.
Look at your service offerings first and foremost.
Focus on the specific pain points that brings a person to your front door (so to speak). '
Instead of declaring, “We have this great service to help you…” share a client’s pain point (even if you need to fictionalize it), and describe the process in which your service alleviates their pain.
Should my business blogs be educational or promotional?
B2B blogs should be educational most of the time.
We believe in the 80-20 rule for all content.
80% of the time your content is fun, educational or informative.
20% of the time it’s sales.
That’s what people are typically looking for when they ask the internet a question - information that will fix an issue they have.
The goal is that people will refer back to your website more and more until eventually they decide, “Well, I should just pay them to do this for me!” In the meantime, you’re a thought leader and a trusted brand source - which is incredibly high currency in today’s world.
How do I promote my blog posts after publishing?
A well-timed LinkedIn post is the perfect way to promote your blog. Early on in my business, I would post a blog early in the month and schedule it for the following Wednesday, unofficially calling those posts “New Blog Wednesdays.” (Didn’t really roll off the tongue, but whatever).
The goal is to get your audience expecting consistency with your content, especially when it comes to a topic or topics that require more in-depth analysis than a social media post can provide.
Remember, not everyone is going to read your blogs - but the people who are looking for the answers you have - will.
Can I turn blog posts into social media content?
HECK YEAH!
Blogs take time and thought, and you should use the content you have in as many places as possible, including and especially for social media. Here’s what we recommend:
Use the headers of your blog for quick graphics
Take the paragraph of each header and cut it up into bite-size tips
Include a link to your blog “for more great tips”
You’ve now given your audience a helpful tip on social media while providing a traffic source to your website. When you look at your website analytics later, you’ll be able to tell which blogs resonated the most with your audience based on traffic and what you should write more of in the future. 🌟Win-win-win.
Blogs are the sharpest tool in your marketing toolbox
Blogs have gone from “something only emo writers did in the early 2000s” to a “ savvy business strategy all B2B thought leaders need to (yes, need to) implement.” And while we understand how daunting it is to start at the blank page let alone come up with new topics every week, the internet (and AI) can give you a lot of help. Look at what competitors are writing about. Ask AI what questions your ideal audience has about your industry. Consider what frequently asked questions you receive on a regular basis.
For more ideas, here’s a blog post we wrote back in 2024 on how to overcome writer’s block as a busy entreprenuer.
You truly don’t have to come up with anything earth-shattering - you just need to provide the answers you already have - and share it with the world.