How to write a great blog post

How to write a great blog post for small business

I am often asked by the novice and more experienced internet user, should I be blogging for my small business, the answer from myself is invariably YES. However, you must ensure that you follow some basic principles, apart from the obvious, a beginning a middle and an end. I have listed a few below:

11 Tips to Blogging Success

1. Who is your reader?

Remember this is the person or group of people your business wants to attract as customers, so writing highly technical blog posts is great if they are in the same industry, but if they are simply consumers, maybe a more informal approach would suit better.

2. For what purpose are you writing?

Why are you writing your post? To get something off your chest, to rant or rave? to promote your products or services. Its important to have a clear idea of your purpose.

3. Make sure that its readable.

4. Ensure you get the right length to your blog post, don’t just ramble on and on.

According to various sources the ideal length of a blog post is between 300 and 1,000 words. But remember, the reason you are writing and who your reader will be. Don’t just squeeze 500 words together to make Google happy.

5. What action if any do you want your reader to take whilst engaging with your blog?

If you are looking for the reader to physically engage with your text, maybe all you need is a comment of two to achieve your posts goals, however, businesses from experience tend to want a little more action. The marketeers of this world would call this a ‘call to action‘ from my personal opinion, I would suggest that any telephone numbers, forms, sliders, banners and any other sales messages are left to either the end of the post or added to any sidebar within your blogs layout.

6. Include pictures, after all an image is worth a thousand words.

Just don’t forget to add your ‘alt tags’ to get the most from the images you use, and make sure you have permission from the owner.

7. Make sure to include relevant links to your reference points, and further reading materials.

8. Respond to comments – should you get any.

9. Plan ahead – create a calendar of future blog post subjects relevant to your business.

A lot of the more professional blog writers use a standard calendar to plan ahead for their blog posts, I know of at least one client who does this with degrees of success. Personally I carry a small pad, and as I am reading news, magazines or just talking to people ideas just appear. So I jot them down, work on them and then add them to the different blog’s I am involved with. (for a list of these look at the bottom of this post).

10. Guest blogging – is a great way to increase your professional image.

Remember, just because its not your blog, don’t just copy someones text, plagiarism is not good for the web.

11. Don’t just post any old content, proof read and revise.

The more work you put in the more you are likely to get back out.

Picking the right platform for your blogging is no easy task and there are a few too choose from, Tumblr, WordPress, Blogger. In fact I have written a post comparing Blogger and WordPress, as part of my services as Strategic Partner with CreativeNW a Manchester Web Design, Print and Graphic Design Business.

Blog posts and Website’s I am involved with:

CarlBradshaw.co.uk
CreativeNW.co.uk
Positive.GB.com
ShopNW.co.uk

Author: Carl Bradshaw FInstSMM. Follow on Twitter @CarlBradshaw, Google+, or public updates on Facebook catch up with what I’m reading on Pinterest.
By Carl Bradshaw, MentorNW

Coaching and Mentoring in business

Having spent the last two years volunteering with a community interest company in Blackburn, Lancashire, mentoring various different businesses in and around, Bolton, Bury, Blackburn, Lancashire, Chorley, Blackpool and Cheshire.

I can honestly say that mentoring and coaching business has brought a wonderful array of positive outcomes for both the mentoree and the mentor, from increased confidence, problem solving and motivation to achievement of personal and business goals, both long and short term.

So what exactly is coaching and mentoring and what can it bring for business?

This is a tough question, as mentoring, coaching, counselling and consulting have all begun to melt into each other over the last decade or so. Lets start with definition’s of each.

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is about support and encouraging people to manage and maximise their own potential, skills, performance and to become the person they aspire to be. Eric Parsole The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring.

What is Coaching?

A goal oriented reflective process to enable clients to get from point A to point B.

To find out more about coaching and mentoring follow the links.

Social Media Trainning

Here is a sample of our Social Media Training material for more information about our training services contact us on 08444 123 172.

Below is an interesting video we found on YouTube which explains what social media is and what it can do for you, your business and your customers.