Competing for new readers is a never ending battle faced by business blog operators. So how do successful bloggers continue to compete? Delivering value in a positive manner – using humor when possible – is a simple formula for success. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a difficult challenge for many blog owners.
What attracts readers to a company website? Of course the website must first be configured and positioned so it can easily be found when users look for information about a product or service. This can be done using standard Search Engine Optimization or Low Cost SEO strategies, but once readers arrive, what then?
To some extent, readers are looking to be informed and are looking for meaningful content. A business blog that provides these elements invites readers back repeatedly for fresh information or at least some entertaining material. Yes, entertainment can be a key ingredient in earning repeat customers.
Leading your blog with the ‘Daily Dilbert’ might not be useful or necessary, but note the many email campaigns and daily blogs that lead with a joke or funny story. Humor not only makes the page or email less threatening, but invites the visitor to continue reading. In the end though, value and content are king. So here are three inclusions to make the business blog valuable to a busy reader and inviting for that reader to return to the site: Value – clearly stating the goals and objectives Move the Ball – daily steps to incremental advancement Support – cheerleading and acknowledging obstacles
Value: Client success stories or testimonials are hugely valuable and should be included in blog posts or on the main web page as frequently as possible. Potential clients and customers want to see how the company has helped others. Story telling is highly useful in this environment, but the author should keep the stories as short as possible – perhaps in the neighborhood of 500 to 700 words. Readers are probably time-constrained, so don’t overrun the reader’s attention span.
Limiting discussion to single points of interest is probably a good idea. This helps keep the composition fairly short. Bold but believable declarative statements are useful to communicate the single point of value as well. Statements such as “save 20% on office overhead by ______” are a meaningful statement that should inspire most site visitors to continue reading. It is also useful to state the value claim early in the piece as that should provide a reader a solid reason to continue to the end of the piece.
“Moving the Ball:” This old football metaphor refers to the importance of making incremental progress if even by small amounts. Under the best of economic conditions, enterprise operators are continuously challenged to make more sales and improve efficiencies so progress is difficult. Showing a reader how to achieve small bits of progress is an attractive reason for a reader to return to the site. Claims of thousands of dollars in income each day using a new internet technique tend to turn these readers off though, so claims of progress should seem reasonable to a well-seasoned entrepreneur.
Support: Keeping entrepreneurs motivated and pursuing their dreams is a key element to success of the site. Most enterprise operators occasionally feel overwhelmed so it is important to demonstrate within the blog post that you have the expertise to not only meet their business need, but may also have the ability to help meet unexpected or unique industry challenges. Humor can also be useful here. The site that offers this is one that readers will look to for expert advice and understanding as it addresses challenges faced by most within the industry.
It is also necessary to specifically invite readers back to the site. Telling readers what to expect next week or offering a teaser about what bit of value they will get if they return in the future is a highly useful tactic.
Being mindful of these simple inclusions for each page or post can establish the organization’s blog site as an authority site – which both readers and internet search engines love. The web page and blog can be turned into effective business sales engines by first attracting readers to the site and then by encouraging repeat visits. Over time, many of these readers can be converted into paying customers.
Consultant Matthew Stone provides Low Cost SEO consultation services to businesses nationwide. Specializing in link building, blogging and article marketing, SEO Consultants Denver helps companies of all sizes increase sales and revenue utilizing internet search engines.