Blogging on a consistent basis for your business can help boost your overall marketing and SEO efforts. Not to mention—it can be fun! However, if you’re new to blogging, the process can seem daunting. Where do I start? What do you I write about? These are all questions that might run through your mind at the thought of blogging for your company. Aside from being great for SEO, I always look at blogging as a way to take information that’s unique to your business and share it with the world. For example, Danielle Litoff, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Health Coach over at Battle Born Health, blogs monthly about physical therapy and various health related topics. Without the power of blogging, people wouldn’t have access to her years of experience and expertise on a large-scale. Think of it this way, you are the expert in your field, and now you’re able to share valuable information to educate and inform others. If you’re new to blogging, don’t worry—you can start small and build from there. Here’s some tips to help you get you started:
Brainstorm Topics with Your Team
One of the things that business owners get caught up on most is the question, “What am I going to write about?” You’d be surprised by how much information you can share on your blog. That’s why it’s a great idea to grab your team and brainstorm topics together. Make a long list, and don’t leave anything out. That way, you’ll always have fresh ideas to choose from. If you need inspiration, you can browse other blogs in your industry to see what they’re writing about.
Blogger Tip: If you’re a beginner blogger, I recommend blogging once a week. If that intimidates you, start with a monthly or bi-monthly post and build momentum from there. The key is to pick a consistent schedule and stick to it!
Set a Publication Deadline
Now that you have your topics picked, it’s time to set a deadline for writing, editing and posting blogs. In the world of writing, it’s absolutely imperative to stay organized and set reasonable deadlines that you can communicate clearly with your team. I promise you that 90% of the battle with writing is staying organized! If your team knows what day their writing is due, it makes the process much less stressful for everyone.
Organization Tip: Keep a digital calendar that can be shared across your team. Writing your personal deadlines on paper also helps keep them sharp in your memory.
Make an Editorial Calendar
List of interesting and engaging topics? Check. Deadlines set? Check. Now, it’s on to making an editorial calendar. Depending on your preference, you can manage your calendar online using a number of tools. Some tools that I like include: Google Calendar and Trello. Or, you can keep it old-school with paper. The most important thing is to keep it up to date and share it with your team. Setting up a google alert on your calendar can help remind you when to start writing posts, so you won’t miss a deadline. Now… it’s off to get some coffee so you can start writing! Happy Blogging!