Blogging: Every business knows they should do it, yet few do it well. There are no participation trophies or pats on the back for having good intentions. If you want your brand to generate results from blogging, you have to do it effectively.
6 Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
To someone without a background in blogging, it can be difficult to keep up. Between SEO rules that are constantly in flux and the proliferation of faulty advice circulated online by self-proclaimed marketing gurus, it’s easy to take the wrong principles and run with them. The sooner you can catch your mistakes, the better your chances are of recovering and enacting an effective strategy.
We’re all facing our own unique struggles, but here are some of the most common blogging mistakes businesses make:
1. Writing Self-Serving Content
It’s really easy to look at blogging as an extension of advertising or sales, but there’s a distinct difference. Whereas sales and advertising allow you to be blatant about pushing your brand, blogging and content marketing require a more natural and refined approach.
If you’re only publishing sales copy, press releases, and articles that boast about your brand, you’re missing the mark. There’s a time and place for self-serving content, but this isn’t it. At least 90 percent of your blog posts should be focused on topics that inform and excite your audience.
2. Using Poor Formatting
Many brands treat blog post formatting like a minor detail that you address on a time-permitting basis. However, this is a major mistake. There’s a direct correlation between digestible formatting and better conversion metrics. Take the extra step and get this issue figured out.
Fonts should be easy to read. Text should be broken up into paragraphs of just three to five sentences. Subheadings, bullet points, and lists should be used to break up large sections of text. Use common sense and discretion here.
3. Writing in a Vacuum
It’s easy to get so caught up in your blogging that you fail to think about the other pieces of the marketing puzzle. Whether it’s social media, offsite content marketing, or SEO, you need to keep the big picture in mind.
“It’s also important to pay attention to what others are doing around you,” AudienceBloom advises. “Follow some of your competitors’ blogs and read their latest posts to get a feel for what they’re writing about (and how their audience is reacting). You may be able to capitalize on opportunities they’ve neglected, or add insights of your own to the conversation.”
4. Inconsistent Brand Voice
Your brand has, for all intents and purposes, its own personality. If your blog posts all read differently, then you have what is known as an inconsistent brand voice. This will inhibit people from connecting with your brand and forming a relationship with it.
Regardless of whether you have one person writing the blog, or you outsource the writing to a dozen different writers, the brand voice needs consistency. Accomplish this by creating a style guide and requiring all writers to adhere to it.
5. Ignoring Blog Comments
One of the worst things you can do is ignore blog comments. If someone takes the time to write a nice note or constructive feedback, don’t give them the cold shoulder.
“Just as bloggers love to receive feedback on posts, readers like to know their opinions have been heard,” blogger Jessica Knapp writes. “If someone is taking the time to write a thoughtful comment on your post, it makes sense to acknowledge it and encourage even more comments.”
6. No Sharing Strategy
Blogging isn’t like the Field of Dreams. You might write something, but this doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to come and read it. Without a sharing strategy, your efforts will return empty-handed.
A good blog sharing strategy will be focused on social media, link building, and content promotion. You want backlinks, eyeballs, and – ultimately – clicks back to your site. This content distribution guide will provide further clarity.
Putting it All Together
The good news is that each mistakee outlined in this article is relatively simple to fix. By replacing the issues with sound blogging principles that complement your overarching marketing strategy, you can generate better and more sustainable results. Grab some glue and begin putting your blog back together.
