7 Reasons Your Business Blog is Failing
So you've been reading up on the reasons why your business should have a blog, but you've yet to see any results from the effort you've put forth. Don't give up! You can turn it around by identifying, and changing, these common mistakes that can cause your blog to go under.
1. your blog is outdated
Does visiting your blog give you a sense of nostalgia? Do you even know how to format a photo within your post? If you or your team members can't properly operate your blogging platform, that's an immediate issue. Or perhaps your theme no longer coincides with your company's more modern feel. If your site leaves you confused or uninspired, maybe it's time for a redesign.
2. blogging isn't a priority
It's easy to get caught up with day-to-day duties in the office, not to mention unscheduled meetings, emails, and phone calls. But if you want to get serious about your online presence, you'll have to make blogging a priority. Consider creating a blog calendar and assigning stories to people in your team.
Be sure that your employees know the significance of the blog. Express to them why blogging is so important for the company and what should inspire their posts.
3. you haven't set goals
If you don't set goals, how can you achieve them? The best way to become motivated by your blog is by reaching measurable goals that you set. You could set monthly goals for visitors, comments, conversions, email sign ups, etc. Be sure to celebrate your achievements!
4. you aren't listening
Just like anything else, blogging takes time. And if you want to create valuable content that people will want to read and share, you have to take extra time to do research. Listen through social sites like Twitter, Google+, or Quora. Check your site's analytics to see which posts have gotten the most traffic, then build on that content. Encourage your team to share interesting articles or videos with one another. Keep your ears open.
5. comments are ignored
Blogging isn't just a one way medium, it's meant to be social! Your posts should spur conversation among your readers. All kinds of new and interesting ideas could be brought up just in a comments thread. Someone's comment could even inspire a new post for you. But if you aren't reading your comments, you'll never get that information, and if you aren't responding then you aren't part of the conversation.
Your response doesn't have to be long, just let the reader know that you have seen and their note and appreciate the time they took to read and remark on your post.
6. you're not having fun with it
Starting a blog can be difficult. It takes time to develop a "voice" when you blog, and coming up with ideas constantly can be strenuous. But hopefully you are blogging about something that you are passionate about. Don't be afraid to let that passion show in your writing. It doesn't have to be perfect. If it did, no one would blog.
Spice up your post by creating a series, or adding "fun" posts that show off your new favorite meme. Video and picture posts also tend to get a lot of views and can be a nice change of pace from having to write. Get creative!
7. you aren't sharing your content
SEO and backlinks can only take you so far. It's time to get serious about your social sharing. Your content can be indexed by search engines in half the time when you share via social media. And the more active your social media account is, the more likely search engines will recognize your name as an authentic business.
Don't forget about email. Your sharing efforts shouldn't stop with social media, email is still a very effective marketing channel. There are nearly 2.9 billion email accounts, that's almost two times Facebook and Twitter's number of users combined. And with 94% of people saying they go online to check their email, your excuses for not having an email newsletter are running slim.
What other tips do you have for people who are looking to beef up their business blog? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Featured Image Credit: Matthew Kagle
