How to create a business blog strategy

Tips for establishing a consistent blogging plan

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the thought of starting a business blog? 

Or you’ve written one or two pieces before…6 months ago…and want to create a more consistent strategy?

I hear ya!

To make the most impact with your blog articles, you definitely need that consistency. You also need the quality. In other words, providing highly engaging and informative information that meets your target market’ needs.

In this article, I’ve got some tips and tricks to help you create a killer business blog strategy. I promise you it’s not that hard!

What’s the purpose of your blog content? 

Before you even think about establishing a consistent blogging plan, you need to figure out your main outcome. 

Writing to be found via Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

A lot of my clients say Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – aka coming up in Google searches – is their number one focus for blogging. If that’s the case for you, writing pieces that feature highly-searched keywords is vital.

You need to pick one particular keyword phrase for each article, as well as some similar – yet different – phrases. Every person will search slightly differently for the same outcome, so it’s best to filter in some variations for the search term.

Your keyword phrase needs to appear in the URL, in 1-2 headings, and softly sprinkled across the paragraphs too.

Don’t become a victim of ‘keyword stuffing’ though. Don’t try to cram your phrase 3 times into 1 sentence. Just keep your phrase back of mind as you write and it should naturally appear in your copy.

Writing for your existing audience 

While you might think improving SEO is the core purpose of blog writing, it’s not actually the case. 

I have a bunch of clients who say they’re just writing blogs for their existing audience. Their aim is to establish thought leadership and provide education to remain top of mind. 

In this situation, they’re providing blogs to potential, current, and past clients who already know them. So they don’t need to worry about SEO keywords as much. (Doesn’t hurt to include them though!)

This could be the case for you too?

I want to make it clear here that blog writing isn’t just for cold contacts. You don’t have to wait for people to stumble across your blog.

You can actually be a lot more intentional (which is what I recommend) and purposely put your blog content in front of your customers via e-mails/e-newsletters, social media, etc.

So who are you writing for?

Know your audience

As a follow on from that last point – whether you’re focused on existing or potential clients, you need to understand them as much as possible.

You need to know who your readers are, what they’re interested in, and what problems they’re trying to solve. This will help you create content that resonates with them.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Who is my ideal customer? Age, marital status, occupation, income, location?
• What are their pain points? These are the issues they’re searching solutions for in Google! (e.g. How to stop your partner from snoring)
• What are their goals? Why are they so keen to find solutions? What’s the outcome of that? (e.g. Get a better night’s sleep and have more energy during the day)
• How can you solve their problems via your products/services? Connect your offering with their needs. Why should they listen to what you have to say? What’s in it for them?

Establish a brand voice

A brand voice is the distinct personality that radiates from your communications. And every brand is different.

As Dr Seuss says – “No one is you-er than you.” Don’t try to replicate the brand voice and blogs written by your competitors. 

Sure, you can get inspiration from them. But your blogs need to sound like you and include your knowledge, thoughts, and research. 

As a small business owner, you want your brand voice to reflect how you sound in real life. It helps with maintaining a sense of authenticity.

My tip is to read out your blogs once written and see if it feels natural.

How would you describe your brand voice? 

Playful? Serious? 

Professional? Candid?

Knowledgeable? Understanding?

If you need a bit of AI assistance, ask ChatGPT to pretend to be you – and write a blog in your defined brand voice. Ensure to ask for headings, subheadings, dot points etc. As well as the keyword phrase. (Stay tuned for future blogs about ChatGPT prompts)

Develop the blogging habit

Now that you’re clear on the purpose of your blog content, the next step to create a business blog strategy is to set yourself some goals and micro actions.

I want you to think about the following questions:

• How frequently do you plan to publish blogs? 

If you can only commit to 1 blog per month, that’s totally fine. Consistency is more important than spitting out 4 blogs one month and then disappearing for 3 months.

Obviously, more content each month provides more opportunities to attract and inform your audience. But you need to be realistic with your available time and budget (if outsourcing to a copywriter). 

• What blog length are you aiming for? 

If you try looking up the answer to this one (like I just did for the purpose of this article), you’ll probably wind up confused. There are so many differing perspectives based on industry etc.

But overall, blogs that are at least 2,000 words are best. This word count allows you to go into more detail on the subject matter and provide valuable information.

Having said that, if that figure freaks you out, then just aim for 700 words and go from there. We write a whole bunch of 700-800 word blogs for our clients. 

A lower word count is especially acceptable if writing for an existing audience. Longer blogs are better for SEO purposes.

• How are you going to repurpose your blogs? 

Consider the different channels you could use to share your blog content once written. And you need to think about where your target audience is hanging out as well as how they prefer to consume information.

E.g. Podcasts (audio) vs Video (visual)? LinkedIn vs TikTok?

Coming up with engaging topic ideas

Now it’s time to come up with blog topics that your audience wants to read! And this is where so many business owners get stuck. And procrastinate.

I recommend allocating 30 minutes to brainstorm some ideas. (You could also ask ChatGPT!) Here are some prompts to help you:

• What are your frequently asked questions (FAQs)?
• What’s trending in the media right now in relation to your industry?
• What are some easy DIY tips or processes you could offer?
• What are some successful case studies you could share?
• Could you do a fun Q&A with the people behind the business?

Set up a content marketing plan 

Creating great content is just the first step. You also need to promote your blog to ensure your message is heard! (Well, read, but you know what I’m getting at…) 

Here are some ways to repurpose your blog after publishing:

• Extract gold nuggets of advice and turn them into multiple social media posts (written and video) 
• Include a link to your latest blog in your email signature.
• Feature the blog in your next e-newsletter (or do a stand-alone email about the article)
• Create a video version and upload to YouTube
• Turn it into a podcast episode

Measure your success

A step that’s often missed – but very important – is to review your blog metrics. This will help you understand what’s working and what’s not, so you can make improvements to your strategy and topics.

Here are some metrics to track:

• Website traffic
• Time on page
• Bounce rate
• Social media engagement (Likes, comments, shares)
• Conversions (Leads generated and sales made)

Are you ready to build a strong business blog strategy?

I hope so!

Remember, the key to blogging success is to:

• Know the purpose of your blog content 
• Know your audience
• Establish a brand voice
• Develop the blogging habit
• Come up with engaging topic ideas
• Set up a content marketing plan 
• Measure your success

Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. Blogging is a journey – and it can take time to see results. But if you stick with it, you’ll soon have a thriving blog that helps you achieve your business goals.

Now go out there and start blogging!

Need extra guidance?

Coming up on the 26th May, I’m running a full day ‘Master your Content Marketing’ workshop at Penrith RSL with Focus & Flourish. I’d love to see you there!

Alternatively, you can book in a free 15 minute virtual tea with me to discuss any copywriting or content marketing requirements you may have.

For after 26th May –

I invite you to sign up to my 9-module online course ‘The Blogging Bootcamp’. Improve confidence, consistency, and cashflow with your content marketing strategy!