How often do you blog for your business?

[Sausage76]

I am a business services consultant.

1.5 years ago I started an e-news which comprised (and was set up as a template) of 4 articles that I wrote and hosted on my blog. I tended to write all the articles at once just prior to sending the e-news. I would then share the blog articles through my social media channels.

Whilst the e-news production process helped discipline me to write regular content it wasn't very organic or reactive.

I am going to try a different format for my e-news. It is going to be a bit more chatty and a different layout which gives me more freedom re what links I include.

I feel I should try to blog more so I have more content/content to choose from for my e-news.

I just wondered how often others blog? Have you any tips? Or did you attend any good training re content production?

TIA

 

[fisicx]

I blog when I have something I want to share with the world.

Sometimes it's technical, something information sometimes it's just a rant. Longer blog posts are better. Use imagery. lists, statisitics (where applicable) and quote form reference material.

And read the excellent copyblogger. This is an example of how to write a really good blog post and the reasons for writing such a post: http://www.copyblogger.com/in-depth-article-ranking/

 

[jbazely]

I suppose it depends on the purpose of your blog posts, and the service that you offer (business to consumer, or business to business)

Are you trying to generate authority on a subject in which case I would expect to see plenty of meaningful content that made me think 'this person knows what they are on about'. If you're selling a service I would recommend giving enough information to show this fact and then ending with a 'call to action' on how the reader contacts you for further information.

If you're looking to improve your SEO or webrankings then I think you need regular blog posts with plenty of original content (apprently Google can tell if you simply cut and paste from another site). My SEO consultant suggested that I write 3 blog posts (I try to do this on a Monday lunchtime) a week but publish them on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday so they are spread out. Apparently Google likes this as it shows the blogger is still active.

My consultant does have copy editors who can write posts for you to keep the site active however this didn't suit my website (due to the legal nature of the information) so I didnt take him up on it.

From a personal perspective I find it annoying when organisations blog about the breakfast they just ate (the author), or the fact their cat just fell over. This is what twitter is for.

 

[Laura Chattington]

Google likes regular blogging... humans like good content... so you got to find a balance.

Once you got the blog posted you need to make sure you leverage it onto the social networks and internet to get maximum coverage... writing the blog is only half the work.

Also you might want to think about the opportunity cost of spending too much time writing blog posts and what the ROI is on them too.

 

[JonathanJ]

I am a business services consultant.

1.5 years ago I started an e-news which comprised (and was set up as a template) of 4 articles that I wrote and hosted on my blog. I tended to write all the articles at once just prior to sending the e-news. I would then share the blog articles through my social media channels.

Whilst the e-news production process helped discipline me to write regular content it wasn't very organic or reactive.

I am going to try a different format for my e-news. It is going to be a bit more chatty and a different layout which gives me more freedom re what links I include.

I feel I should try to blog more so I have more content/content to choose from for my e-news.

I just wondered how often others blog? Have you any tips? Or did you attend any good training re content production?

TIA

Hi, You don't have to post on daily basis. Only if you feel there is relevant and technically sound information then you attempt an entry on blog. Official blog is something which gives general idea of company insight and news that you want to share with world. So be specific and don't look at number of entries, aim at relevant and promising content.

 

[Sausage76]

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments & suggested links.

I will focus on content not frequency. and see how it goes.

 

[graeme1976]

You could also try website called peopleperhour and you can buy the services of people to write your blog. Price can range from £10 to 30 per article

Can be cost effective way of getting regular content

 

[joeptsearle]

I personally do it every day and have gotten good results, but it really depends if you enjoy it, I enjoy doing it so its easy to do. Having said that there is a site called social triggers and the guy who owns it only blogs like once a month! and he has a huge following.

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

I have my own wholesale blog and I post twice a week.

I also write for other bloggers (business and personal) The blogs for these other people range from twice a month to two or three times a week depending on word count.

For example, I write for a business that deals in technology hardware. I blog about new products or services they sell but they are blogged in a very chatty personal approach. The blogs are all keyword researched as well as researched in general so that they have a better chance of being found when people search for a subject in Google.

 

[KasyaSz]

Once or twice a day!

 

[CenturionSigns]

We blog about twice a week, usually about the latest news in the industry or topics related to our business which our customers might find helpful or interesting.

As long as the content is relevant, nothing is stopping you from blogging every day.

 

[webbiz]

I just wondered how often others blog? Have you any tips? Or did you attend any good training re content production?

TIA

I post to my blog on average about once or twice a week.

Some tips:

How frequently you post depends on what you have to say.

Don't post just to meet a schedule, only post if it's something of real interest.

Spread your posts out over time ie schedule them at reasonable intervals, dont bunch them up on one or two days.

Don't write low quality short "filler" posts just to contain keywords to please the search engines. It doesn't add value to your site and the visitors you attract will just go away with a bad impression.

Best way to learn to write good content is by doing.

Practice is the best training. Also it doesnt cost much and you create your own content as you go. That's how I learned.

Put your keywords in the post title wherever possible as well as in the first paragraph and a few times in the content body.

Don't forget to configure your SEO for each post. If you're using WordPress then best way to do this is with a good SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or All in One SEO.

Tag any images you use correctly for SEO - ie keyword name in the image and make the image cliackable if appropriate.

You can also use a plugin to suggest related posts in the post footer. This draws readers into your site and is also good for SEO.

Finally, SEO is important - but your readers are more important, so don't get carried away by SEO.

 

[KasyaSz]

I should elaborate on it. Having seen previous long replies I feel I should write something more. We have weekly themes around which we create our blog content. One blog a day. We also run a general leadership theme that we weave into out weekly marketing themes. So basically, one or twice a day.

 

[billie1]

What is the difference between a blog and newsletter. I've searched the net and the difference is still not clear. Can they contain the same content (i.e. writing about a particular topic which may be of interest to your clients).

 

[kristopherhamilton]

We have our own educational platform at adizio which I suppose is our blog.

We post once or twice a week and post content which attracts customers e.g. industry topics and also educational posts about advertising for existing clients.

As our platform is a DIY platform and allows people to do their own advertising in house, we need to teach our clients about advertising as they may not know CPM from CPC etc.

It's important to think about what your product does and that there is a connection between your blog and your product or service.

Don't be afraid to be controversial!

One of our recent posts 'Is Religion Just Like An Advertising Campaign' has had SO MANY social shares it's brought so much traffic to our site!

 

[halem111]

my experience is

70-80% fun and entertainment
20-30% facts and information

people like and share entertaining things

if you want some tips or training
to get better results on your blog

give me a PM

 

[PIngels]

I am with those that say only blog when you've got something worthwhile to share. The accepted wisdom in marketing circles is that you need to blog regularly and there is certainly merit in that if you have the time and enough high value and original information to share. This is especially true if you already have a good following.

I'm now focusing more on creating presentations and uploading them to SlideShare. I've uploaded 10 presentations so far and has had 60,686 views, 1,379 actions and 428 social actions so far. This is all from new audience exposure. My first presentations did not attract that many as I was still experimenting with ideas (an average of around 1900 views per presentation). The last two got over 20 000+ views each.

I am nowhere near that with my blogs. It obviously takes more time and skill to do presentations but, in my case at least, the ROI has no comparison.

One last point - my focus is B2B marketing so I can't yet say how it will be for B2C.

 

[Banksbroo]

Never. I have thought about it, but whenever I think about content it always seems too contrived. I'm not comfortable with "blowing my own trumpet", so posts for the sake of creating content seems like a very poor use of my time.

I suspect there is a magic formula to be developed where good blog= quality over some kind of regular frequency. Perhaps 6 relevant, useful to readers and well written posts a year may be far more useful than 60 scrappy fragments of froth?

If good blogs are useful, perhaps by the same token poorly written or irrelevant blogs can harm customer engagement or company reputation.

 

[HazelLCottrell]

Hiya,

As a content writer this is a question I am often asked, experts recommend 1 article a week on your blog as a minimum. I would personally say one or two a week for a small company is fine.

However it is really important to find the level - it needs to be quality content and not just content for contents sake (which some companies do and end up losing visitors).

My website is to be launched in the next few weeks and will list ideas of where you can get content ideas from as sometimes this can be half the battle - not knowing what to write about!

If you need any blogging advice drop me a line

 

[entreb]

3x a week. I usually blog if I have interesting topic to blog. I do not force myself to blog because it may only give a poor blog post output.

 

[PIngels]

It would be interesting to know what kind of results do your get form blogging. If you're a business I assume you blog because you want to get work from it. So how many blog readers convert to paying customers? What's the ratio between the number of blogs you write and the number of new readers, followers and paying customers/clients that translate into? Have you even got a way to measure that?

 

[pickaweb]

I would recommend to not get obsessed about quantity but quality.
Only post good stuff when inspiration happens.
Good content will eventually do better in search results.
Much better than content you have done in a rush just thinking of search engines.

 

[Ash-CBO]

Can anyone recommend anyone good guest blogging sites?

 

[Ash-CBO]

*any^!!!! whoops

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

It depends what you are aiming for from your blog. For example I write blogs on behalf of companies and these can be based around new product launch, and so the blog would be informative, while maybe telling the reader how this new product will save time/money etc.

A blog should answer questions you, as the reader are looking for, so, keeping with this theme, if a new business is looking for bar code equipment but is unsure of what to look for, they may type into Google 'cheap bar code equipment' or 'used bar code equipment' these terms would be used in blog titles and content as they would show up in searches. In fact, I have just Googled these and the company I write for is on page 1 of Google.

I aim for around 2 posts per week of as good a quality as can be offered which includes a little research along with your own take or opinion which then starts to develop as an authority blog.

It's something that you will get better at as you develop and if you don't have time to write, well, get in touch with a freelancer (me)

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

Can anyone recommend anyone good guest blogging sites?

I take guest blogs but they must be related to my field, take a look at my link and take it from there.

 

[Ash-CBO]

Regular blogging seems to be more beneficial but as others have said, the strength in the content is the most important aspect

 

[Alby10]

Quality rather than quantity is the key.

Once or twice a week is the norm for most companies, that i deal with.

Don't be self promotional in the blogs, offer informative useful information, advice and guidance etc, and as mentioned include imagery, such as infographics, which can be shared easily. Also ensure that you have social media buttons/sharing on your blog.

There are many that believe that fresh regular content is exactly what Google is looking for, so it could well improve your authority, exposure and serps.

 

[sebsuma]

Blogging is a vital part of SEO for your site which makes it a vital part of your project scope. If you don't use it for SEO its still very good for marketing in general. I blog 1 a week at the least, But then I enjoy it aswell so that helps.

 

[InspiredTelemarketing]

Every week these days. Took me a while to get into a rhythm of doing it on a weekly basis but now I'm in the mindset of writing it regularly I find I'm constantly looking for new ideas and angles to discuss. I'm yet to see any major benefits other than giving further exposure but I do get some very positive comments coming back from people I know so, all good on the whole!

And, should you wish to view it for yourself, search for inspired telemarketing wordpress (I can't post links yet as I'm a new member!)

thanks

Dan

 

[fisicx]

I'm yet to see any major benefits other than giving further exposure...

So why are you doing it?

 

[InspiredTelemarketing]

Straight answer - exposure, sharing of expertise, promoting my business, building my community, all the usual I'd guess. What I'm essentially saying with regard to "major benefits" is a significant contribution to our traffic. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't aware of the secondary benefits to writing a blog, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it

 

[fisicx]

Don't do it weekly, save up your creative juices until you have something really amazing to write about.

If you aren't seeing any real increase in traffic then the 'exposure, sharing of expertise, promoting my business, building my community' isn't working. Change what you write about and deliver contant that people are searching for and want to read about. 5 parapraphs on an unreasonable client isn't going to set the world alight. 600 words on turning an unreasonable client into a valuable client is something I'd want to read about and is the sort of thing people search for.

And spend a lot of time on the title, get this right and you will get traffic.

 

[InspiredTelemarketing]

appreciate the input - admittedly yes I'm still learning but, other than that particular blog (which was something I had to get off my chest) I do try to ensure the content is valuable and useful. I do need to do some work on the titles and found that the "5 tips on…." type of title got a better response.

Comments noted though!

thanks
Dan

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

At least a couple of times a week. It's quality over quantity. I try not to make posts too generic.

 

[garyk]

You could also try website called peopleperhour and you can buy the services of people to write your blog. Price can range from £10 to 30 per article

Can be cost effective way of getting regular content

I would never do or advocate this. For me those who write blogs its all about personality, if you get someone else that loses that appeal.