A blog is a powerful tool for any brand to grow its presence and authority online. If done correctly, your peers will soon flock to you for your insights! But getting there isn’t easy. Here are five essential elements you need to consider before you begin to publish:
- Pick Your Platform
First things first—you need to figure out where your blog will live. There are a number of tools available to help you start your blog. While WordPress is perhaps the most popular blogging platform, most website building services (SquareSpace, Wix, etc.) now have robust blogging features.
- SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a complex beast. In its simplest form, it is a tool to help articles reach the front page of search engine results based off of their keywords. However, it can be considerably more intricate than that. Luckily, many blog platforms have tools to help you optimize your posts.
- Find Your Audience
Who is your blog for? That’s a question you need an answer to before writing your first word. Will it be potential customers, your peers, or simply avid readers? It all comes down to what your goals are. Is your blog simply an extension of your marketing efforts, or is growing the blog itself the highest priority?
- Choose The Right Topics
Now that you have figured out who will read your writing, you need to figure out what they like. This requires some research into what your audience’s top concerns and needs are, as well as what else they’re reading.
- Hone Your Voice
The final piece is fine tuning your writing style. You want your blog to have one consistent voice, which means you need to find it before you start publishing. What tone do you want to strike? Is it a strictly professional piece of writing or does it have a conversational feel? Regardless, make it unique!
These five tips don’t necessarily cover everything you need to write a blog, but following them will greatly increase your chances of success. Now go get writing!
