Verblio is your ticket to simplified content creation, but you still have a part to play. After all, you need to make smart first decisions as a customer on the Verblio platform to set yourself up for success.
The good news is we’re breaking it all down here so you can plan how many pieces you should publish per month, what the word count should be, and how to come up with topics. Let’s dive in.
But first, why is business blogging so important?
Business blogging is important because it helps you to connect with your audience, build relationships, and drive traffic to your website. By providing valuable content that applies to your business, you can attract new readers and followers who may eventually become customers or clients. (This is called inbound marketing, versus the outbound sales strategy of yesteryear.)
By staying active and engaging with your audience, you can create a community of supporters who can help promote your business.
Blogging also provides an excellent way to share your expertise and build trust with potential customers. By demonstrating your knowledge and thought leadership, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry which can help convert leads into customers.
Finally, business blogging is an effective marketing tool that can help boost your SEO efforts and drive traffic to your website. By creating quality content that is keyword-rich and shareable, you can attract new visitors to your site who may not have found you otherwise.
How often should you be blogging?
As a business, you should begin by blogging 2-3 times a week, or 8-12 times per month.
That said, context is everything. The number of blog posts you publish each month will largely depend on your business size, industry, and goals.
For example, if you’re a small business in the wedding industry, you may want to publish more content around engagement season and less during the slow summer months.
If you have more products or services than can be covered in one blog post, you’ll need to publish more frequently to make sure each item gets its turn in the spotlight.
And if SEO is a primary focus for your business, then publishing quality content regularly is key to moving up in the search engine rankings.
If you’re just starting out or don’t have the bandwidth to commit to a large content strategy, we recommend shooting for 8 blog posts per month. This should be manageable for most business owners and small teams, and it will still give you the chance to publish quality content that resonates with your audience.
The most important part when starting out is to get the ball rolling with a regular cadence. As your business grows, you’ll likely find you have enough topic ideas—whether that’s suggestions from your team, customer pain points you can create education around, or industry trends on which you can be a thought leader—to publish more often.
What word count should you be aiming for?
Each blog post you publish should be a minimum of 600 words.
With regard to length, remember that you’re writing for both humans and search engines. To satisfy both audiences, your blog posts need to be informative and keyword-rich. While 600 words is a feasible starting point for most businesses, you may find that some of your topic ideas require longer—up to 1,000 words or more.
Aim for around 600-1000 words per blog post, but if you have more (or less) to say on a particular topic, go with your gut.
How should you choose business blog topics?
Choosing topics for your business blog can be tough, especially if you don’t consider yourself a natural writer. A great way to come up with ideas is to:
- Look at what’s popular in your industry and put your own spin on it.
- Check out what’s trending on social media and see if there’s anything you can weigh in on.
- Set up Google Alerts for key terms related to your business so you’re always in the know about the latest news and developments.
- Ask your customers and employees what they’d like to see covered on the blog.
Still stumped for ideas? We can help with that.
How about SEO?
Blogging is a great way to improve your website’s SEO. By regularly producing quality content, you can attract more visitors and keep them coming back for more.
Here are some tips to help you make the most of your business blog:
1. Use keywords wisely
When choosing keywords, be sure to pick ones that apply to your business and audience. Stuffing your blog with too many keywords will not only turn off readers, but also get you penalized by search engines. Use keywords throughout your post, including in the title, in the body, and in the tags and categories.
2. Optimize your titles and descriptions
Write catchy titles and descriptions that include your target keywords. This will help your blog posts show up in search results and entice people to click through to read them.
3. Link internally
When you link to other articles on your blog, it helps both readers and search engines find your content more easily. Just be sure to use relevant keywords in your anchor text so that the links are valuable for SEO.
4. Use images
Adding images to your blog posts can make them more visually appealing, which can keep readers engaged. But did you know images can also help with SEO? Be sure to include keywords in your image file names and alt tags so that search engines can index them properly.
Bonus: Business blogging best practices
There are several best practices to follow when it comes to business blogging. Here are a few of the most important ones:
1. Write interesting and informative content
Your blog should be full of interesting and informative content that will engage your readers. Write posts that apply to your industry and that offer valuable insights.
2. Promote your blog posts
It’s not just about creating great content—you’ve got to make sure people see it. Distributing your blog posts through social media and other channels will help more people see your content and allow you to build an audience.
3. Interact with your readers
Don’t forget to interact with your readers in the comments section of each post. This is a great way to build relationships and connect with your audience.
4. Keep it updated
Keep your blog updated regularly with new posts. This will keep people coming back for more, and it will also help you attract new readers.
It’s time to focus on your blog
Feeling overwhelmed just reading all of this? Remember, Verblio is here to help. Verblio writers create content for small businesses in every industry, and we take care of all the vetting and invoicing so you don’t have to.
With a little effort and planning, you can easily create a content strategy that works for your business. By taking the time to figure out how often to publish, what topics to cover, and what word count to aim for, you’ll set yourself up for success on the Verblio platform. Ready to get started? Login to your account or sign up today.
