I discover new blogs all the time, written by smart small business owners and marketers who understand that the world is changing and that their marketing tactics need to change with it.
I also see lots of mistakes, or things left unfinished. Here are a few tips to think about as you start down the path of blogging for your small business:
1. Do you have a Contact Form integrated into your blog or company website? This is the best way to capture leads and allow people who are interested in more information about you and the products and/or services you offer to contact you. Plus, it allows you to not only build a lead database but also to track your conversions.
2. Do you feature “Connect With Us” buttons that are easy to spot? If your business has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or elsewhere, by allowing your blog readers and/or website visitors to easily see and click those buttons, you encourage them to be a part of the communities you are building on those social media networks. Doesn’t that just make sense?
3. Do you utilize social sharing buttons, prominently displayed on your blog? I’m a fan of having sharing buttons at the top of each blog post and also at the bottom. If you don’t make it easy for your readers to share your content, guess what – they won’t! And isn’t that the whole point of the content you are creating — the fact that you’d love for it to be shared? And by the way, I’m also a big fan of the Apture toolbar, which is located at the top of a page – check it out on this blog – their stats are amazing and their customer service out of this world.
4. Comments! Comments are one of the most important elements of a blog and I find many blogs don’t allow them. A reader who cares enough about what you’ve written to leave a comment is a reader that you WANT. Don’t leave off this important element of your blog – and don’t forget to respond to all comments that your readers leave, even if they are comments that disagree with you.
5. Do you invite your readers to subscribe to your blog by BOTH an RSS feed and by Email? Email is still the most popular platform there is, so when you assume that people will prefer an RSS feed over an email subscription, you are sometimes making a fatal error. Do you have any idea how many of your readers and potential readers have no idea what an RSS feed is? Trust me, there are many. Adding an email subscription option is critical. And, guess what, it’s MY personal preference, too!
These are just five tips – and things I see often that new small business bloggers forget and/or overlook. There are many more great ideas and tips – and if you have some, we would all love to hear them. So go ahead, leave a comment. And, while you’re at it, subscribe to this blog – you know you wanna.
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
