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Part 3: Goal Oriented Blogging In parts 1 and 2, we looked at a blog for Ceramic Notions and figured out how we could change his blog for the better. We looked at an example of what not to do, and tried coming up with ideas for what to write about. For this part, we will look into writing blogs to help your website or business achieve a certain goal.
What are some good goals to start with? For many business owners, seeing the problem is much easier than diagnosing why the problem is there. What do you want your blog to accomplish for your business? You may want to relate to your customers that your business is still run by humans, not machines that do the same repetitive tasks every day. You may want to attract more visitors to your site. You may want to share information about what your company knows. For others, blogs can be an incredible way of advertising and promoting products. Your Business, for Humans, by Humans: What separates your products from your competitors? What special touch do the people of your organization bring to your products and services? These are a few good things to blog about. Ceramic Notions brings age old craftsmanship to a retro art of ceramics, enabling their customers to pass on traditions that would otherwise be smothered out by the mass-produced Wal-Mart ornaments and gifts. Explain that your products allow your customers to be more human and that your employees are people that want to help your customers enhance their lives. Come One, Come All: If you are trying to attract more visitors to your site, then you can try a few of these ideas with your blog. Find a popular topic and write about how your business relates. This way when people search for the topic, they have a chance to see your site. For Ceramic Notions, this could include writing about different Father's Day Gifts that children can make for their father. With the slow economy, people will be looking for the best bang for their buck, and $10-20 for a handmade, hand-painted gift from your child can easily mean more than the $50 tie to which you already have too many of. By taking a subject that is already popular, and writing about it, there is a good chance that your blog will be picked up by random people and then spread from there. It is a good way to attract people that normally wouldn't be thinking about your subject. Everyone Loves Free Information: When you look at the popularity of shows like "How it's Made" on the Discovery Channel, it's easy to see that people love to learn new things. Showing them how to do things, or how you do what you do for them can be a wonderful way to win over hearts and minds. For Ceramic Notions, topics such as how they make their ceramics, or how to use the ceramics that they supply to make new things could really help bring more sales. These articles can also turn into something they share with their friends. For some people creativity needs a lot of inspiration and so use your knowledge to give them inspiration to do something wonderful with your product. These Are Some of Our Wonderful Products: If you just launched a new line of products or services, blog about them. Blog about how they can help your clients or customers. Other than some time, your blogs can be free promotion. You can advertise your products using your blogs to push items that are new or even ones that you are trying to get rid of. If there's an event your business will attend, then blog about it and give you customers a chance to come and see the event. Chances are that you will also be picked up by search engines when people are searching about the event. I hope you have enjoyed this little series, and that it will help you take a new look at your blog. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach me at steve@sprocketwd.com. I would like to personally thank Ceramic Notions for letting me use them in this article. They have some wonderful products and I would strongly encourage everyone to check them out soon! |
