Blogging for Business: How to Make a Successful Blog

This guide looks at the success behind successful blogging. Small business blogging is lucrative when you convert from personal blog to business.

Having a successful business blog raises your company’s profile and boosts its competitive edge. Done well, blogging for business helps attract eyeballs to your products or services. In addition, an online presence lets you nurture leads and engage with new and existing customers.

But what is blogging—exactly. And how do inexperienced small business owners and bloggers even make a start? This guide explains the process of building your first project.

Blogging refers to publishing engaging content online. It uses media such as writing, images, video, podcasts, etc. Blogs are usually informative and interactive so that visitors can engage with the posts.

Even the raw novice can build a professional blog nowadays. That’s thanks to the super-easy blogging platforms designed with the new user in mind. We’ll consider blogging software options shortly. But first, how might a business use a blog to its best advantage?

How Might a Business Use a Blog

There are almost four billion active internet users, and some of them are sure to want what you offer. But they won’t even know you exist without an online presence.

Now let’s look at the advantages of starting a blog for your business and how to create one.

Here are 6 ways business blogging can help your company grow:

1. Free publicity
2. Reach people who would otherwise not know of your existence
3. Get to target specific clients/consumers
4. Build new relationships and maintain existing ones
5. Create new and unique content regularly to increase sales and traffic
6. Reinforce your brand and build trust

That last point is critical. A solid brand reputation creates trust, which is the fastest way to build a loyal client base. A professional, well-maintained company blog can help you achieve this goal.

Website Vs Blog, Where’s the Difference?

A blog is a kind of website, but there are distinctions between the two. Some websites even install a separate blog area where visitors and members can network.

This comparison table highlights the general differences between websites and blogs.

TYPICAL WEBSITE	TYPICAL BLOG
Static w/ little or no interaction (one-way Communication)	Dynamic w/ interactive dialogue; encourages user input
Content updated occasionally	Content updated regularly
Formal content and style	Less formal, friendlier style
Less likely to allow user comments	Allows users to leave comments
No order for new pages	Posts appear in chronological order
Lacks authority	Builds Credibility
Needs a webmaster/developer to edit, maintain, and upgrade	Easy to update, edit, maintain, and upgrade, even for beginners
One-way media	Feature and media-rich

More than 600M blogs are now active on the internet, with 2.5B published posts.

It’s also worth noting that visitors can subscribe to updates from your business blog. Even better is that visitors can share your blog posts on social media with one of two clicks. That means more free exposure and potential traffic to your blog.

3 Essential Tools for Creating Your Blog

Internet users have little patience, so there can be no second chances for you to make a good first impression. And for that, your blog must look great, have a meaningful name, load fast, and be easy to navigate. And most importantly, it gives your visitors what they came for.

Here are the 3 essential tools you need for making your new business blog:

1. Domain name: register your company name or something related to your business
2. Web hosting: a virtual server (computer) that stores and displays your blog content
3. Blogging platform (see next) and a template to create your blog

Your next steps are to draft a plan, write, then publish and publicize your new unique post. Don’t worry; there’s plenty of tips, tricks, and ideas online if you need a bit of help early on. We’ll look at the secret to writing great content shortly. But before that, you need a blogging platform so that you can publish your new content.

Choose Your Blogging Platform Carefully

You need a blogging platform to build, run, and maintain your small business blog. There’s no shortage of choice, though it’s not all equal. You have free and fee-based tools, and some are easier to use than others. Take your time to review the top options. Plus, choose software that gives you the opportunity and tools to upgrade as your business grows.

Not everyone knows—or wants to know—how to build a blog, and others don’t have the time. If that’s you, consider hiring a professional for your blog design, branding, & development.

You may want to try a few blogging platforms before you commit to anything. You’ll know whether you like the tools, features, and interface within a couple of minutes. Even most paid products offer a free trial, so you have nothing to lose other than a bit of time.

The popular favorites for small businesses are WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Web.com.

Learn from the Success of Other Blogs

Successful business blogs are uncluttered so that new visitors can find their way around easily. See the 3 Essential Tools above if you need a recap. Visit a few established business blogs for inspiration. You don’t want to mimic other people’s projects, of course. But there’s no harm in borrowing and adapting a few ideas to work into your own blog.

3 Examples of Successful Small Business Blogs

Below are three excellent examples to help get those creative juices flowing. Notice how clean and uncluttered these best business blogs are. Yet despite their simplicity, they successfully let you know what they’re all about within seconds.

Making Sense of Cents, BarkPost, and Pinch of Yum.

Create Great Content for Your Blog

There are two pieces of invaluable advice for succeeding as a business blogger. First, content is king, it always has been, and that won’t ever change. And second, get to know your target customers. That way, you can predict their needs and expectations as you create new content. Try to avoid being vague or pleasing a broad audience. Instead, zoom in and be specific.

How to Write for Your Internet Audience

Here’s an 8-point checklist on how to present your written content to an online audience.

1. Avoid confusing the reader, aim for—and maintain—clarity throughout your posts
2. Avoid monotonous paragraphs by varying the length of your sentences
3. Keep paragraphs short to avoid large blocks of text and to create white space
4. Don’t use multi-syllable words if there are shorter alternatives
5. Avoid the passive voice when it’s essential to know what or who is doing the action
6. Try not to use identical words in the same or even consecutive sentences
7. Use strong verbs in place of adverbs where possible
8. Never, never, never plagiarize

Pay special attention to that last point. Even accidental plagiarism stops your content from ranking well in the search engines. So, remember to check your content before you publish.

Make it Interesting; Vary the Media

Split your content up with other media, so the topic flows and stays interesting and entertaining. Think images, infographics, tables, polls, surveys, industry news, and podcasts. Don’t be afraid of the audiovisual, either. You can use a free online video editor like Fastreel Video Editor. This tool lets you create impressive, unique videos from other clips and photos of your products or services.

It can take a while to get known and a bit of tweaking. Some knowledge of on and off-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a huge plus. If you’re in a hurry, a company like Brand Glow Up can run with your small business blog by building and promoting your brand for you.

Good luck, and may all your business blogging be successful.