In the article to follow, we’re going to give you a step by step guide to starting – and optimizing – a blog for your business. Along the way we hope to illustrate why it’s one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available.

As an aside, we’re going to assume you have a website. Advertising on social media is one thing, but a website acts as an anchor for your entire business and if you’ve not invested in this yet, be aware that you’re only limiting your ability to attract customers.

A blog should be accessible from the main nav pane of your site and updated once a week at the minimum.

So why is it worth the effort?

Blogs matter because…

…Google favors a website with a regular stream of fresh content as opposed to one that’s static.

By starting a blog, you A) increase your chance of ranking well on the search engine giant (i.e., appearing prominently in the results pages) and B) have the opportunity to pursue keywords that you want to rank for.

Identify keywords that would benefit your business

A keyword is a word or phrase that triggers a search engine result. Think of it as something that a potential customer types into the search bar.

Let’s say you’re running a business that sells antique furniture and you’re based in Los Angeles. Keyword terms you’d want to appear for including “antique furniture LA”, antiques LA”, and a combination of the above.

You might also want to pursue associated or related terms though. In this case, a tool like SEMrush is invaluable. It’ll show you exact phrases people are looking for, giving you a ton of ideas for the sort of content you want to write.
SEMush isn’t free, however, and if you don’t want to make the investment, you can always head over to Quora and see what people are talking about. Reddit might be another option too. That said, these won’t be as effective at generating ideas to go after.

Create a content calendar

So we’ve cleared up why you want a blog: because writing about your specialism will help you rank.

But how do you get started?

We suggest setting up a content calendar.

Settle on a mix of evergreen and topical stories – the former is stuff that won’t age and can be posted year-round. The latter are the sort of hyper-relevant topics that deal with something in the news (the pandemic, for instance).

Map these stories out on an Excel spreadsheet and plot them over three months. This will give you a visual picture of where you’re headed, and it might even spark new ideas, such as getting an influencer to contribute a story one week.

A top tip? Search for “content calendar templates” on Google and use one of these.

Diversify your content

Diverse content will win you points with Google and readers. Beyond articles, consider creating infographics that really pop on the page. Podcasts and videos are also excellent options. Should these be outside of your technical wheelhouse, head over to a site like Upwork to shop around for experienced freelancers who will charge a cost-effective rate.

Consider a newsletter

Finally, a blog allows you to create a newsletter, and newsletter is an excellent way of attracting new business. Send it out bi-weekly or monthly with the top stories from the blog. Don’t be afraid to get creative either. Offer subscribers exclusive benefits, safe in the knowledge that, in return, you can now speak directly to potential customers.

Another top tip? Use a tool like MailChimp to create the newsletters and to organize your database.

In the end, a blog doesn’t need to cost the earth and it opens up several avenues to explore going forward. Good luck.