Category: blog writing

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Christmas blog: Can you write one when your business has nothing to do with Christmas?

Firstly, an apology. I know that now we’re past Halloween the floodgates have opened and your social media feeds are full of Christmas. I can’t be helping with my Christmas blog posts and festive marketing tips either. To be perfectly honest, I should be talking to you about Easter marketing by now. I’ve spoken to two people who are already working on Christmas 2020.

If you’re fed up of Christmas marketing because your business isn’t Christmassy, I’m actually here to help. You might not think that your business has anything to do with Christmas, but you’d be surprised. Even if you don’t sell gifts, decorations or Christmas food, you can still write a Christmas blog. It’s the season of goodwill and you can raise your business profile by joining in. Without further ado, here are 5 ideas for your Christmas blog.

1.  Family focus

Christmas with our loved ones can create both warm fuzzy feelings and total panic and your Christmas blog posts can tap into both. I once wrote a Christmas blog for a bathroom company about stress free ways to share your bathroom with guests. Do you have some house sharing wisdom to offer?

If you’re a counsellor, a tips post would be perfect. Show people how they can minimise stress or avoid arguments. After all, even families who get on well can feel the strain at Christmas.

2.  Looking forward to New Year

If you help people to transform their lives long term, why not encourage their friends and family to support them? You might think that a voucher is a bit naff at Christmas, but what if it’s for personal training that could improve their health? A blog post about Christmas gifts that could change your life gets people thinking – plus they’ll remember you when they make their New Year’s resolutions.

If you help small businesses*, a blog with gifts for business owners could help you find a new audience.

3.  Christmas emergencies

If you can help with an emergency that doesn’t need a 999 call, tell your customers. Your Christmas blog post could show people how to avoid emergencies. Can you advise on home security or fire safety checks? If you run a garage, talk about vehicle maintenance so they won’t break down on a Christmas road trip.

Oh, and if you’re open on Christmas Day, put it on Facebook. Our local garage saved our roast potatoes when we ran out of cooking oil and didn’t notice until Christmas morning!

4.  Wellbeing in your Christmas blog

My self-care is a bit hit and miss generally and goes completely out of the window in the run up to Christmas. If you have a wellbeing business, your Christmas blog can offer people ways to look after themselves when they don’t have time.

You could even take a different approach. I love supporting small businesses and hate city centre shopping so I’ve had a shopping party at home and am going to a couple of local fairs. Could your Christmas blog talk about ways to shop stress free?

5.  Christmas preparations (or the aftermath)

Professional cleaning tips go down well all year round, but especially at Christmas when you’re expecting guests. You could also write about the benefits of a professional clean at Christmas.  When I planned this blog I mentioned it to my cleaner, who was hoovering near my desk. She told me that it’s a sign of a good cleaner if they can clean properly without disturbing your decorations.

Use your Christmas blog to tell your customers how you can help them get ready and throw in a few surprises if you can.

*Like I do with great value blog packages. (If you’d like to buy the small business owner in your life a month’s worth of blog posts from me, I sell gift vouchers. Click here to find out about my packages or email me if you’d just like to send them a few quid to use as they like.)

If you want some ideas for posts to take you through December and up to Christmas Eve, sign up for my mailing list using the form below. You’ll get a copy of my free guide to creating your ultimate Christmas marketing plan.

Further reading

If your business does have something to do with Christmas and you’ve missed my earlier blogs, here they are:

This one is for you if you sell great Christmas gifts.

This one is for those of you who help your customers to create the perfect Christmas celebration.

Here’s another take on blog post ideas for a non-Christmassy business from www.business2community.com

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5 Christmas blog post ideas for businesses that create the perfect day

Perfect Christmas blog post ideas

There are lots of fantastic businesses selling perfect Christmas gifts, but what about the rest of you? What if your business helps your customers to create the perfect Christmas? There are a whole range of businesses that offer everything from Christmas essentials to the finishing touches. Food, drink and Christmas decorations are obvious examples but there are lots of areas where people need some help to create the perfect Christmas. There can, of course, be plenty of overlap. I always feel as if I’m preparing for the apocalypse when the Christmas food delivery arrives, but there are always a few bottles of wine heading out as gifts too.

If you sell fashion or beauty it’s easy to focus on gifts but do your customers also need help deciding what to wear to the Christmas party or while they’re serving up turkey? Think about what will go into your customers’ perfect Christmas and talk about that. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

1.        Making the perfect Christmas easier

Creating the perfect Christmas sounds like a great idea but it can get stressful pretty quickly. If you offer something that helps to take some of the stress away, tell people about it. It could be anything from a handy short cut to Christmas on a plate. Do you offer pre-stuffed turkeys or a gift wrapping service? Can you deliver to their door to save them yet another trip to the shops?

If you give Christmas preppers one less thing to think about, let them know.

2.        Feeling good at Christmas

Are your customers are people who generally feel frazzled by the time Christmas is over? Help them out with a blog post that helps them make things better. It could be anything from advice on taking time out and still getting everything done through to nutrition to stop them getting ill.

Maybe they want to feel dressed up but not overdressed for Christmas dinner. I know there are people who feel perfectly comfortable dressing up to the nines to scoff sprouts – personally, I’m not one of them.

3.        Perfect Christmas entertainment

We’ve all been there – Christmas dinner is over and everyone just wants to slump in a chair. Christmas telly sounds like a great idea until the arguments over who wants to watch what get going. Either that or the kids have opened all of their presents and are bouncing on your last nerve whilst you’re trying to cook.

If you have the solution to either of those challenges, tell your customers about it. I promise they will love you for it.

4.        A green Christmas

Environmental issues are on everyone’s minds. The drive to reduce the volume of single use plastics we throw away every year is now a key influence in lots of people’s buying decisions. Of course, you’re not restricted to talking about plastic. You can tell your customers about anything you do to help lessen your (and their) environmental impact.

Give people 5 ways that they can use your products to have a green Christmas and you’ll be on to a winner.

5.        Christmas tips

Tips posts are a great way to catch your customers’ attention at any time of year, but they’re especially valuable at Christmas. This type of blog post works because it gives people information in easily digestible chunks. They’re perfect for busy people (which is basically all of us at Christmas).

I’ve talked about helping people who want quick fixes, but there is just as big an audience for advice on how to do things properly. If you have advice on preparing the perfect Christmas dinner, expert wrapping tips or the best way to decorate your tree, share them.

If you haven’t planned your Christmas marketing yet and want some ideas for posts to take you through December and up to Christmas Eve, sign up for my mailing list using the form below. You’ll get a copy of my free guide to creating your ultimate Christmas marketing plan.

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5 blog post ideas to help you sell more Christmas gifts

Sell Christmas gifts

If you run a business that sells perfect Christmas gifts, this is probably peak season for you. I’ve already started my Christmas shopping and I’ve got a list of local businesses that I’ll be buying from in the coming month. I know that you’re already doing loads of marketing to show people what you have to offer. If you’re not already writing a blog it can be a great way to showcase your products and build your profile.

A Facebook or Instagram post can be amazing at getting an immediate response. I’ve already bought presents for two people based on a photo the seller posted on Facebook. However, one of the reasons for my quick decision was that I already knew the business. Building relationships is incredibly important when you have a small business. You might already be doing that at events or online and a blog can be a big part of that.  A blog can be chatty and helpful which makes people more likely to trust you when you post about something you’re selling.

So without further ado here are my top 5 ideas for blogs that will help you to sell more Christmas gifts.

1.    Your ultimate gift guide

This one does what it says on the tin – write a monster post with your best ideas for every family member and interest group that you could possibly sell to. It’s the kind of thing that people will save for reference. This could take you quite a long time depending on how many products you have, so you might prefer to break it down into…

2.    Christmas gifts for…

You can write as many of these as you like and tailor them to your business. If you offer perfect gifts for women, children or a particular interest, break it down. You might write about choosing jewellery or your best gifts for kids who love dinosaurs. Your audience will find it really helpful and you can include pictures with product links to make it easy for them to buy.

3.    How to buy for the awkward one

We’ve all got one – the person we struggle to buy for every year. What have you got that’s a bit out of the ordinary? This could also be a great opportunity to educate people about your products. For example, a gift buyer with a newly vegan relative might think of them as ‘awkward’ – you could be the one to offer a gift that will change their view.

4.    What to buy for the person who has everything

Do you sell gifts for people who don’t want more stuff? Experience gifts or charity donations? You could also give ideas for interesting budget gifts for when you’re skint but need to buy for wealthier relatives. What do you sell for the person who doesn’t want to buy their mum more jewellery or yet another scarf?

5.    Are you a Secret Santa?

The dreaded Secret Santa can be a real challenge. Your customers might be buying for someone they don’t know very well or have a tiny budget. Can you help them to come up with something interesting and avoid falling back on an Amazon voucher? (Yes, I’ve had this – the perils of being a temp who still got invited to the team Christmas lunch.)

If you’re planning your Christmas marketing (or your non-Christmas marketing) and need some more ideas, head to my shiny new online shop where you’ll find ’50 blog post ideas for your business’ and my guide to Christmas marketing which gives you ideas for social media posts from 1st December all the way to Christmas Eve.

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Microblogging: why you need to start small

Microblogging - small is beautiful.

The idea of writing a blog can seem a bit daunting. Maybe writing doesn’t come naturally to you or you’re just out of practice. Sitting in front of a blank screen trying to come up with something good to blog about could be your worst nightmare. Either that or you try it and end up spending a whole day getting it to sound right (or giving up because it doesn’t). If that sounds familiar, microblogging could be your new best friend. Read on to find out what it’s all about…

What is microblogging?

Microblogging is basically a mini blog (sorry for stating the bleeding obvious). If you’ve never heard the term before, you actually see microblogs all the time. Tweets, Facebook updates and Instagram posts are all microblogs. The essence of microblogging is about sharing a quick snippet of information. It could be anything from a link, to a photo, some text or a video.

The key thing to remember about microblogging is that it’s relatively short and to the point. A standard blog post could be anything from 350 words up – generally a microblog should be shorter than that. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules. If you’ve got something to say and you want to put it on Instagram, knock yourself out. You’ve got over 2,000 characters to play with so you can say quite a lot. As always, the key is to think about what you have the time and skill to produce and what will be helpful to your audience.

How you can use microblogging

Microblogging is a brilliant way to get used to writing because you can be brief while still saying more than you usually would. I know that sounds as if I’m completely contradicting myself, but bear with me. If your standard Facebook post only runs to a couple of sentences, is it because the things you talk about don’t need more than that or because you feel you have to keep posts really short? If it’s either of those, think about what that’s telling your customers. As small businesses we need to build trust with our audience. That only happens when you offer useful information or let people get to know you.

The next time you go to a business event, try posting more than ‘here I am at X for networking’. Relax and talk about what you get out of the event as if you were telling a friend. You don’t have to write loads but it gives people a bit of insight. Also, because it’s social media you get immediate feedback.

The downsides

Of course, there can be downsides to microblogging. One of the main potential pitfalls is if you don’t establish clear boundaries when you start. I’ve talked about maintaining your privacy when you blog before but it bears repeating. Letting your audience get to know you is great, but not if you let it intrude too far into your life. For example, would you want some random person to see your Facebook posts and be able to work out where you live or where your kids go to school? There has even been debate about whether the availability of information on Twitter made super injunctions pointless.

From a practical point of view, microblogging on social media has one major drawback. It doesn’t help your search engine rankings. A website based blog, updated regularly, helps you to get found on Google whereas social media just builds your profile. That’s why I’d suggest building your confidence with microblogging then moving on to a blog. Then you get the best of both worlds.

Further reading

You can choose subjects for microblogs in the same way as you would for a traditional blog. Here’s how to get started.

For blogging and marketing tips straight to your inbox every month, sign up to my mailing list here and receive a free guide to getting your
business out of hiding!

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Blogging vs YouTube: which side are you on?

YouTube icon

Ladies and gentlemen, let us consider the contenders in tonight’s match. In the red corner – blogging, communicating with your customers using the written word on your website (or a few other places – but that’s for another blog post). In the blue corner – YouTube, letting you talk to your customers face to face. Which will win? Or, more to the point, which should you choose? Because when it comes to blogging vs YouTube, the thing that really matters is knowing what will work for your audience.

Who are you talking to?

As with everything else in marketing, the first question you need to ask is – who am I talking to? It’s all very well saying that you only want to blog because you hate being on video, but what if your customers love YouTube? I confess that my YouTube viewing is fairly limited because my kids love it. If I try and watch anything while they’re still awake I end up with demands for videos about Lego and slime. Reading a blog is far easier.

Even if you’re able to choose, some of your customers might just prefer reading. Deciding what content to create ultimately comes down to what your ideal customer wants to see. (For more on that, read this.)

What do you want to say?

Sometimes the message you want to send is short and snappy – a quick tip or reminder that your event bookings are closing, for example. You might just want to ask a question for your audience to ponder. These are perfect for short social media posts or videos. Video is also amazing if you’re interviewing someone or having a discussion as it makes the audience feel part of the conversation.

On the other hand, maybe you want to offer something a bit more in depth. If you’re writing a step by step guide or a range of questions to ask, it’s far easier for your audience to follow if everything’s written down. For me, reading a blog often feels more like a one to one chat too.

Do you need to be on YouTube?

Have a gold star if you’ve already asked the obvious question. You can post video almost anywhere you like, why would you need YouTube? Good point. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter all allow you to upload video (obviously it’s not just them either – I’m ignoring the others for now). I’m glad you asked.

Firstly, Google owns YouTube. That means that having a YouTube channel could boost your search engine ranking. You can also embed YouTube videos on your website. There’s also less competition from other businesses giving you the chance to find your niche audience.

Of course, if your audience never use YouTube (or only watch it for cat videos), it could be a pointless exercise. It all comes back to knowing your audience.

Blogging vs YouTube: which will win?

Honest answer? They both will if you use them properly. Even though Google owns YouTube, when it comes to your website, words still win. Regularly updated and useful content will push you up the search engine rankings and help your customers find you in a way that video won’t.

Video is still a massive growth area and a great way to attract attention on social media. Plus, if you’ve gone to the effort of creating a video, why not share it wherever you can? You can even cover the same topics across your blog and videos as the audience is unlikely to be the same. Just don’t read your blog out on video. That would be like watching paint dry.

Further reading

For more on repurposing your blog, read this.

Ready to get started on YouTube? Here’s an in depth guide from Hubspot.

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Does your blog suit the season?

Change of season - autumn leaves blog header

Marketing success isn’t just about how good your message is. It’s about catching your audience at the right time and in the right mood. If you think about what season it is and what’s happening in their lives you can include references to the things you can help with at the right time. Here’s my handy guide to help you write your blog to suit the season (and bring the rest of your content in line too).

Your customers

When you’re planning your marketing, think about your customers first. If you want your message to resonate it needs to be targeted (for more on that, read this. When you know who you’re talking to you can identify the things they’ll be thinking about at any given time of year. If your customer is a mum with her own business she’ll be thinking about Christmas in terms of the family logistics, present buying and school activities. She’ll also be wondering how she’s going to market her business in the run up, particularly if Christmas is peak sales time. Other times of year will bring different concerns and understanding that helps you to talk to your customer in a way that makes sense.

Blog topics

I use blogs as the central point in my marketing. You can choose a suitable theme that relates to your business and the time of year. I talk about blogging and writing all year round, but I sometimes have topics that I can tailor to suit the season and you will too. For example, a travel agent could talk about their top 5 family summer breaks then top 5 skiing holidays later in the year. Winter skincare is going to be different from summer so you can write different blogs for each.

Of course, not every blog has to be seasonal. Even if a blog isn’t talking about a specific occasion you can schedule it to suit what’s going on with your customers. For example, I might write a piece on learning to blog to go out in September when the kids are back at school and there’s time to focus on the business.

Planning ahead

I plan my overall marketing a few months in advance, then work out the details a month or two before I send it out. It’s also worth thinking about when your customers will need your help. I started talking about Christmas marketing in July. I know, ridiculously early, but if my customers want my help with their Christmas campaign that’s the ideal time to start. I can still help further down the line but it makes things a bit more stressful. If your customers won’t want to hear about Christmas until December, you can adjust the timetable.

I use my blog posts to inspire as many of my other social media posts as possible. (Read this blog to find out why.) Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t do posts about specific services, I just make sure that they fit with what I’ve been talking about for the rest of the month. Doing it this way means that I can schedule as much as possible in advance so I’m not panicking about what I’m posting.

So, if you want to try working seasonally, here’s how to do it:

  1. Work out what your customers will be thinking
    about at different times of year.
  2. Plan your blog topics a few months in advance to
    talk about those topics.
  3. Plan the rest of your marketing posts around
    your blogs.

If you haven’t thought about your Christmas marketing yet, there’s still time. Sign up to my mailing list and receive your free copy of ‘Your complete guide to Christmas content’. I won’t spam your inbox or share your information with anyone else.

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How you can make your blog work harder for you

Make your blog work harder for you.

I know that a lot of you probably think that writing a blog sounds like a lot of effort. I’m not going to lie to you, it can be. There are plenty of people out there who’ve told me that they spent an entire afternoon trying to write a blog only to end up with something they weren’t happy with. It’s had them sending their blog post straight to the bin and they never try again. After all, you’ve got enough to do creating the rest of your marketing content without spending hours on one blog post, right? It doesn’t have to be like that. If you can write one blog a month (or get someone like me to write one for you) it can go much further than you think. It could even make creating the rest of your content much easier. I decided to see how far one blog post can go, so that you can discover how to make your blog work harder for you.

So, here’s my guide to some of the ways you can take one blog post and turn it into much more.

Video

I’ve started with this one because it creates the most work. You can use a blog post to inspire your videos and share a link to your post. You could use a live video to give a brief introduction or offer some tips. I create tips based videos with Ripl using still images so it’s not just my face on camera all the time. You could also share one tip in a weekly live if you want to go into greater depth.

Blog images

A good blog post should have at least one striking header image so why not reuse it? You can share an image with a snippet from your blog’s introduction on multiple platforms. If you use a DIY graphics platform like Canva you can create multiple images to showcase different bits of your blog, or even relevant quotes.

You can also share behind the scenes images. They can reflect your theme and show your audience the person behind the business.

Share your blog on other platforms

If you’re only marketing on Facebook, you’re probably missing a trick. That said, I don’t believe in spreading yourself too thinly either. Creating content for multiple platforms can get stressful very quickly. However, if you’re on Facebook and Instagram with a side order of LinkedIn, there’s no harm in sharing edited versions of the same thing as long as they’re not completely identical.

It makes your content go further and lets you see what kind of content works on different platforms.

Ask a question

Asking questions of your audience is a great way to get them engaged. It’s even better if you can get them talking about your blog post topic. You could ask about the things they struggle with or if they use any resources that could help. Of course, sometimes it’s best to keep it simple. For example, I could ask who writes a blog and who doesn’t. If lots of people say that they don’t I can follow up by asking why. It doesn’t just get people talking – it could also inspire future posts.

There you have it – I’ve set myself a challenge to create most of my content for this month from this blog post. If you don’t already follow me on Facebook come over and see how many posts I manage to create from just this one.

If you’d like me to create a blog post for you (and give you some ideas on how to reuse it) just email me to get the ball rolling. Or sign up to my email list here for a step by step guide to writing your own blog.

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Why you need a blog for your business

you need a blogI’m generally not a fan of stating the bleeding obvious. I don’t like it when people talk down to me so there’s no way I’m going to do it to anyone. The trouble is, sometimes it leads me to credit people with knowledge that they don’t already have. This is not a criticism. When you’re a small business owner there’s a massive amount of stuff to learn. Even if marketing is towards the top of your list of things to get to grips with, the benefits of writing a blog could still be a long way down. If that’s the case for you, here’s why a blog could do wonders for your business.

It’s great for SEO

If SEO makes you want to hide, don’t worry. It’s basically increasing your chances of getting found in a Google search. There’s a lot out there about how Google algorithms work so I won’t repeat it here. However, if you write a blog that focuses on words and phrases that are key to your business then you’re more likely to be found when your customers search.

The words you choose depend on your business. You can choose words that reflect your services or target a particular region. It won’t surprise you to learn that blogging and writing both feature in my list. Just think about what your customers will be searching for.

It builds your profile

Profile building can be a massive amount of work if you let it. You can promote yourself in any number of ways, from online marketing to networking, public speaking and a whole host of PR strategies. You could, in theory, spend so much time promoting yourself that you don’t get any work done.

A blog can be a great way to share your knowledge and demonstrate your expertise. Write regularly and share your blog on relevant social media platforms and your reputation will start to grow. The best part is that you can outsource it if it becomes too time consuming.

A blog talks to your customers

The great thing about a blog is that they’re designed to be persuasive but not to give people the hard sell. Sometimes a potential customer will find your blog because they’re looking for a specific piece of information or a particular service. At other times they might start reading because it’s a subject they’re interested in. Reading a blog should feel a bit like chatting to a well-informed friend. You learn something but also come away feeling entertained.

The point is that a blog enables your customers to get to know, like and trust you. That can result in sales further down the line but it can also reach those people who need help straight away.

It’s endlessly reusable

I’m willing to bet that every piece of marketing advice you’ve ever heard has mentioned consistency. Wherever you share your message you need to be doing it regularly to have an impact. The main reason for this is that drip feeding allows people to absorb information slowly. That’s much more effective than dumping everything in their lap at once.

The problem with this is that it creates constant demand for content, even if you don’t post every day. It can get pretty tiring over time. However, if you create a blog once a month you can use it in lots of different ways. Use your blog post as a central theme and you share snippets with images, as tips and in videos. (I’m contemplating producing a template to show you how this works, so watch this space.)

If you like the idea of starting a blog but would rather get someone else to do it, let me help. You can find out more about my blog writing packages here or just get in touch at info@kirstyfrancewrites.co.uk.

Alternatively, sign up here for monthly blogging tips straight to your inbox.

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What marketing training do you need for your team?

marketing training teamIf you’re a larger organisation it can be easy to think of marketing as part of someone else’s job description. It’s easy to understand why. If your business has invested in employing marketing professionals why not rely on them to do the heavy lifting? Leave the marketing training sessions to small business, sole traders and network marketing companies. The truth is that even when marketing isn’t your primary responsibility it doesn’t mean that you can’t play your part. After all, as far as your customers are concerned, every employee represents your brand. The question is, what do you need your team to do and what marketing training do they need?

Social media

You might justifiably think that this is one to leave to the marketing team. When it comes to posting to official business accounts, you’d be right. However, you’d still be wise to consider what your team are doing on their own social media. If your employee is making offensive comments or acting in a way that could reflect badly on your business, it’s best to know about it sooner rather than later. Of course, some people make it easy. The annals of internet history are littered with stories of people who were sacked because they forgot they were Facebook friends with their boss.

The kind of training you’ll need to provide here is probably best lead by HR as it’ll need to be in line with company policies. It’s also a fine balancing act between protecting your business reputation and preventing your employees from posting anything vaguely interesting.

Expos

Personally, I love business expos. I get to wander round chatting to people and they’re also an excellent source of free stationery. However, I say this as someone who has never had to spend an entire day standing at a stall. Engaging with potentially hundreds of people to create the right first impression over the course of a day takes stamina.

You might think that it’s just a matter of sending the right people. However, even your most loquacious employees might need help. An expo is no different from any other marketing platform in that your message needs to focus on your customer. A monologue about your services isn’t going to help anyone. I’d suggest that a workshop style briefing session would be the ideal pre-expo training. Firstly, the team develop questions to get visitors talking. Then they think about potential answers and how your services would be of benefit. Your staff sound knowledgeable and visitors get to hear about stuff they’re actually interested in.

Blogging

Depending on your business you might already have members of your team writing articles for various platforms. This may have lead you to believe that you don’t need to blog. The truth is that they’re not exactly the same thing. (For more on why, read this.)

Blogging is one of the most effective ways of humanising your business. People often see corporate businesses as remote and think that you might blind them with science. A business blog can, on one level, demonstrate your expertise if you let the marketing team do it. However, if you delegate some of the blogging to employees you get a unique perspective each time. It shows your customers that you’re approachable and not just a corporate stone edifice.

If your teams (even your marketing team) have never blogged before, there are some great workshops available that will take you through the basics from choosing topics to editing. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I offer one and will bring it to you – sign up using the form below to find out more.

However you market your business it’s always worth getting your employees involved by offering them the right training support.

Further reading

Even your marketing team might need training – these social media horrors were created by professionals.

A more comprehensive expo survival guide

Finally, for details of my training sessions, sign up to my mailing list here.

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Why you need to know the difference between articles and blogs

difference between articles and blogsBusinesses come in all shapes and sizes, from the sole trader working at home to massive multinationals. The main differences in their marketing strategies tend to come down to budget. If you’re a one person business you’re unlikely to be able to afford to plaster your message on a city centre billboard or nab an ad slot in the middle of ‘Coronation Street’. On the other hand, creating written content is accessible to everyone. Any business can create a blog, but a lot of the people I talk to tell me that they don’t need to as they’re already writing articles. The fact is, while there are similarities they aren’t the same thing. Here’s why.

Articles are on someone else’s platform

For the purposes of this blog I’m lumping all articles together. In reality, there are hundreds of different outlets for articles. You could be featured in a local magazine or in a professional journal that’s targeted at a specific industry. Finding the right outlet is crucial to raising your profile. When I was a solicitor one of our partners used to write articles about legal issues for food industry journals to showcase his expertise. If you’re offering a service that’s accessible to the general public a local magazine could help you to reach potential customers.

The big difference between these kinds of articles and your own blog is that the articles are all on someone else’s platform. You don’t get to choose how they’re promoted or if you get to publish them at all. An editor has to think about what message will appeal to their readers and it might not be the one you want to send.

Different tones

In marketing it’s important to tailor the tone of voice you use to the platform as well as your audience. If you write articles for a local magazine your tone might be quite similar to that of a blog. By contrast, the difference in tone between a blog and a professional journal article is going to be pretty big.

I find that a lot of professional people shy away from writing blogs because they think it looks unprofessional. A serious article enhances their reputation but a blog might make them look frivolous. I’m generalising here, of course – some of my blog writing clients are very serious businesses. The key difference is that whilst articles make you look professional, a blog makes you look human. They can both win you clients but for very different reasons.

Your audience

When you write an article for a magazine, do you know who is going to read it? You might have been given information about circulation so you know where it’s distributed or who the audience is. It doesn’t tell you who puts it straight in the bin. Even regular readers might stick to their favourite articles and ignore yours completely. The only way you’ll know if your articles have been an effective marketing tool is if someone mentions it when they get in touch.

Now I know that you might have the same issue with your blog. You can’t control who visits your website or whether Facebook shows your post sharing the link to anyone useful. But you can see the data on how many people are reading and where they’re based. You can also run adverts promoting key pieces of content and targeting them at specific people. The results might still be hit and miss but at least you have a fighting chance of discovering what worked and what didn’t.

If you’d like to learn to write blogs, or how to shift your tone from writing articles to something more customer friendly, I’m here to help. Sign up using the form below to find out more about my 1:1 and small group training.