You’ve got your blog topics sorted and you’ve made a plan to give your post a great structure. (If you haven’t, read this and this.) Now, off you go. Sit down and write your first post. No? Sometimes the most difficult thing about writing a good blog post is knowing how to put your voice into words.
How do you do it? It all starts with your customer.
You’ve got a list of blog topics (and if you haven’t read this to get you started). That means that you can just sit down and start writing, right? Wrong. There are times when I can get away with winging it but I’ve had a lot of practice. If you want to avoid a rambling blog post that swiftly loses readers, you need to plan.
Planning your blog posts helps you to stay on topic. It also gives you a structure so you don’t run out of steam halfway. Best of all, a plan gives you confidence that you’ve got everything covered.
When you start a blog and want to come up with topics, there’s one very important thing to keep at the front of your mind. Your customer. Whatever you write about, ask yourself – “will my customers care about this?” If they won’t, don’t write about it.
Knowing your customer should be one of the foundation stones of your marketing. When you know who is most likely to need you then you can start talking just to them. I know it’s tempting to cast your marketing net wide but you just end up with bland blog posts that don’t talk to anyone in particular. A good blog can create that moment of recognition when your reader realises that you understand them.
Before you start working on a list of blog topics, think about who they’re for. They might be people who are cash rich but time poor or the complete opposite. Your products might only suit people who are at a particular stage in their lives, like the parents of new babies or people who’ve just retired. Think about the problems you solve or the ways you make your customers’ lives better. Then we can get started.
Are you a Game of Thrones fan? Don’t worry, you don’t have to be. I’m not going to start going into detail about dragons or expose you to any blood and gore. Sorry if that’s what you were after. What I am going to tell you about is how the clever people at Tourism Ireland capitalised on the fact that this huge TV production was happening on their doorstep. You might not get to meet a Lannister (possibly a good thing) but you could get some new ideas for your business.
If you’ve been keeping up with the business news recently, it’s all looking a bit depressing for the British high street. Woolworths are long gone, Poundworld are in receivership and sales are dropping almost everywhere. You may wonder what this has to do with trending topics. Well, whilst economic factors will always play a big part in people’s shopping habits, so do trends.
It could be easy to feel gloomy when you’re a small business watching giants struggle. The good news is that you have an advantage. You can spot what’s trending in your industry and set to work. You might invest a bit of time in a failed experiment but at least you can try and test it quickly and at relatively low cost. In the current climate the companies that are most likely to survive are the ones that innovate.
It’s a common complaint. In fact, it’s one I’ve made myself. You create all this fabulous content and it feels as if no-one’s listening. No-one comments on your blog, your Facebook reach is rubbish and you feel like throwing a party if you get a couple of likes on a post! You feel invisible. How can you get your customers listening to you when it feels as if they don’t?
There’s a lot to think about when you start a business. However you decide to organise things there’s one thing you can’t escape. You won’t make money if you don’t find your customers. There’s a never ending stream of advice on ways to market your business and you can try as much or as little as you want. However, the simple fact is that you need to tell people you exist or they won’t know.
Now, if you were paying attention you’ll have noticed that I said ‘your customers’. Not just ‘customers’. Whilst it’s true that you can sell to anyone you like, that doesn’t mean you should market to all of them. In a nutshell, marketing that tries to target everyone is bland and boring. In other words, the last thing you want for your business.
But finding your customers is about more than just marketing. It has massive benefits for your business and mental health too.
I’ve never called myself a blogger, even though I write blogs. Why not? Because, let’s face it, the word blogger has a bit of a bad reputation in some circles. I still see people looking for bloggers and influencers and it works really well in some industries. In other places, well…
Personally, I have nothing against bloggers. I just don’t want to be one. If you work in the travel industry you’ll hear an awful lot about influencer marketing. It’s common in other sectors too, for example if you want to promote a product in a market where there’s a strong blogger presence.
This kind of marketing works incredibly well where there’s a relationship between the blogger/influencer and the customer. Influencers tend to be people who have a strong social media following in a particular niche. For example, you might have someone who loves to travel off the beaten track or get involved in adventure sports. Equally there are lots of ‘Mummy bloggers’. Some of them are just funny but others will write sponsored posts for products or experiences they love alongside their more personal posts. These relationships work because a blogger’s followers trust them to only talk about things that they’ll enjoy and a business can tap into an audience that will like what they do.
On the other hand, there’s huge potential for it all to go wrong…
There’s so much marketing content out there it could make your head spin. You could spend your entire life reading blogs from one expert or another, or signing up for endless courses that promise to tell you the secret of a successful business.
The great thing about all of this is that you can find the answer to virtually any question. You can also find people who are expert in their field to teach you what you need to know. The downside is that it can put you off putting anything out there yourself.
It’s natural to compare yourself to others, but it’s not healthy if it stops you from making progress. You look at all of these experts and think “I don’t know as much as them. What could I possibly have to say that will help anyone?” Great question. The answer is – loads.
Sometimes it can feel as if marketing is one big front. You set out your stall to persuade people to do business with you. The idea of showing them behind the scenes seems completely counterintuitive. There’s no way you could show people the cogs working, is there?
I’m not saying that your marketing has to be a warts and all account of your business. For one thing, it would get repetitive. My days are mostly spent sat behind a keyboard, even if the work I’m doing varies. Some days are frustrating, long or just plain boring. However, giving your customers a glimpse behind the scenes could be a powerful communication tool.