5 Considerations Before and After Starting a Blog

Do you already have a blog? Or do you want one but haven’t gotten around to it yet?

When you have a blog or are working towards starting one, the typical concerns are:

How much time will it take to get results? More than most expect.
What do I include on my blog? Posts that are helpful and useful.
How often do I have to blog? At least once each week.
How do I get posts to my social media accounts? There’s a plugin for that.
Where do I get images for my blog? Take your own or from image archives.

Blogs Require You Get Your Ducks in a Row

Every business site owner has wondered about these concerns — and justifiably so! Blogging isn’t easy or something that you do haphazardly. It takes planning and time. The good news is once you get a system in place, it becomes part of your scheduled tasks.

Not everyone is up to the challenge. But if you have a website, you must embrace it and do what is necessary to do it right.

The thing is, without a blog, you will only have a “brochureware” website. Brochureware websites do not do well in search engine rankings and do not build the necessary confidence and trust, which are crucial to SEO.

Should I Bother Starting a Blog?

Absolutely. Without a blog, you cannot expect any level of success.

Blogs can be a great marketing, branding, and conversion tool for any business website. However, just like most important decisions business owners need to make regarding their online program before you slap up a blog, you want to have a realistic approach and plan.

Fail to plan; plan to fail.

Blogging IS Business!

I’ve been “doing online” for over 29 years, and I’ve witnessed time and time again business site owners who tend to believe that they can make “online” what they want it to be. In other words, they do what they are willing to do, learn only what doesn’t challenge them too much, and ignore the rest.

Then, these very same site owners expect the best results. “Why can’t I find my site on Google?” “Why am I not getting any inquiries?”

Here’s What You Need to Do

I’m not trying to be a “Debbie-downer” as much as I hope to give you a realistic view of what is involved. That’s a positive thing, so you can plan accordingly to ensure your best chance of success. So then, when you do dive into blogging, you are prepared and ready to create a blog that rocks!

Here are five tips to implement (even if you have already started blogging and have not experienced much success) to help your blogging efforts produce results.

First, create your business model. Are you thinking of blogging purely because you think you’ll make money, or is it to support your existing business? This will determine what you post, how often, and your call-to-action strategies.
Create engaging and useful articles that your site visitors can benefit from and look forward to reading at least once a month.
Each post needs to be well-written, grammatically correct unique, and consist of 800-1000 words each.
Do the research and provide data in each post that includes linking to credible outside resources when apropos.
Respond promptly and clearly to site visitor comments (good or bad). (Allowing comments varies by blog.)

Blogging requires your commitment to do it right. Creating well-written articles, ranging from short tips to lengthy how-tos, takes time — more time than most folks think!

Being oblivious to what site visitors are looking for (check your website stats) while not checking for proper sentence structure and typos will not allow your brand to be taken seriously. When folks land on your site and peruse your blog only to find months-old, shallow content or content that exists only to be a sale pitch, you’ve most likely lost them. You only have that first impression to grab them!

If you do not blog on a frequent and consistent basis, visitors will be uninterested and won’t subscribe. They may also wonder if the business is active and paid attention to.

Your Blog IS Your Brand

Do not minimize or underestimate the power of a blog. Use that power to your advantage. While your blog can be a positive addition to your business website, it can negatively impact you if not approached correctly.

So let’s do it right!

I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true – hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.

Ray Bradbury

If I’ve made you think twice or a little harder about starting your blog — good! Now you can proceed knowing the hard work and commitment required.

Here are some resources to help you get started in the right direction:

Now, let’s do this!

At your service,

Judith: WordPress Consultant and Business Coach

*Some of the links on this page are to companies I have a professional affiliation with.
Read my full affiliate statement here.