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 to Get Your Ducks in a Row

Every business site owner has wondered about these concerns — and justifiably so! Blogging isn’t easy, and it’s not something you do haphazardly. It takes planning and time. The good news is that 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 perform well in search engine rankings and do not build the confidence and trust that 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 as with most important decisions business owners need to make regarding their online program before setting up a blog, you want to take a realistic approach and plan accordingly.

Fail to plan; plan to fail.

Blogging IS Business!

I’ve been “doing online” for what seems like forever, and I’ve witnessed, time and time again, business site owners who believe they can make “online” whatever 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,” but I hope to give you a realistic view of what is involved. That’s a positive thing, so you can plan accordingly to increase your chances of success. So, when you dive into blogging, you’re 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 blogging purely to make money, or to support your existing business? This will determine what you post, how often you post, 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 800-1000 words.
Do the research and provide data in each post, linking to credible external sources when appropriate.
Respond promptly and clearly to site visitor comments (good or bad). (Allowing comments varies by blog.)

Blogging requires your commitment to doing 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) and neglecting proper sentence structure and proofreading will prevent your brand from being taken seriously. When folks land on your site and peruse your blog only to find months-old, shallow content or content that exists solely as a sales pitch, you’ve most likely lost them. You only have that first impression to make a good impression!

If you do not blog frequently and consistently, visitors will lose interest and not subscribe. They may also wonder whether the business is active and receiving attention.

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 backfire 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,

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