Blog marketing (done right) is a challenging yet highly rewarding form of content marketing.

 

The sky is truly the limit on how blogging for business can help reach your customer base.

 

You can even experience tremendous return on investment with blog marketing if you’re dedicated to consistency, quality, using your blog to serve the core needs of your audience.

 

However, blog marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Even if you follow a competitor’s blog strategy to a T, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll find the same results.

 

It truly takes a combination of marketing efforts mixed with on-point writing skills to make your blog marketing explode.

 

Whether you’re trying to find your stride with blogging or you’ve been in the game for a while, this list encompasses the top techniques for blog marketing today.

 

Actionable Item Checklist for Blog Marketing

 

Item 1: Light the Match by Asking “Why?”

This isn’t the most exciting technique for explosive blog marketing, but it’s a must if you want results from your efforts.

 

Take a moment and think about what you want to achieve with your blog. Blogging can help companies hit many benchmarks.

 

Some examples of whys include:

 

• You want to establish authority in your industry and become a leading resource for educational content.
• You want to populate your social media profiles with interesting and relevant content.
• You want to invest in strategic content marketing that presents top ROI. According to IMPACT, blogging has one of the longest-running ROIs in comparison to traditional marketing forms.
• You want to make an impact on customers throughout various parts of the sales funnel. HubSpot says that 47% of customers consume 3-5 pieces of content before making a purchase. If you align your blog posts correctly in terms of buyer persona and the sales funnel, blogs can serve as a piece of the puzzle to increased sales. Furthermore, those who prioritize blogging can see 13x more ROI than those who don’t.
• You want an enhanced presence on Google, whether you’re a local or national business.
• You want to grow your email marketing list or need content to deliver useful on a regular, predictable basis.

 

Once you know why you want to invest in blogging for your business, you’ll need to think about content development from a goal-oriented perspective. This will help you track your return on investment and keep your blog writing on track.

 

Item 2: Set off Sparks with Specific Blog Goals

You know why you’re going to blog, so now it’s time to get serious about goals.

 

For example, let’s say that your whys include an enhanced presence on Google (SEO), establish authority, and grow your email marketing list.

 

You’ll use SEO, authority, and e-mail subscriptions as your category goals. Under each category you can list the blog topic that makes sense for the corresponding goal. This will help make sure that you don’t waste time with content that won’t help meet your goals.

 

Your goal setup might look something like this:

 

SEO Category: Blog topics that incorporate one or several keywords. The keywords are well-researched with programs such as SEMRush and use realistic metrics that are possible for ranking. Blogs generated under this category are used to enhance presence on Google, improve existing rankings, or rank for new keywords.

 

Email Subscription Category: According to HubSpot, email subscribers are the key to increasing blog traffic, and it’s important to begin building a list even in the earliest stages of blogging.

 

Blog topics that grow your email list typically involve special offerings. Think of using downloadable PDFs such as worksheets to add something extra to your blog content.

 

Establish Authority/Awareness: Establishing authority in your industry is about producing top quality content. However, this also involves establishing a voice for your brand that becomes recognizable over time.

 

Some blog topics that may fit into this category includes results from a survey you conducted. You can create case studies. Or, you can tie your blog to something that’s currently trending in pop culture as long as it’s relevant. From there, you can ride the wave and generate extra awareness through trends, such as trending hashtags, TV shows, etc.

 

Item 3: Feed the Flame with Consistent Content

Now that you have a plan of action with blog goals and even some topics, the next step is to create a calendar that you can follow for publishing.

 

Consistent blogging is difficult, and I’ll admit first-hand that I’ve struggled with it for my own company blog. Client content comes first at Busy Blogs Plus and bandwidth gets stretched thin.

 

However, the truth is that consistency is one of the of most important factors for blog marketing. But getting motivated and staying motivated to blog is an uphill battle for many brands.

 

The following tips can help you get more consistent with your blog, which ultimately builds up your presence online as well as credibility:

 

Tip #1: Determine how many days per week that you want to publish content

Today, quantity is best over quality. Creating high-quality blog content is time consuming and it takes a lot of energy. Taking more time to produce less content can get you a better return on investment, since you are sinking in your very best effort into a piece that will yield more social shares, higher rankings on Google, and build a following.

 

Tip #2: Batch your blog topic research time for maximized time savings

Many companies use a content calendar and follow it religiously. Others may choose to pick one topic each week, write the content, and start the process over the following week.

 

In my experience, it’s much more productive to try to pick at least one month’s worth of topics at a time.

 

This is especially true if you are depending on a boss or someone else to approve each individual blog topic. It’s too easy for decision makers to get busy and forget about approving the topic. The following week rolls around and the blog topic still isn’t approved and you’re faced with skipping a week of blogging.

 

You can carve out 1 or 2 hours of time to dedicate to blog topic research for a month’s worth of topics. This might involve:

 

• Browsing websites such as Buzzsumo for top-performing posts in an industry.
• Search through Twitter’s trending hashtags that relate to your industry.
• Plugging in keywords at AnswerThePublic for topic inspiration.
• Keyword research on SEMRush.
• Creating a survey to collect data input from customers.

 

Once you complete batch blog topic planning in one swoop, you’ll have everything in place one you’re ready to get to writing.

Tip #3: Plug your topics and research into a calendar

A blog planning calendar is the Bible to everything you need for consistent blog marketing: your keywords, skeleton topics, publishing dates, and potentially corresponding social media blips. You’ll use the data from the action steps above to complete your calendar.

 

There is no right or wrong way to setup a blog calendar. I’ve created custom blogging calendars for countless clients using an Excel template. It’s a straightforward approach that keeps the content organized and easy to review.

 

Item 4: Find Your Blog Writing Flair

Every brand has its own voice.

 

One of the most entertaining voices on the Internet, by far, is Wendy’s.

 

 

They’ve nailed the art of using humor to draw in a huge social following.

 

While you don’t necessarily need to be a master of comedy for blogging, you do need to find your own voice.

 

Tip #1: Identify your blog writing voice

When finding the right fit for a blogging voice, one place to begin is the culture of your company. As a workplace, what do you represent as a whole? Are you a fun place to work, or are you always down to business with little time for play?

 

These essential personality traits are injected into your blog to create a tone of voice. The idea for the voice is to give the audience the correct impression of your brand.

 

One way to discover your writing style is by writing how you speak. In suit-and-tie corporate environments, this might not always work. However, there is always the opportunity to go back and tweak when the content is done.

 

As you discover the tone of your blog writing style, you’ll want to consider:

 

• Dictation (word choice)
• Writing in first, second, or third person.
• Tone, which is the attitude of the piece.

 

Whatever style you decide to use, make sure that it stays consistent through all platforms, including your blog, social media and even email.

 

Tip #2: Choose your writing time wisely

Orbit Media conducted a blogging analysis study that overviewed a variety insights, including when people sit down to write a blog post.

 

As you can see, the majority of respondents choose to write content during business hours—with all the hustle and bustle of work life demanding our attention.

 

But unless you’re a full-time, in-house blog writer, is this really the best approach?

 

Maybe, but maybe not. If you’ve used business hours to write blog content and it’s working for you, by all means stick with it.

 

However, I know that writing blog content for Busy Blogs Plus during business hours is tough. I am not productive at night, which is when another large amount of respondents choose to blog.

 

For me, writing my blog posts on the weekends also helps my productivity levels. I am not getting a flood of client emails at this time and I can dedicate my time to writing when it’s quiet.

 

Tip #3: Write when your energy levels are high

Writing takes a lot of work. This is especially the case when it’s high-quality writing with a lot of research.

 

If you aren’t sure when your energy levels are highest, take note over the course of a week. Research from Pennsylvania State University indicates that many people are distracted the most between noon to 4 p.m.

 

Sleepiness also tends to peak at 2 p.m.

 

The point is that attempting to write a great blog post when you’re out of energy will leave you spinning your wheels. You’re also a lot more likely to make mistakes.

 

While we can’t always align our natural energy levels with corporate schedules, try to pick a slot during the day to dedicate to blog writing when you’re at your best. If you’re feeling alert and creative, it’s a great time to get to writing.

 

Item 5: Wow Your Audience

Just like the grand finale at a fireworks show, explosive blog marketing is the result of a lot of planning, hard work, and quality writing.

 

But how you put it all together is what really makes it explosive.

 

So how do you wow your audience with blogging, anyway?

 

Tip #1: Start with a strong headline (use power words)

Your blog marketing won’t make it very far if no one is clicking to read.

 

The first step to wowing your audience is carefully selecting the headline. While this ties into blog writing tips we mentioned earlier, there is actually a bit of psychology behind choosing the best blog headline.

 

Power words are used to connect to an audience on an emotional level. According to OptinMonster, you can even see a 12.7% increase in conversions by using power words in your copy.

 

I’m providing a list below of some power words that you can use that will lead customers to your blog like a magnet:

 

 

Tip #2: Resonate with your readers through their challenges and questions

Unfortunately, a strong blog topic on its own won’t get you very far if the content falls flat.

 

The key is to connect with your customers on an emotional and/or intellectual level.

 

While creating buyer personas is an important step of the process, Content Marketing Institute suggests an alternative approach by putting the customers’ needs at the center of your content.

 

Start with a question your customers might ask and provide a unique answer through quality blog content.

 

You can take it a step further by Googling the question and reviewing the top-ranked answer. Use the skyscraper method to one-up Google’s #1 choice for your question. Remember that simply increasing the word count and stuffing it with keywords will not help your customers. If you provide no value with extra word count, there is no point in trying this approach.

 

If you can create completely unique content that resonates with the core needs of your audience, this is the true goldmine of blog marketing.

 

Tip #3: Know what your customers want – and deliver it!

You’re not a mindreader and you don’t have a crystal ball.

 

You might not always know what your customer wants, which can leave you wanting to pull out your hair.

 

But have you ever thought about asking your audience what they want?

 

Before you scoff at the idea, you might be surprised at the reactions that you receive. Approach your audience in a helpful manner for best results.

 

Instead of saying, “please answer these questions about how I can earn your business,” try asking, “I want to know your challenges about XYZ because I think I can help, but I need a little more information.”

 

You can tap into your LinkedIn network if you just want some quick answers to manually fill into a spreadsheet. If you’re planning on collecting a serious amount of data, try using Survey Monkey or even Google Forms.

 

Once you know the needs of your audience, it’s up to you to deliver in a unique way that brings your brand credibility.

 

How do You Know that You’ve Entered the Realm of Explosive Blog Marketing?

I’m not claiming that these tips will make your blog go viral. I’m also not saying you’ll rank #1 on Google overnight or suddenly get 1,000 new Twitter followers in one day.

 

Explosive blog marketing takes a lot of work. Some of the rewards you’ll find over time includes:

 

• Increased amount of leads through your blog content.
• More social shares and followings over time.
• Additional rankings for keywords on Google, both new and improved rankings.
• Hitting new Google Analytics benchmarks such as increased web traffic or improved bounce rate.
• More email subscription signups.
• Invites to speak at conferences.
• Invites for guest posting on other blogs.

 

By following these fundamentals, you can help improve the ROI of blog marketing with results that ultimately set your brand on fire.

 

Create a custom blog package for your business for on-point blog marketing. We’ll write your blog content so you stand out against the competition with a style that’s uniquely you.

Learn more information about our monthly blogging packages here.