Just over a decade ago, most people had never even heard of a blog. Today, they’ve become almost ubiquitous. All kinds of people maintain their own blogs including professionals, stay-at-home-moms, and even children. Today, we would like to focus on one specific type: the small business blog. If you want your site to appear higher on search engine results pages (called Search Engine Optimization or SEO), maintaining a blog is crucial. Post frequency, content, and user behavior are all factors in getting the most SEO value from your blog, but you can also get a more direct result from your blog by making it speak directly to your readers. Here are some tips from TIC Digital Marketing that can help you write more effective blogs that will translate into better numbers for you.

Calls-to-Action

In marketing parlance, a call-to-action is a specific instruction to the reader that tells them what the next step is once they’re done reading. When you’re writing a blog, think about its purpose before you start. Here are some actions you may want your reader to take:

• Fill out an online contact form so you can get them on your email list
• Shop your online store
• Contact you by phone to set up an appointment
• Apply for a job at your business

No matter what you want them to do, be sure to mention it in your small business’ blog. Usually the call-to-action comes at the end of the piece, but you can put one or more throughout your composition. That way, your reader will always know what they need to do if they want to patronize your small business.

Useful Information

Most of the time, if someone finds your small business’ blog through a search engine, it’s because they were looking for some specific information they needed. When you’re coming up with blog topics, think about what kind of useful information you can provide related to your industry. For example, a plumber might provide information about how to spot a leaky pipe, or a pet store owner might want to write about health and nutrition tips for dogs. Whatever you’re writing about, be sure to present yourself as an authority on the subject and provide the information your reader needs. Of course, you don’t want to give away everything you know. Give your reader just enough information to appease their curiosity and then come in with a call-to-action instructing them to contact you for more information.

Actionable Steps

That’s where actionable steps come in. Take the plumber example we listed above. The person reading that blog likely already has a leaky pipe; now that they have the information they need to confirm that suspicion, they need a way to resolve their issue (by contacting the plumber for a service, ideally). Your call to action is part of this, but for more complex marketing funnels, there can be multiple phases of steps for the reader to complete. Make sure you define and explain these steps clearly in the content of your blog so there’s no confusion. With any luck, your blog will lead a new customer right to your doorstep!

While blogging is a crucial activity for any small business owner, we understand that some just don’t have the time, energy, or ability to do it effectively. If you would like to find out more about blogging, or you want to outsource your blogging to our talented team, get in touch with TIC Digital Marketing today! Our bloggers can create custom content that meets your needs and your budget so potential customers can find you more easily. Call us at (858) 280-3792, send an email to [email protected] or head over to our contact page and fill out the online form. At TIC Digital Marketing, we make blogging easy for you, no matter what type of business you’re running.