In part 1 of “A Blog about Blogging,” we discussed how blogging is a valuable marketing resource. In part 2, we talked about how to setup your blog by determining your audience, your message, and your tone. In our final Blog about Blogging, we are going to get down to the good stuff and talk about writing!
Blog Length
While there is no strict rule about the length of a blog, most people click on a blog article with the expectation that it is only going to take them a few minutes to read through it. A solid blog article is between 300-500 words. The shortness of a blog article can be limiting when it comes to explaining complicated topics, but that does not mean that you have to dumb down your content. You can take a long dissertation and break it down into several subsequent blog articles (like we did with this series on blogging).
If you are wordy person, and you don’t want to break up your article, then you can turn your blog article into a whitepaper (another great content marketing tool), which is a downloadable 5-10 page PDF document that extensively goes over one topic. Customers looking for more information than what a short blog article can provide them get the most out of these whitepapers. Ideally, a blog should be longer than a social media post but not as long as a detailed whitepaper.
Blog Frequency
When it comes to blogging, consistency is the key. Whether you write one blog a month or 3 blogs per week, it’s important to stay regular. This way your audience will know what to expect and they will check back as frequently as you post. Even if you don’t have the time to write a stellar article that meets your expectations, it is still good to post a short and informative article to communicate to your followers that you are still committed to the blog.
Finding Topics
Once you start blogging, you have officially stepped foot into the world of writing. This means doing research, getting writers block, and you should probably start wearing a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. After you have exhausted your own wisdom in the first month or two, you will soon realize the value of a good idea. Keep a document open throughout the day that you can add fresh ideas to, or go old school and keep a small notebook pad in your pocket.
It is good to use other blogs and websites as inspiration. Find a website that has good content and is frequently updated. Bookmark it and check back regularly. Now that you are a writer, you are going to want to stay current on the topics that you write about. One resource that will help you stay current is searching the News results with your favorite search engine. Make sure that your statistics are up to date, and before you publish your article, check to see if there is any major advancement that would discredit your message.
Referencing Other People’s Websites
If you do find another blog article that you want to use as a resource, and you don’t want to take time to paraphrase, then you can easily copy and paste it, give credit to the author, and add the URL from where you got it. Blogs are more informal than English papers, you don’t have to have a works cited page, and most authors like having their website linked because this will give their website more traffic. If you are blogging for your business, then be careful not to link to a site that will take away customers from your business, like a website that is selling the same product that you are.
These blogging tips should get you started on having your own valuable blog that people will return to on a regular basis and share with others. We will leave you with one last blogging tip; whenever you end a blog article, try to mention the name of your business and/or encourage people to leave feedback in the comments.
Do you have a blog of your own? Share it with Think Tank NTG and the world and in the comments section along with your own blogging tips!