Your business blog is not your diary
Blogging and writing business articles is great way to build credibility with your ideal prospects.
But it only works if you deliver real value and engagement.
Recently I’ve come across a few blogs from consultants and entrepreneurs that are filled with other people’s embedded videos and personal reflections on subjects that have nothing to do with the writer’s business.
There’s already a place for this type of content – it’s called Facebook.
If you are a consultant, or any business for that matter, your business blog isn’t about you. It’s about your clients. It’s about identifying opportunities where they can make their business’ better – even if they don’t hire you to do it.
Every piece of content you create should be for the benefit of the people who are going to hire you. As a former music journalist/editor I could easily populate this space with indie rock and punk articles. But that wouldn’t help you become better at marketing yourself. And it certainly won’t push you to connect with me on LinkedIn or hire me to do some marketing consulting, training or web work.
In the end I don’t write for me. I write for you.
At the same time don’t be afraid to let a bit of your personality into the narrative if it’s going to keep people engaged.
If you want to attract the right type of clients (ie. the ones who pay), you better be ready to add some value at every point of contact – including your business blog.
As I’ve said in many articles, “Everyone” is not the right answer to “who is your ideal client?” It’s better to write a blog or article that speaks to a very specific audience than a piece that says virtually nothing to no one because you are afraid to get specific.
Generally speaking, clients don’t care about what you do or who you are. They care about what you can do for them.
So use your blog to demonstrate that you understand their business and that you have value to add.
So how do you do this?
First, create a list of broad topics where you are the expert. This could be sales, management, leadership or anything else you do.
Then break those topics into smaller chunks where your advice and expertise will make a difference to somebody.
Using those broad topics here are a few sample blogs you could write:
“What are the 5 mistakes millennials need to learn when it comes to selling person-to-person?”
“How has technology changed sales and what has been lost?”
“What can managers do to become better at their jobs?”
There’s three blog posts that basically write themselves and can help the person who publishes them establish credibility in very specific marketplaces.
So leave the cooking recipes to chefs and share the kitten videos on Facebook like everyone else. When it comes to writing your business blog, make sure it connects with the people who help you pay the mortgage.
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