How to blog successfully

March 2010

If you don’t have a blog already, you might want to consider starting one. As well as being an effective way to engage audiences, blogging can be instrumental in improving your search ranking.

Want to get started but don’t know how? Fear not – we’re here to help...

1. Choose your blog software

There are advantages to including a custom-designed blog as part of your company website. It’s the best approach if you want readers to make a close association between your blog and your organisation, and it ensures that every blog hit you get contributes to your company website's search ranking, rather than that of your blog.

If you want your blog to have a different tone or voice to that of your company website, the alternative is to take a look at Blogger, TypePad and WordPress, all of which are free to use.

Later in this article we will explain why you might want to make sure your blog software is ‘trackback-enabled’.

2. Make a blogroll

Search for other blogs that cover your topic, and list them in a ‘blogroll’ in the sidebar on your blog. Many bloggers observe ‘link etiquette’: when they see that you have linked to them, they are more likely to link to your blog in return. Their links will boost your search ranking.

3. Plan what to write about

Few people will read your blog unless you update it regularly, so it is important to plan what you will write about in advance. Put together an editorial plan that supports your strategy and positioning, and that considers your marketing objectives and the needs and interests of your audience.

4. Start writing

Get writing, filming or recording (or ask us to take care of it for you). You can use your posts to share information about the issues that your customers face in your markets. A blog gives you the opportunity to build your reputation as a thought leader in your industry. Differentiate your offering; remind people that it exists, and influence their opinions and actions. And make sure you include links to relevant information on your company website.

5. Blog about other blogs

Remember that blogging is a two-way medium, so broadcasting your own thoughts only gets you so far. You will be far more successful in engaging members of your audience if you address their points as well. Use their keywords in the parts of your own blog post that link to theirs.

6. Check your trackbacks

When you link to someone else's blog using a ‘trackback’ link (that you find at the end of each blog entry), it notifies that blogger that you have done so. This makes the other blogger far more likely to respond to you: without the notification, they may never have learned that you had written about them in the first place. You should check your own trackbacks too, so when someone links to your blog you will be able to respond to them as well.

To find out more about how to engage audiences with blogs and other social media, please contact us.

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