Business blogging has become quite the rage in the last twenty years. Starting with that famous “homepage” post from a Swarthmore College student in 1994, the desire to grow brand awareness and capture audiences through relevant content has grown exponentially.
The benefits of a solid blogging strategy for your business are endless. Quicksprout indicated that companies that blog typically have 97% more inbound links than those that don’t, which means more search engine traffic. And 81% of online consumers trust the information and advice they receive from blogs.
But, there are many strategies to take when determining if you should hire a blogger for your business and how to leverage that blog to drive conversions. The key is to make sure you think through what I call the three Cs of Blogging:
The Three Cs of Blogging
1. Content
Ensure you have timely, relevant, and engaging content that will inform your audience and interest them enough to want to learn more about your business. To do this, you need to understand your customer’s persona(s) and remember that you are writing for them and not for you. Also, the ideal blog is 750 – 1,250 words, and top-performing blogs tend to be over 1,000 words in length. That said, consider your forum and topics and ensure your content doesn’t overwhelm or, worse, underwhelm.
2. Cadence
It is highly encouraged to think through a content calendar so that you can plan and schedule your content to be released along a timetable that makes sense to your business. Frequency is important here. Considering your business is not the Huffington Post that posts at least one blog less than every minute, your business will likely benefit from one to five blog posts per week. HubSpot indicates that companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month generate 4.5 times more leads than companies that publish four or fewer per month.
It is important to partner with your web team so that you can measure clicks and read-throughs. If you have the ability to measure clicks by time of day or day of the week, even better, as this will help you refine your content calendar to ensure you are releasing information at a time that is important and convenient for your reader.
3. Columnist
Your columnist is your blogger; your writer. If you are looking to have a named blogger other than yourself (this means you are not hiring a ghostwriter who writes on your behalf), then you need to ensure that the blogger holds subject matter expertise in your business or industry and that their name will mean something to your readers.
And while there are plenty of bloggers out there to choose from (according to Statista, the number of bloggers in the United States is set to reach 31.7 million users in 2020), you need to be thoughtful in your hiring. As top content marketing leaders (B2C & B2B) outsource 24% of their blog post writing, you aren’t alone if you find it better to seek writers outside of the company.
Leverage SEO Strategies
Finally, make sure you leverage SEO (search engine optimization) strategies so that your blogs get noticed on the web, and you can draw more traffic to your business. Here are just a few quick strategies to consider:
- Use keywords throughout your article – these are words your readers will associate with the topic and use as search terms when looking for related content.
- Ensure you have internal and external links for added relevancy.
- Work with your web team to build a subscription tool so that readers coming to your site can have your future blogs sent to them directly.
- Use social media to help get your content to wider audiences vs. expecting the readers to come directly to you.
Why the Cost of Hiring a Professional Blog Writer is a Strategic Investment
As the landscape of digital marketing continues to evolve, business blogging remains a powerful tool for enhancing brand visibility, driving inbound traffic, and establishing trust with your audience. The Three Cs of Blogging—Content, Cadence, and Columnist—serve as pillars to guide your blogging strategy. By consistently delivering timely, relevant, and engaging content, planning a thoughtful content calendar, and selecting a knowledgeable and reputable columnist, your business can unlock the full potential of blogging.
Harnessing the power of SEO strategies further amplifies the impact of your blog, ensuring it reaches a wider audience and contributes to your business’s online presence. As you embark on your blogging journey, remember that the investment in hiring a professional blog writer is not just a cost but a strategic move. The expertise and quality they bring to your content can significantly elevate your brand, making the cost of hiring a professional blog writer a worthwhile investment in the long run.
Start reaping the benefits of business blogging today and witness how this dynamic tool can propel your brand toward greater success in the digital age.
So, what do you do now? Hire a professional blogger for your business!