As web publishing has gotten easier, blogs have become more prevalent. Consumers read blogs at greater rates now than ever before. Exact numbers are difficult to find, given how widely distributed blogs are, but there are more than 33 million new posts each month using WordPress alone. Blogging.org reports, nearly 60% of businesses have a blog, but only 35% have published a new blog within the past year. This is a troubling statistic considering IgniteSpot’s research indicates that 81% of US consumers trust the advice from a blog, and 61% made a purchase after reading a blog post.

A key component of content marketing, blogging is a great tool for companies to drive sales, share news, building excitement for an upcoming product release and engage with potential customers – without selling.

Regardless whether you are new to the corporate blogosphere or a seasoned veteran, these KILLER blogging tips will help you get it right, every time.

1. Use Killer Titles

Your blog title is like the cover of a magazine - its sole purpose is to get you to open the magazine. The same holds true for a blog post. The greatest blog post in the world might not be read unless you have a compelling title.

Headline Tips

• Think about the Problem (see #2 below)
• Focus on important keywords for your business
• Numbers Rule
• Be VERY Specific
• Use Headline Generators such as Upworthy Generator or Potent.com

2. Focus on a Problem

This is where you always should start. What are the pain points of your target reader? What keeps them up at night?

Here’s a great example by Emily Cohn, where she starts the post by focusing on the problem…in this case, that customers are wasting their precious money on bank fees when they don’t have to.

3. Think About the Call to Action

Each blog post should have some sort of call to action. Debbie Weil provides a great list including:

• Download our white paper
• Have you tried our new menu item?
• Join us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.
• Ask us a question
• Book your appointment now
• Claim your exclusive discount
• Sign up for our e-newsletter

Remember, 80% of your blog traffic will probably never come back. Show your readers additional, relevant content offers, like a valuable, niche e-newsletter so you can continue to communicate with them. Getting opt-in email names should be one of your top blogging goals (grow the database).

4. Think “Content Packages”

Continually think about how you can take blog posts and repackage into something more substantial. Planning for this ahead of time makes all the difference.

One blogging idea could be 10 pieces of content. Think about that for a second. One blog can easily be broken into a 5 email drip campaign and 5 supporting social media posts.

5. Spread the Love – Guest Blogging

• Target the top 15 blogs in your industry and offer to do relevant guest posts on their blogs.
• Never turn down an opportunity for a guest post.

6. Measure, Measure, Measure

The Content Marketing Institute lists 21 blog metrics that you can measure for blogging success. Choose the ones that make the most sense with your overall content marketing and blogging goals. Make sure you and your team know what the goal of the blog is and that everyone sees the statistics.

• Track lead conversions, and what type of content led to the conversions.
• Track the most read, most engaged in content and do more of that.
• Track the referral sources that perform the best. Find more of those types of referral sources.

7. Outsource

Most businesses outsource a portion of their content marketing.

Find a great writer for you.

Find a content agency or content team to take your content strategy to the next level.

Use Social HorsePower to distribute your awesome content.

Wrapping it all up….

Blogging is an integral part of your content marketing strategy. Each blog post is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship you have with your existing audience, prove your authority as a thought leader, gain consumer trust and sell your products – without selling.

Have you tried blogging but aren’t sure where to start? Social HorsePower to the rescue! It all comes back to your content marketing strategy. At Social HorsePower, we work with you to ensure your content strategy is aligned to your larger business goals.

Get the most out of your content strategy with Social HorsePower! Claim your two week FREE TRIAL now!!