Starting your own blog is a critical part of marketing your business. Even though it requires an investment of time and resources, you’ll find that it’s well worth it when you look at your overall return on investment— statistics are on your side. In fact, research shows that a business with an active blog has over 120% higher lead growth than competitors who don’t have a blog.
However, that’s not to say it’s as simple as starting a blog and pasting your company’s name on it. It’s critical that you follow the right steps in order for your blog to be a success. If you’re ready to get into the world of business blogging, then here are some of the biggest mistakes you should avoid.
Weak Security
Just like any website, a blog is vulnerable to hackers. It’s critical that you remember to tighten up security to keep your content safe. Over half of all cybercrime attacks target small businesses, so just because your blog isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the proper precautions.
Familiarize yourself with some of the most common attacks such as phishing scams, password attacks, and malware. Knowledge is power, and the more familiar you are with some of the most common schemes, the more secure your blog will be from attacks.
Lack of Content Planning
One of the most important things when starting a blog is clear content planning. Map out exactly what you want to blog about, and why. How do you plan on appealing to your target audience?
The more deliberate you are about each post, the more likely your blog is to appeal to your readers. Using a content scheduling software doesn’t just help keep you on the right track, but it will make your life a lot easier. You can schedule your posts so that your blog runs in the background without you having to manually publish each one.
Ignoring SEO
Search engine optimization is a must for driving traffic to your blog. Many new bloggers don’t realize the importance of incorporating keywords into their content, and as such, they get lost in Google search results. Make sure that you invest plenty of time learning best SEO practices if you hope to attract readers and establish credibility.
Inconsistency
Many new bloggers get excited in the beginning and post plenty of content, yet eventually taper off. This is not the way to keep your audience engaged. Make sure that you establish a consistent posting schedule so that people who come to your blog know exactly when they can expect new content.
You Might Like: How Blogging Helps Your Business
A loyal audience will come back for more when they know it will be there. However, if you disappear for long periods of time, then people will start looking elsewhere for whatever you blog about.