Tips for Building a Successful Blogging Strategy

Many organizations set out to start blogging but without a clear strategy. The lack of a blogging strategy leads to poor results or even no results. And then the company abandons the activity entirely.

An astounding 55 percent of marketers state that blogging is a top priority related to inbound marketing strategies. So it’s no surprise that blogging is a buzzword in online marketing.

But without a blog marketing strategy, you will struggle to see value in the activity. Here’s a look at how to build a strategy for your corporate blog to make it more valuable.

Designate Who Will Write and Manage Your Blog

Your blog topics might come from various departments looking to keep customers informed. But generally, someone with blogging experience will write the full articles and make them customer-friendly.

This person might manage the blog entirely or they might only do the copywriting while a webmaster, SEO professional or other person involved in your company oversees the technical side of things.

Setting clear ownership for who will oversee the blog though will ensure its success. This way, there’s someone in charge of ensuring your team meets deadlines and maintains the strategy long-term.

When considering who will own this process, review these important activities related to preparing the blog.

• Topic creation/editorial calendar
• Copywriting
• SEO/keyword research
• Editing
• Promotion
• Upkeep and repurposing existing content

The size and depth of your marketing team will likely determine whether you keep all these activities in-house or outsource some aspects of the blog. Regardless of whether all these activities use internal or external resources, make sure those involved know their roles.

Set Blog Frequency

One of the main reasons why companies don’t succeed at producing results from their blog is because they post sporadically. Setting blog frequency is an important aspect of building your strategy.

Consistency will be key in showing search engines that you create valuable content and teaching your customers when and how they can access new information.

If you post a great article, people might subscribe and want to keep coming back for more. So then if you suddenly pause posting for several weeks or even months, you might lose their interest. A content calendar ensures you keep up with the frequency you set and never run out of content.

Write Valuable Content

Don’t blog just to blog. Make sure that the information you’re producing is high-quality and relevant to your audience. This is another area where a content calendar helps because you can add customer inquiries to the list as you learn about their common questions and the challenges they face.

Without compelling content, search engines won’t rank your content well. And even if they do, you might generate traffic, but you won’t generate conversions on your website.

While great content takes more time and effort, it also produces results, making it worth the work.

Consider Your Calls to Action

Each blog article should end with a clear call to action. Sometimes it’s to book a consultation. Others it’s about purchasing a product that solves the customer’s challenges. Still others it might be to download an eBook or whitepaper to offer more in-depth details while capturing contact information.

A call to action might be paid or free. It all depends on what you sell and how you help your customers.

Set Goals and Success Metrics for Your Blog

Before you start publishing a blog, ask yourself what success looks like. Know that true results will probably take about six months to experience. But starting with goals is always a good idea for any marketing activity.

Some ideas for success metrics might include:

• New backlinks to your website
• Increased website traffic
• Pageviews per blog article
• New subscribers to your email list
• Total website conversions

Review your metrics monthly to look for opportunities to improve your content’s relevance and helpfulness for your customers.

Building a Blog Marketing Strategy

You’re now prepared with the important information you need to include in your blog marketing strategy. If you’re looking for assistance in improved success with your blogs, contact New Light Digital. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with extensive blogging experience.