You’ll find that nearly every big brand has a blog on their website. They do this for a few reasons, but the biggest reason is that it’s a good way to stand out as an industry leader. To remain the expert in your field, you need to show customers that you know what you’re talking about! A blog is a wonderful way to push out new and relevant content on a regular basis.

 

Whether you’re writing for a brand, or just writing a personal blog, there are a few universal dos and don’ts you should follow to see success.

 

DO

Keep your design clean and functional

For me, the content on a blog is totally diminished if the design isn’t clean and simple. It’s frustrating to have to wade through long posts, a cluttered design, or too many colors to find the content you were promised. Even if you don’t want to hire a professional designer or coder, there are plenty of resources available to help you maintain a great design. (Another way to do this? Keep posts short.)

 

Use links within your posts

Linking to offsite blogs and websites, as well as pages from your own site, are great ways to boost SEO rankings, as well as incoming traffic. Create links wherever you feel your point could be made better with the help of an outside source (kind of like quoting sources in an essay).

 

Write great content

First, decide what you’re an expert in. Second, figure out who you’re writing for. When you know these two things, the content will begin to flow! The content should be relevant and engaging enough to draw them in, but after that it’s your tone and voice that will keep them there. Through blogging, readers are able to get to know you and your brand. This approach usually means it will take longer to write a great post, but that’s okay! Remember, quality over quantity.

 

DON’T

Steal content or photos

This will land you in hot water eventually. Don’t steal content or pictures from other blogs without asking permission. Also make sure you aren’t just grabbing the first picture you find on Google – every image belongs to someone! There are plenty of websites that make stock photos available for purchase. Another alternative is to take your own pictures- great content isn’t just the words you write, it comes from the images you post as well!

 

Make spelling and grammar mistakes

With all of the spelling and grammar check tools available now, there is absolutely no excuse for those types of mistakes in your writing. Readers will either A, call you out on it (which is totally embarrassing), or B, stop reading your content (because they don’t take you seriously). If spelling and grammar aren’t your forte, have at least one or two people (preferably people with sharp eyes) take a look at your posts before they go live.

 

Set unrealistic goals

You know your writing style better than anyone else. If you’re struggling to come up with fresh content every day, then stop trying to post so often! Start off by posting two or three times a week, and if your readers seem to like what they see, gradually start to increase production.

 

When done right, blogging is an immeasurably important part of any content marketing strategy! Do you have brands that you love? If you haven’t already, check out their blogs because you’ll probably love those too! (Some of my favorites are Food NetworkWhole Foods J. Crew, and Lululemon.)

 

Want to see more brands who are owning the blogging game? Click here.

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