The following video is the second of six snippets from a presentation we did on Business Blogging. It answers a question we hear often, "How do I get started with my business blog?"
Watch the video below for Donna's entire answer to the question, but to summarize, she says there are two things you should clarify before starting to write: your goals and your target audience.
How do you do that?
1. Identifying Goals:
Every business might have a different goal for their blog. To find your primary goal, think about your overarching business goals.
Are you trying to generate awareness of your brand? Then focus on driving traffic to your blog.
Are you happy with your level of awareness and web traffic, but want more of those visitors to turn into sales? Then your primary goal is visitor-to-lead conversion.
Your blog is an extension of your business, so it's primary purpose should reflect your overall strategy.
2. Choosing a Target Audience:
Who is your ideal customer? What do they like to read about? What keeps them up at night?
Create a profile of this person (called a buyer persona) and make sure to include details like what they care about, what their biggest problems are, and where they hang out online.
This way, when you sit down to write a blog post, you're focused on creating something your ideal buyer actually wants to read. Promote your post where you know they are online and you're sure to earn some high-quality visitors.