5 Simple Steps to Creating Great Blog Content

By Stefanie Neyland, Small Business Content Developer at BizLaunch.com

If you’ve made headway into developing a content marketing strategy for the balance of the year, you’re on the right track. Nowadays content is bigger than ever. Why? Because like social media, brands have taken some time to embrace content marketing as a viable component to their overall marketing strategy. But now everyone’s getting in on the action, which means that in order to stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds, you should be doing the same.

Given the deluge of content being produced on a daily basis, it’s more challenging than ever for small businesses to be heard above the noise. Simply having content out there just isn’t enough anymore―you need to create informative, shareable content that appears at or near the top of search results and speaks to your customers in a unique way. Here’s a basic formula you can use to start creating great posts and kick off your business’s content marketing strategy.

Step 1: Find a topic.

First things first: try and pick a topic related to your business. For example, if you sell baseball memorabilia, you might write a post entitled ‘A Buyer’s Guide to Baseball Cards’. If you need help coming up with a title, check out HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator.

Step 2: Help your customers.

Want to know the secret of great content? It’s simple: be of value to your customers. Provide them with information they can use. The formula is simple―present the topic, outline the problems, and offer solutions. Avoid the hard sell; the goal is to educate.

Step 3: Hire a writer.

Your copy needs to be polished in order to establish yourself as an expert―no spelling, grammar or formatting errors. If you’re a strong writer, that’s great. However, if like most business owners you don’t have the time nor the inclination to spend penning regular blog posts, hire a professional to take care of your blog for you. There are tons of freelance writers out there willing to take on the task of writing for your business, but don’t go for the cheapest option. You probably won’t be as satisfied with the results.

Step 4: Make it visual.

Break up long chunks of text with bullets and plenty of subheadings, and be sure to add other visual elements such as images, illustrations and quotes.

Step 5: Publish and share.

Once your post is formatted, it’s time to hit ‘publish’. Alternatively, consider creating a content calendar at the beginning of each month and schedule your posts for publication in bulk. Once the post is live, share the information through all your social media channels, and where possible, call in some favours with friends and colleagues to help spread the word.

Remember: your primary motivation shouldn’t be to sell. Your objective is to build both yourself and your brand as an authority in your industry. Once you establish yourself as an expert and create a strong online presence, you should see a noticeable increase in site traffic, and subsequently, sales. Think of your content marketing efforts as an investment that will pay off in the long-term.