6 Tips for Business Owners who Blog

Business owners have tuned into the benefits of owning a blog. A blog not only acts as a means of sharing information, it’s one that would help build the authority of a business and increase your customer base. But it all depends on how you use it.

 

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The truth is that a blog can help make or break a business, so you need to be careful with how you use your blog. It will take a lot of work to make a blog successful. However, if you commit to it, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Here are my 6 tips to help you and your business through your blog.

 

Stick to a schedule

You can’t expect to build a loyal audience who’ll turn into interested customers if the rate at which you create content is sloppy. Serious bloggers stick to a schedule or editorial calendar and they create blog posts consistently.

You may not have to blog daily like I do. However, if you can consistently publish content at least once a month on the exact same day every time, then chances are that you’ll have more dedicated readers than you would have if you published a blog post any time you feel like it.

Plan out blog topics for the whole month, note it in a calendar and stick to it.

 

Know your audience

A blog is nothing without its readers. Before you can even go into creating content, you should know your audience inside and out. Who are they? What are their problems? How does it make them feel? What’s holding them back? Answering such questions will give you an idea of the type of content they would be interested in reading.

 

Create valuable content

Your watchword as a blog owner should be “value”. The key to great content is value. Create quality content that your audience will love.
Valuable content helps solve your audience’s problems, informs them about the latest trends and gives them useful tips and tricks.

 

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Share your story

It’s easier to connect with a person than with a brand or business. Don’t be afraid to give your content a personal touch. Tell your brand story and what matters to you. Write about incidents that happen in your life and relate it to your business.

Showing your human side makes it relatable to your audience. It gives them a point of connection with you. So, chip in a story or two and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable sometimes.

Engage with your audience

You not only have to ensure that you provide quality content, you also have to get people involved. Engage with your readers in the comments. Build a list so that you can establish a lasting relationship with your audience.

A good way to get a conversation started in your blog is to write an engaging call-to-action at the end of your blog posts. An engaging call-to-action will encourage your readers to comment thereby giving you a chance to connect with your readers.

Distribute your content

Valuable content gets shared all the time. As you impart your knowledge and expertise in your blog posts, you should also do your part to share your blog posts online as well. One way is to share them on social media. But I must warn you that you don’t get spammy when you’re doing this.

Another way to distribute your content is to write guest posts for bigger blogs with a larger audience. Your guest post should have links to your previous blog posts to direct readers there.

Are you a business owner? Do you run a blog? How are you finding it?

What is Blogger Outreach

I feel so attached to my readers. Which is why I have made it a priority to make sure that I deliver value every time I publish a post. Of course, I did other things like consistently promoting my blog, connecting with other bloggers and openly letting those I meet know that I own a blog. Just like me, other bloggers have been able to build their reader-base to hundreds and thousands. Their readers are so dedicated that they read every post published. This is what makes them an influencer and where blogger outreach comes in.

 

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What is Blogger Outreach?

Companies have caught on to the amazing potential bloggers have as influencers. So, they came up with the idea of leveraging on bloggers’ influencer status to promote their products and services. This whole process is called blogger outreach.

Blogger outreach is a branch of influencer marketing. This branch of influencer marketing is where businesses or reach out to bloggers with a fairly to promote their products or services. Although there are some controversies with this kind of marketing tactic, this is by far one of the most effective ways to put the word out there today.

 

How does Blogger Outreach work?

Let’s assume that you are somewhat of an influencer. You have a very good reader-base and you write about fashion and beauty. A makeup brand approaches you with their new makeup line and sends you a set of matte lipsticks. You try out the lipsticks, love them and tell your readers about them in an article reviewing that makeup company’s new line of matte lipsticks. You could also promote the products on social media. Your article and social media promotion will give that makeup company the needed exposure to boost their sales.

 

Who pitches first?

Usually in blogger outreach, the company is the one who does the reaching out. But confident bloggers with a decent following can also approach the companies.

 

How to get visible as a blogger

One way to get started is to think of all the products and services you paid for and write a review on those products and services. That is how I started and I still feature many products and services I pay for.

When you do this, it lets people know that you’re open to collaborations and this may generate interest amongst the PRs. However, you need to be extremely cautious once you go down this route. As a blogger, integrity is gold! Never compromise integrity for anything! Honesty is always the best policy, and it’s all about giving value. Let value be your focus.

 

I offer blogger outreach services, so if you are a business in need of bloggers to promote your brand/campaign, do get in touch via email – fashionandstylepolice@gmail.com

 

 

How to decide on the Facebook Groups that work for you

There are so many Facebook Groups for Online Entrepreneurs. When I say Online Entrepreneurs, I mean anyone running an online business, which includes bloggers and online store owners. When I started Fashion and Style Police in 2012, there were only very few Facebook Groups available for online entrepreneurs. Fast forward to 2018, there are now hundreds if not thousands of groups available on Facebook and other social media platforms, which is great because it means there are groups that suit everyone’s needs.

 

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The fact that there are so many Facebook groups available means it can be tricky to decide which ones to join and which to skip. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before joining a Facebook group.

 

Will the Facebook Group be Useful?

What may be useful to Blogger A, may be of no use to Blogger B. So only join Facebook Groups that will be useful to your brand/business. There is no point seeing unnecessary information in your notifications box. There are so many groups available for various niches, countries and businesses, so stick to the ones you will find useful in growing your business/blog. For example, there is no point joining a group that is primarily for Travel Bloggers, if you are a Fashion Blogger. You will be bored in no time, and the readership won’t add any value to your blog.

 

Does the Timezone Work in your Favour?

There are groups set up all over Facebook in various countries and time zones. There is no point having a group that becomes active when you are asleep, except it is just for information purposes. So do consider the countries of majority of the group members to determine if it is the right group for you. Sometimes, I find it difficult to relate with people on a business level when they are in a different country. Their experiences are usually so different from my experiences .

 

What are the Admins Like?

I have had issues with a few admins in some groups. I am not a trouble maker but sometimes I find that trouble finds me. The first time I had an issue with an admin was about 2 years ago in the first Facebook Group I joined. Before the issue, I was not 100% happy with group. There were a lot of power drunk admins and cliques going on. It felt pretty much like I was back in high school again.

I was not a new blogger (been blogging for over 3 years when I joined the group), so I had an edge since I was not a new to whole blogging game. I saw a lot of wrong information being passed around and there was so much drama going on. My fall out finally happened with one of the power drunk admins, that felt threatened by me. He felt he was a guru in a particular niche and no one else was allowed to have an opinion on the niche, which I didn’t take lightly. A few words were exchanged and he finally kicked me out of the group which was fine by me 😂 . I was sick and tired of the continuous bickering going on there, so it was good to be kicked out.

My advice to anyone thinking of joining a Facebook Group is to find out how the admins are before you join if possible. So you avoid being in the wrong crowd.

 

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Are you happy with the rules?

Check the rules and make sure you are happy with them. You can find most group’s rules pinned to the top. So have a read to make sure you are happy with the rules. And ask questions if you are not clear on any. Some group admins make the rules up as they go, which can be frustrating for many but the easiest way to deal with it is to leave if you are not happy with anything.

 

These are my golden rules for deciding on which Facebook groups to join. I have joined quite a few in the last year and I liked majority of them.

What do you think of Facebook Groups? Are you a fan of any in particular? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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