3 Key Elements to a Good Business Blog

Doesn’t it seem like everybody is blogging these days?

Personal blogs. Travel blogs. Lifestyle blogs. Blogging about blogging…

And some of the best bloggers out there make it look really easy.

Now, if you have a business blog, you know that “easy”, is the last word you would use to describe it. Time-consuming. Demanding. Creativity-sucking. These are some of the more realistic ways to describe a business blog.

But still, you do it anyway because it’s worth it. You blog because when done right, studies have shown that a business blog will drive traffic to a site and help to convert that traffic into leads.

There are many articles online that have discussed how to write a blog post. This is not one of them.

I wrote this post to highlight what your blog absolutely can’t do without.

Yes, the intriguing introduction, the attention-grabbing images, and short paragraphs are all important. But some business blogs don’t have the best intros, they lack images and their paragraphs aren’t so short, yet they still manage to draw traffic.

What do all the Best Business Blogs Have in Common?

1. They Solve Their Target Market’s Pain Points

It’s very easy to make the mistake of thinking that your blog should be about how amazing your products or services are. I’m sure they’re amazing. They might even be innovative, but your customer doesn’t really care about that. All they want to know is how you’ll help them.

“People want to do business with you because you help them get what they want. They don’t do business with you because they help you get what you want.”  Don Crowther

You see, human beings, we can be a little on the selfish side. We’re generally not going to spend 5 minutes out of our busy day to read about how awesome you are. We’ll only read if it benefits us.

Once you remember the fact that you’re writing for your customer, and not for you, you’ll be able to create content that connects with them.

How do you create content that connects with them?

By asking yourself one simple question – What are my customers’ pain points?

Figure out what your target market’s challenges are and offer them solutions to these problems. This will help to create trust and loyalty and they’ll begin seeing you as an authority figure in your industry.

2. They are Not Salesy

This point is connected to the previous one but deserves its own spotlight because this is sometimes the main reason why business blogs fail.

Once you understand that your blog is actually meant to help your customer, you’ll then begin to understand that being heavily salesy is the last thing you want to do.

There are Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and all other online options you can use to sell your products. Your blog is not it.

“To gain business with your blog, you should stop thinking like a salesman and start thinking like your reader’s mentor.” Neil Patel

The Neil Patel blog is one of my favorite digital marketing blogs. It always provides me with invaluable tips and tricks on how to up my online marketing efforts. It’s always helpful and there are very little sales messages. The result?

A loyal reader. I’m willing to purchase the books he’s written. I’m willing to try out his SEO tools and training. I don’t have to be convinced to trust him. I already do.

Figure out what your customers’ challenges are and address them in your blog posts, while avoiding to force-feed your products or services onto them.

3. They Don’t Have a Corporate Tone

Unfortunately, sometimes business blogs become too “businessy”. They have a corporate tone, they use big words, they’re all serious… almost robotic. Readers can’t connect to robots. They connect to human beings.

So, how do you make your blog post more engaging and less corporate?

Ask questions throughout the blog post (just like I’ve been doing). You want your writing to be as conversational as possible because through conversations, we make connections.

Write like you talk. Using big and complicated words in your blog post will not impress your readers. They’ll just get confused and go to another blog post that’s easier to digest.

So, write the way you talk. If you can explain something in a few words, do so. Remember that your reader will take some time out of their busy day to read your post. Do you really want them to work extra hard to understand your post too?

Give relatable analogies. Sometimes you’ll be discussing a really complicated topic and you may find it hard to explain it in simple terms.

For instance, you might have a software company and want to write a blog post about managing data integration. If you’re struggling to find simpler terms to explain yourself, then just turn to analogies. Explain the complex system, software, or product in a relatable way by using analogies so that your target market “gets it”.

Click this link to learn more about how to explain complex tech to your target market.

Remember Who You’re Writing For

The three key elements highlighted in this post are all connected to one point – you’re writing for your customer.

Understanding that will help you write about their pain points, cut the salesman talk, and speak in a relatable way. Doing this will put you on the path to seeing great results from your business blog.

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