How to Jumpstart a Successful Blog for Your Small Business

Learn how to get your business blog up and running quickly.

I like old cars – the more problems, the better.

When you like old cars, you learn to enjoy the brief pause of a roadside breakdown, but also the tricks to get the car moving again: a jumpstart. Get the car moving, drop it into gear, and the engine should turn over.

You just have to get it rolling.

As an effective segment of social media marketing, creating a blog is the same way. Just get it started, with the right plan in mind, and you can successfully draw in an audience and legitimize your business.

Before you aim your headlights down the road and start pushing, choose a singular mission or goal, find an audience already interested in hearing from you, and keep delivering on that promise until your audience starts to notice.

Take a breath, enjoy the scenery, and then put your head down – ready to start pushing. It’s as simple as one foot in front of the other.

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Build a calendar that works for your schedule

If you’re just starting out, you might want to produce all of the content you may possibly need, and then be done with it. Too bad that doesn’t work. Not only are you likely to get discouraged and stop, but your blog audience won’t even have enough time to read everything. That means wasted work, and a waste of your time.

Instead, create a blog calendar. Decide how much time you have, and make a point to stick to managing the blog during that time slot. If you only have time to write 350 words each week, then only write a single blog post 350 words long. Just stick to it. Traffic from content builds momentum over time, but only with consistent effort behind it.

Write content designed to help your customers

Now that you know when you’re going to write, you need to know what to write. That answer is simpler than it sounds. First, introduce yourself. Why did you start your business? What problems were you trying to solve? In the next post, build on that same problem solving theme. How can customers solve their own problems, using your products?

The goal for all of your content should be to help your customer. You may want to turn the traffic coming to your blog content into massive revenue numbers, but if all your content talks about is your products, and your business, then that’s all your audience hears: you. Don’t be too self-serving. People are reading your content for a reason: to solve their own problems. Help them solve their problems to keep them coming back to your business.

Find your two audiences among loyal customers

Once you start producing content that attracts attention from your audience, you can split it into two different tracks: customers, and those who just share. Those who support your business financially are not always the same as those who support your business by spreading the word. Start creating two different kinds of content, based on the needs of each segment of your audience, to add a little racing fuel to your content strategy.

Find out who your most engaged customers are, and research their needs. What problem are they trying to solve, using your products and services. Then, find the most engaged segment of your audience who haven’t purchased anything. Research them to find out why they’re seeking out your content.

Get your business blog moving with a little push

With problematic old cars, you need to be determined. Sometimes you get a few false starts, and have to try a few times to really get moving. Your blog may not be a runaway hit on the first try, but stay focused, and aim to help your customers. Eventually, the right gears start to turn, and your audience turns into loyal customers, ready to push your business forward right alongside you.