Give your Business a Voice

A blog can help reinforce your business brand image. Your website sales-pitch is not the only way to generate money. No matter what your business, you should not look upon your website as an electronic sales-person.

This is even true of merchant websites, which sell products in an online catalogue. It is important to remember that a visitor has to trust your business and believe that they will receive quality service. For that reason a hard-sell can often make you look desperate for sales, and if a business looks desperate a customer will often believe that the service is not up-to-standard. So it is often more desirable to use the bulk of your website as an introduction to your service; it will put the customer’s mind at rest.

A well written blog is an easy way to generate new content, improve your search-engine rankings and will help develop a ‘human voice’ to compliment the business-like tone of your copy.

The website itself should take the reader by the hand and show them that you want to make their lives better! If they are convinced, they will buy your products directly, or – if your business is of a different nature – they will contact you for a quote.

A blog can present a more rounded view of your business. It’s also a chance to engage your visitors and keep them interested. If they’re interested, they’ll stay on your website for longer and, please forgive the cliché, time equals money!

Online-Merchants encourage repeat customers with good deals, good products and fast deliveries. Soft-sell websites build up repeat customers and keep them interested with the speed of production and quality of the product. But whichever your type of business, blogs allow you to be a little less formal and they can also help with your search-engine optimisation (SEO). Regular content updates keep the webcrawlers happy, and keyword optimisation is a must.

Webcrawlers love blogs because they update regularly, keeping your content dynamic. For this reason, a blog helps you keep on top of the pile. If people find your site and respond well to your content they are more likely to remember your services when they need them. Giving your business a voice will help get your name known; a successful blog will build on your brand image.

Remember; the longer a person is on your website the better…they’ll remember you! You can analyse your website traffic if you sign up to Google Analytics – an excellent free resource for webmasters.

Quick round up:

• Builds up a rounded picture of you/your business
• Provide engaging content - improve your website’s ’stickiness’
• Keeps content dynamic which keeps your website at the top of search-engine listings
• A fast way to keep returning customers up-to-date with your services
• Get your name known and help endorse your unique positioning statement

Employ a professional copywriter

Writing isn’t everyone’s warming beverage. In fact, it can be a nightmare. A blinking white screen is very rarely inviting, especially when there are a million other things to do. Perhaps the quickest way to get around this problem is a hire a professional blogger.

What to look for in a professional blogger:

You should ask your blog copywriter the following questions:

How much do you charge per blog?

The copywriter should quote you a reasonable fee. If you are employing them to keep your content dynamic it is an ongoing job, so they may decide to charge you per 20 blog posts. It’s a good idea to work out some terms of payment that will suit you both. Copywriters should be flexible when it comes down to it – don’t be afraid to negotiate.

Do You SEO?

A professional Blogger should optimise the Blog for the search-engines. The blog is excellent for adding content to your website, so it should also be carefully designed to include keyword search terms.

Do you charge extra for SEO Blogs?

The answer should be ‘no’ if you are employing a professional copywriter. SEO copy should be the only kind of copy you purchase. They should not charge you extra for a service that should already be included in the price.