Content Mastery Guide

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Top 10 Reasons to Use Internal and External Links on Your Business Blog

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© Alex White - Fotolia.com
© Alex White – Fotolia.com

Have you ever noticed when reading a blog post online that some words are underlined, or set apart in a different colour? Move your mouse over this text and you’ll discover that these are active hyperlinks that take you to another page – either on the same site (internal links) or a new site (external links).

These types of links aren’t always as obvious as ones that say “Click here” or the ones in a navigation menu or list of products and services, but they are just as important and valuable, and here’s why:

Top 5 benefits of using internal links on your business blog

  1. Gives the reader more useful information about the topic. If you’ve been blogging consistently and staying within a set list of categories, it’s likely some of your earlier posts would be a natural continuation of this one. Linking to these makes it quick and simple for your reader to learn more.
  2. Allows the reader to delve into the elements of particular interest to them. By keeping each post focused on one specific topic, then providing related links for those who want them, you’re putting your reader first and giving them different ways to consume your content.
  3. Encourages people to spend more time on your site. By providing internal links throughout your post, as well as links to related posts at the bottom, you provide ample reasons to stick around. The longer someone stays on your site, the more they get to know you and your business. That familiarity breeds trust and helps guide your ideal customers along the journey to purchasing a product or service.
  4. Reinforces your expertise in the topic. As readers follow your links and explore your previous posts, they will come to appreciate the extent of your knowledge. Even if they don’t click on each link, readers will be accumulating this evidence of your authority.
  5. Improves your search engine ranking. One of the ways Google determines your authority is by the number of pages that link to your blog posts, including from your own site. Search engines want to help their users find quality information. When you link to a blog post from another post with a similar topic and use relevant anchor text (learn more in this post about adding links), it shows Google that your site is a helpful resource about that subject.

Top 5 benefits of using external links on your business blog

  1. Gives your readers other helpful resources besides your blog. If you want to define or explain a concept without taking up more room in your post, add a link where the reader can learn more. Just as with internal links, this gives readers the choice of what topics they want to delve into more deeply.
  2. Positions you as well-connected and informed about your industry. The more quality materials you share, the more people will rely on you to filter through the deluge of online information we all face today. By saving them this time and effort, you immediately boost your value in their lives.
  3. Creates connections with others in your industry. External links are an important way to connect and start conversations with someone you value and admire. In a post about this kind of “link love,” I offer ways to connect with an expert you wrote about, linked to, or mentioned in a blog post.
  4. Keeps your blog fresh. A link, summary or quote from someone else’s blog post can jumpstart or inspire your own content. In some cases, it can be the foundation of your entire post. In this post about content curation, I explain how to create a blog post out of someone else’s content – without plagiarizing.
  5. Respects web etiquette. Unfortunately, plagiarism is rampant online. Some people are unaware that it is not okay to copy and paste someone else’s content – even if you give them credit. Other people simply don’t care about doing the right thing. When you limit the length of your quotes according to “fair use” guidelines and link back to the original post, you’re paying proper homage to the creator.

Do you see how having more links could improve your blog and business? For a detailed guide to using links on your business blog, see this companion post How to Add Blog Post Links That Get Results.

What is Business Blogging?

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© Denis Pepin - Fotolia.com
© Denis Pepin – Fotolia.com

Blogging is one word used to describe many different things. No wonder people get intimidated and confused when they’re advised to start a business blog. In this post we’ll examine the five different types of bloggers to clarify where you and your business might fit, and discuss how and why you might use this powerful marketing tool.

First, some basics:

What is a blog? A blog is an easily updatable website comprised of posts (entries, updates or articles) that are usually displayed in reverse chronological order. While many people mistakenly call each new entry a blog, the correct terminology is post or blog post. Think of a blog like a magazine. Magazines contain articles, and blogs contain posts.

Who is a blogger? A blogger is someone who uses a blog as a platform to share their unique viewpoint on a particular topic.

5 types of bloggers

  1. Passion bloggers – While hobbyists may eventually earn money from (monetize) their blog, ultimately they’re blogging as a way to document their journey, share their experience with others, gain support and accountability, evangelize what they’re passionate about, and/or teach and help others.
  2. Pro bloggers – While in theory anyone can be a pro blogger, the best and most successful pro bloggers start out as passion bloggers and/or blog about their personal experience. From there, bloggers can repurpose or further develop their content to create books, reports or training programs to sell online. If they gain a large enough following, they may be able to earn commissions for products they sell (affiliate sales), or ads they promote.
  3. Professional blog writers – These may be journalists, marketing professionals, freelance writers, or any combination of the three. They’re familiar with online writing concepts and the unique landscape of blogging, and they use these skills to help businesses achieve their online marketing goals. In some cases they work directly with thought leaders or subject matter experts to help them express their ideas (also known as ghost blogging).
  4. Thought leaders who blog – These are the people who go deep below the surface to identify and analyze the most important research, news and issues in their industry. Just like trying to get your content to go viral, trying to be a thought leader is usually a misguided pursuit. As Lauren Hockenson wrote on American Express OPEN Forum, “becoming known as a thought leader shouldn’t be your goal. It’s just the icing on the cake of creating something truly innovative.”
  5. Subject matter experts who blog – You do not have to be a thought leader to be an effective business blogger. Experts can be just as widely revered and, more importantly, can attract prospective customers to a business and give them confidence to take the next step. Experts help explain complex ideas. They guide customers through concepts so they can either do a simple task themselves, or feel more confident about working with a service provider.

Blogging for business

Now that we’ve looked at blogging in general, let’s look specifically at business blogs. A business blog is a special section of a company’s website that is updated regularly and provides valuable information that benefits the reader and demonstrates the company’s expertise and capabilities.

A company blog may or may not have any actual bloggers signing their posts. They may use a combination of professional blog writers, thought leaders or subject matter experts, and types of posts (which types of posts are right for your business?).

Professional blog writers can either ghost blog for a company’s thought leaders or subject matter experts, or write posts in the company voice about topics that are important to your customers.

Benefits of business blogging

By consistently posting new content to a business blog, you can:

  • Stay visible to your audience so they think of you when they need your product or service
  • Demonstrate your expertise about topics related to your business
  • Share original content on social media
  • Follow up with new contacts and prospective customers
  • Keep your website fresh, which shows prospective customers and search engines that you are a trusted source of information

If you’re ready to start a business blog or take yours to the next level of success, check out these other business blogging resources and services from Content Mastery Guide.

Start Blogging, Keep Blogging, Attract the Right Customers

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If you want to receive all of my latest posts by email, click here to subscribe to the weekly Blogging Tips newsletter.

How to Create a Business Blogging Plan

blogging plan
© Petr Ciz – Fotolia.com

Whether you’re starting from scratch or planning ahead for the quarter or year, these six steps break down the blog planning process to include every essential element. Put them together and you’ll have a comprehensive plan that sets up your business blog for maximum success.

This is my first guest post for Social Media Examiner.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/business-blogging-plan/

5 Ways to Avoid the Dreaded Blog Fade

Abandoned blog sends wrong message about business
© Pitamaha – Fotolia.com

Blogging is an effective way to show prospective customers how your company’s expertise can help them, but it only works if you do it consistently. These five these tips will help keep up your momentum long enough to see some results.

http://www.steamfeed.com/5-ways-avoid-dreaded-blog-fade/

Blog of Attraction: How blogging helps you attract your best clients and filter out the wrong clients

blogging is a magnet to attract customers

When we’re attracted to someone, we tend to value and trust what they say. We like who they are and may want to become our own version of that. Plus we like the results we’ve gotten when we’ve applied their advice and suggestions, or learned from their experiences.

When you achieve that level of attraction with your readers, they will want more of you. That’s the power of blogging.

You can view a PDF version of my article in choice, the magazine of professional coaching, by following this link to my LinkedIn profile:

http://lnkd.in/dHH96i2

Blogging for Business – 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions

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Business woman with questions about blogging
© Syda Productions – Fotolia.com

As a business blog writer and consultant, I hear many questions, starting with, “Can you actually make a living doing that?” With customers heading straight to the web to find solutions to their problems, online marketing is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. And that makes what I do a necessity as well.

Here are 10 answers that will help any business owner market more effectively and connect with your customers online. I’ve grouped them into the three themes of blog planning, blog writing, and blog promotion.

Blog planning

1. What is a blog? A blog is a special section of a website that you update frequently with articles, news, and stories. The newest updates appear at the top of the page, with the older ones below. Posts are also organized by category. Example: Ask the Real Estate Team (Barrie, ON).

2. Should I blog/Why should I blog? No one HAS to blog, and you shouldn’t start unless you’re committed to blogging regularly for at least six months to give it a chance to produce results for your business. Reasons TO blog:

  • Stay visible to your audience so they think of you when they need your product or service. Example: Rooted Naturopathic Medicine Clinic (Barrie, ON).
  • Demonstrate your expertise about topics related to your business. Example: Rhonda Sherwood, Wealth Advisor for Scotia McLeod (Vancouver, BC).
  • Produce original content you can share on social media, to accomplish the first two goals in a variety of settings. Example: Summit Insight (Alexandria, VA)
  • Follow up with new contacts and prospective customers with links to information you’ve already written about questions they had.

3. Where should I blog? Recommended: Integrated into your own business website (Sample: Litchfield Builders, Hamden, CT). Next best thing: A separate site with the same branding, your own domain name, and clear links back and forth from the main site (Sample: Chilis). Not recommended: Blogging on “borrowed land,” like Blogger/Blogspot, WordPress.com, or Tumblr.

4. What should I blog about? A business should blog about things that will be interesting, relevant and helpful to your ideal customers. Start with a list of categories or themes you’ll write about. This helps you stay organized, and it also helps your readers find the answers they’re looking for.

Blog writing

5. How long and how often? While we’re hearing more now about the effectiveness of 1,000+-word blog posts, I still suggest that new business bloggers aim for 500 words for their feature articles. That being said, if you have more to say, and the additional words are purposeful and well-written, you no longer need to cut off your writing or arbitrarily divide it into multiple posts (for example, I’ll definitely need more than 500 words to answer these 10 questions!) For different types of posts (see the next answer for examples), 250-300 words is plenty.

6. Where do I find the time to blog? Blog posts don’t always have to be text-heavy or 100% original content, and these alternate types of posts can be quicker to write. For example, you can interview an expert about a topic that’s relevant to your customers, introduce or summarize a video or audio (your own or someone else’s), or review a book. (Here are some other blogging time management tips inspired by my greyhound Patch.)

7. Is it okay to copy someone’s article if I give them credit? No. Giving credit does not equal permission. You can quote one or two lines, but any more than that and you need explicit permission from the author. It’s better to just write some original commentary about why you like or recommend the content, then provide a link. (More suggestions about business blogging etiquette.)

Blog promotion

8. How do I get people to see my new blog posts?

  • Copy your post’s permalink (permanent link) from your web browser’s address bar (here is a video about how to find the permalink).
  • Paste the link into a status update box on a social media site, and then…
  • Add a brief teaser that tells the reader why they should read your post and how it will benefit them. Be consistent with the culture and norms of each network (e.g., you’re limited to 140 characters on Twitter, so don’t automatically copy the same message you’ve written for Facebook or it will be cut off and won’t make a good impression on your Twitter followers). Some titles, like this one by Debbie Ouellet (Barrie, ON), are compelling enough to use on their own (note that it already includes a question)! Your brand is a country. What’s it like to live there?
  • Email the link to someone directly if it’s a topic you discussed or you think they would enjoy/benefit from. (WiseStamp is an email signature tool that can automatically pull in the title and link of your latest blog post.)

9. How can I make my posts stand out on social media? Even with a catchy teaser, you still need to get people to notice that amidst everything else that’s constantly flowing into their social media streams. A colourful, attention-grabbing photo is the key to getting people to read even that short text, let alone click the link to read the whole post. Tip: On Facebook and Google+, upload a photo first, before you type your teaser and paste in your permalink. That way readers will see a full-sized photo rather than a thumbnail. [Update: July 17, 2015 – As of November 2014, Facebook is giving more visibility to posts that contain links with thumbnail images, versus those with uploaded photos.]

10. Where can I find photos to use legally? Just as you can’t reprint other people’s text, you also can’t automatically use other people’s photos without permission. To find photos you can share, I recommend Stock Exchange (free) – http://www.sxc.hu/, Photopin (free) – photopin.com and Fotolia (fee-based) – fotolia.com.

Thanks to the organizers and attendees of Small Business Connect in Barrie, Ontario, where I presented this information (with some technical difficulties). I’m glad to be able to deliver all the links and examples I promised!

Did you find this post useful? Please send one of these messages to your Twitter followers, or use the social sharing links below for LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+.

How Blogging and Email Work Together to Grow Your Business

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Blogging on laptop plus email at sign equals business“Is a blog the same thing as a newsletter?”

Great question! It came up recently from a business owner who is brand new to online marketing, and I heard a similar question this weekend at WordCamp Toronto 2013:

“Where will I find the time to do a blog AND a newsletter, while still running my business? I don’t want to just send the same content.”

Rushing in with an enthusiastic response, panelist Austin Gunter from WPEngine explained that you absolutely can and should repeat your blog post in your newsletter. (You can even automate this process using RSS-to-email subscriptions!)

The truth is that people will not remember to visit your blog regularly. That’s why it’s such a good practice to share links to your blog posts on social media. Yet while social media builds visibility, trust and relationships, Austin said it’s not nearly as effective as your email newsletter for inspiring people to buy something from you.

“Once someone has invited you into their Inbox, that’s power!”

Just as blogging is a perfect companion to social networking, newsletters and blogs can work hand in hand to attract your ideal customers, show them how you can help, and make it easy for them to do business with you.

In order to put these strategies into place, you’ll need:

  • A business blog, ideally one that’s part of your company website
  • A subscription to an email broadcasting service such as MailChimp (affiliate link), AWeber (affiliate link), iContact or Constant Contact
  • An email subscription form in the sidebar of your blog, and ideally on every page of your company website
  • Bonus: A highly relevant report, white paper or e-book that people receive automatically after subscribing to your email list

Attract your ideal customers

If you understand who your ideal customers are, what challenges they have, and what solutions they’re looking for, you can create blog posts that attract them. These could be “how to” posts that solve an immediate problem, or deeper thought pieces that help them better understand their issues.

In your newsletter, poll your readers occasionally for more information about who they are and what they need. It’s a nice touch to send some of these questions automatically whenever someone new signs up for your newsletter. Ask your email service provider about automated follow up messages (autoresponders) – then be sure someone is monitoring the email address you’ve designated for replies to your broadcast messages.

This lets people know that you welcome them, you care about them, and you’re interested in providing content that meets their needs. The benefit for you is that you’re more likely to get positive responses to your content because you’ll be writing exactly what people want to read.

Show them how you can help

Aside from the testimonials or longer case studies you may have elsewhere on your site, blog posts that tell client stories give concrete examples of how you work and the results your company has achieved with others.

As well, “connective” blog content (e.g., reviews, links and commentary) positions you as a valuable resource and demonstrates your connectedness in the industry.

In your newsletter, you can mention some of the services, courses, products or special offers that relate to the blog content you’ve shared. You can also list upcoming events where your company is presenting or exhibiting, to highlight your expertise and industry leadership.

Make it easy for them to do business with you

By consistently posting high-quality and relevant content on your blog, you’re building trust as someone who understands and can help with the specific issues facing your ideal customers. That trust makes it easy to say yes when they see your next offer.

Use your blog’s sidebar to rotate featured products and services, with direct links to take action. At the bottom of each post, create opportunities for a deeper relationship with your company, for example:

  • Here’s a related post about this topic (tip: you can display related posts automatically – learn more in this post about how to encourage longer blog visits)
  • If you enjoyed this post, subscribe now to receive our newest articles by email
  • Download our free report to learn more about this topic

You can also try more direct calls to action (e.g., find out more about this product/service or schedule an appointment today), though I’d recommend you do this less often. Your blog readers will be in all stages of the relationship-building process, and you could turn off your newest blog visitors by asking for business too soon or too often.

Instead, take Austin’s advice and use your newsletter for selling, after you’ve given value with the informative content from your blog.

Make it easy by providing direct links to registration/purchase pages or to schedule an appointment with you. A huge benefit of email marketing is that it’s simple for anyone to take the next step by replying. Some of your customers may not be comfortable with online contact forms or e-commerce options, but almost everyone can reply to an email.

Customize the “From” field people will see in their Inbox, preferably with the personal name and/or department name of the person or people who will be responding to messages. As I mentioned above, be sure to monitor that email address regularly, especially in the minutes, hours and days following an email broadcast.

Your blog isn’t the same thing as your newsletter, but you can use the same content in both places to attract your ideal audience and convert them from readers into customers.

P.S. I’ll be discussing business blogging strategies on Your Business With Charmaine Huber this Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. (Rogers TV). Her other guest will be an email marketing specialist, so I’m sure we’ll be discussing many of these concepts. If you’re in the Barrie area, please tune in!