Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Susan Young, president of Get in Front Communications, Inc., a social media, PR, and communications agency which advises a broad range of businesses. This piece, which initially appeared on the agency's blog and later ran in a post on Ragan's PR Daily, outlines 26 different ways, one for each letter of the alphabet, to enhance your business's blog and to get the most out of this important communications initiative. A published author and widely-quoted expert on communications issues and trends, Young can be followed on Twitter @sueyoungmedia.
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Add pictures, visuals, and images to your posts to communicate with readers on different levels.
Be the solution. Help people solve their problems. Solve, don’t sell.
Consider all multimedia platforms such as video blogs, podcasts, and audio clips.
Define who you are, who your audience is, and what benefits blogging may bring you. The bottom line: Why are you blogging?
Eavesdrop on conversations to help you develop new content.
Forget the word count. Be clear and make your point. That’s it.
Grab people’s attention from the get-go with compelling and punchy headlines.
Highlight text, subheads, key phrases, and lists to emphasize important points and make your posts more reader-friendly.
Interact with your readers by asking them questions in your posts and responding to comments.
Jump into the fray. Don’t be afraid to take a stand on an issue or controversy in your niche or field. Boldness counts.
Kill the negative self-talk and judgment. You don’t have to be a professional writer to be a great blogger.
Listen to the conversations in chats and groups to determine what people are “stuck” on. There’s your content.
Move people emotionally through your words, language, metaphors, real-life experiences, and humanity.
Notice what other bloggers are doing. Get ideas on layout, colors, design, content, and self-promotion.
Open your eyes, heart, and mind. We’re in uncharted waters.
Position yourself as a credible resource in your field. Become the “go-to” guy (or gal)
Quit taking it personally (Q-TIP) if no one comments on your blog. Comments do not equal readers.
Remember we are in a real-time world. Post often so your blog doesn’t become static and stale.
Simplify your words. Blogging is not business writing, even though you’re probably writing about business. Be conversational. Consider yourself a creative artist.
Try using patience. You may get frustrated or overwhelmed with the pressures that come along with a blog. This isn’t a short-term commitment with fast results.
Understand the analytics, metrics, search engine optimization, keywords, and other important tools to help you determine content, audience, readership, and more.
Vary your posts but not your expertise. Stick with what you know without painting yourself into a corner.
Write when you have something to say. Your readers will appreciate it.
X-ray your life. Take a close look into the body and soul of your professional career and personal experiences. Shine a light on them to diagnose your “lessons learned.” The result: Content. Lots of it.
Yearn for more. Your curiosity and willingness to learn about new trends in your industry, technology, and life in general will serve you well in your blogging endeavors.
Zero in on your readers. Write as if you’re speaking directly to them. A blog is merely the medium (vehicle) to reach mass amounts of people. Make each one feel special and connected to you.
Now you know you’re A-B-Cs.
© Copyright 2011 Ragan Communications, Inc. | Get In Front Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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