It id 2016 and every business should have a blog or site. Why? Because it’s an effective way to attract new prospects, show them you have expertise in your business niche and then convert them to profitable clients. Businesses that blog generate 68% more leads than those that do not. And, if you post regularly, as you should, it shows that your website is active and you’re staying ahead of the curve.
So, how do you start a blog for your freelance business, produce compelling content and spread the word about it? Here’s a step-by-step guide you should follow.
1. Define your target audience and their pain points
You know the potential and essential clients you want. But how much do you really know about them? Do you know what they’re struggling with that relates to your expertise? You can’t create relevant blog posts until you know this. So, here’s what you do:
* Make a list of your ideal client
* Check out their site and social media platforms.
* Study the challenges they are discussing.
* Get a site like Buzzsumo and type in keywords relevant to your Niche. Read the trending articles in your area of specialization and combine both to create awesome new Topic with additional ideas.
2. Dig deeper into existing knowledge
Once you have the topic ideas and main points after reading some of the posts, think about how you can write something that’s far more good and can add a new perspective on the topic. Let’s say you’re a photographer. What are the latest pieces of equipment being developed? What are some of the leaders in photography saying about lighting, lenses, angles, posing, shading, editing, etc.? How can you incorporate all of this expertise into posts that you’ll write? And how can you include visuals of your own work that demonstrate these trends and your expertise?
You need to be the expert. And you can become that expert by learning from other experts. There is no easy way to just throw some content together. You have to have the knowledge and the detail.
3. Craft very valuable content
Your goal is to write very useful and important posts that educate and empower your readers, and this starts with the headline. Most readers will not go beyond the headline if it’s not immediately engaging. If you’re not creative with words, then use some title generator tools. You can put in a few keywords and get dozens of engaging title possibilities.
Next, start the post with a bang. Your first sentence should immediately engage. Have a punchy statement that engenders awe (maybe a surprising statistic) or piques the reader’s interest. Or start with a touching story or inspirational anecdote. If you’re constantly reading blog posts in your niche, you’ll see how the “leaders” do it.
As you write, break your content up into little words. People scan, they don’t necessarily read entire messages. They look for things that are relevant or interesting to them. So have lots of heading, sub-headings and bullet points – stuff they can “snack” on.
Also, use visuals like photos, infographics and videos where relevant. They compliment your texts and reinforce your message. You can even showcase your own work to make a point.
4. Socialize your blog to gain more audience
This is a very important aspect of presenting your brand or niche online especially when you are new, who likes a site without traffic or audience? Nobody I guess but since they are many online communities like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn etc You can easily share your content to these platforms and attract a quite amount of traffic or audience. So it becomes an important task to keep your blog socialized.
Finally, pay attention to grammar. You want to always come across as competent, professional and careful. Set aside time to edit and proofread your posts. If you can, also have a skilled friend edit your work or use any of the great editing tools out there to clean up and polish your writing.
I hope you find this article helpful
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