Stop wasting money on high-cost brochures and print advertising in "Home" Magazines. Be Helpful, Start Blogging Regularly and Answer the Questions Prospects Have About Architecture.

Blogging is a crucial part of any marketing strategy, whether you’re a solo practitioner or a major international firm. A relevant, entertaining and well-written blog helps position you as an expert. It builds client trust, attracts press attention and grows the business.

When it comes to blogging, quality is critical. The success of your blog depends on two things. First, people being able to find it via a search engine. Then those people must find your posts interesting enough to read and share. Follow the tips below to create a blog that informs, entertains and, most importantly, sells your architectural services.

Choose blog topics wisely

Your blog isn’t the place to chat about baseball. Avoid topics that are only interesting to other architects, builders or designers. Think about what potential customers want to know - what questions do you hear time and time again? If your clients are always asking how your fees are calculated or what’s trendy in the industry, those are perfect blog topics.

Be conversational in blog articles

The tone is equally important. Keep it light, friendly and conversational. Don’t speak down to your audience, of course, but don’t bore them with industry terms either. Let your personality show - readers want to connect with bloggers, not feel like they’re reading an encyclopedia.

Use pictures, illustrations and videos

Blogs are not just about words. Pictures are important, too, particularly when you’re selling something as visual as architectural services. If you’re writing about the top five trends of the year, post a picture of each. If you’re writing about a recent project that you admire, post photos of that. Pictures make a blog post more interesting to readers, and they have the bonus of boosting your ranking in search results.

Insert highly searched keywords

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is crucial if you want your posts to rank high in search engine results. The idea is to pick keywords that are frequently searched and insert them at a rate of about 1.5 percent (nine times for a 600-word blog). Use tools like Wordtracker to find keywords related to your architectural services that are frequently searched. If you’re writing a blog on green homes, for example, you might want to use a phrase like “green building” or “sustainable architecture.”

Know, however, that SEO takes time to perfect. There are many professionals whose full-time job is focused solely on SEO. And there’s art to striking the right balance between keywords that are frequently searched and keywords that face less competition (among many other challenges to perfecting the craft). If you have no idea what you’re doing, it might be best to hire an SEO expert or seek to train.

Be consistent and post weekly

You should blog on a regular basis - at least once per week. Regular blogging attracts new visitors and repeats visitors, and it increases your visibility. Each new post gives people another opportunity to stumble on your architectural services blog via a search engine. Also, if your blog is rarely updated, subscribers will quickly learn that there’s no reason to go back.

Pay attention to length and formatting

Blogs aren’t novels; they shouldn’t go on and on. Web readers have a limited attention span, and they’re not likely to stick around to read 2,000 words. The length of posts will vary based on the subject matter, of course, but aim for 500 to 600 words in most cases.

The format should be reader-friendly. Formatting means lots of column breaks, bulleted lists and the like. Your blog should look neat, and it should be easy to scan.

Promote blog articles on social media

Social media is your friend when it comes to blogging. Use all channels available - LinkedIn, Twitter or Pinterest - to promote your blog posts. If one person finds the post interesting, chances are they will share it, which exponentially increases your readership and helps to sell your architectural services.