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MARCIA, MARCIA, MARCIA! Business Blogging Is Not Always About You!

Blog writing that attracts clients

You're proud of your business, and you think everyone should know how amazing you are. Of course, you should be proud, and everyone should know how great you are but your blog is not the place for boasting. Keep the personal promotional content on your about page. Business blogging is the way you let everyone know. Effective blogging is becoming an essential item in the marketing toolbox of thriving companies.  While you always want to adhere to good SEO practices, it still needs to sound human as well! The catch here is to make sure you steer clear of being overly promotional about your business while still showing how useful you really are.  Here are some tips and tricks to help you stay away from sounding like life is all about you as you promote your business:

Watch The Video: Blogging Best Practices On Squarespace

Talk to Your Audience

Sure, you want to help your business, and you want to make money.  That said, if you are overly promotional, you'll turn off a vast majority of consumers before they even have the chance to learn anything about you.  Business blogging should be about creating relationships, and it should be done in the same manner and tone-of-voice that you would speak to a consumer if they were standing at your counter (be it brick-and-mortar or virtual).  Be a human when you're interacting with your customers, and you'll likely see a positive reaction overall.

Understand the Intelligence of Your Audience

Most people have a distinct ability to detect false claims or masqueraded statements.  If you want to be helpful and revered by your audience, don't mask your product or service in a list of things that you think they'll need.  Provide useful, valuable information that will tell your readers how they can do the best at whatever project they're planning on performing, but steer away from telling them that you're the best business for the project.

Be Engaging.  Do you have frequently asked questions that you get all the time?  This is an excellent way to utilize business blogging to its fullest.  Pay attention to all of the questions that you're asked, particularly if you are asked certain questions over and over.  This offers you an excellent opportunity to address the needs of your potential customers while you connect with them on a more personal level.  Encourage engagement via social media and your blogs so you can get to know more about what people are looking for so you can answer their questions.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due  

Business blogging can often take place from the ideas of others.  If you're doing research, and you find an article from which you want to pull information, link to that article.  Don't be afraid of sending your audience that way because people appreciate credible sources.  As your writing improves, other business bloggers may begin to reference your work and send people to you.  Networking is important for any business, no matter which form it takes!

Be Valuable without Being Pushy

Every business has competitors.  Rather than pushing yourself onto your audience by trying to convince them that you're the best and the brightest on the market, show your value more humbly.  Offer advice or stories that are entertaining and useful to your readers without trying to convince them that no one is as great as you are.  Your audience will appreciate the free tips, and you'll come across as an authority in your industry without scaring away potential customers.

SEO and Blog Writing Tips From A Squarespace Website Designer

About Michael Conway and Means-of-Production

My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition. Contact me for a free-of-charge consultation and marketing review. It takes about 40 minutes and you'll be provided a list of actionable improvements designed to solve your specific marketing problems.