We all know that consistency is the key to success in virtually every area of marketing. You need to be consistent with your branding, your brand message, the quality of your products or services, and the list goes on from there. I’ve done plenty of blogs on these and other subjects so I won’t do a lot of re-hashing here.
The one thing at seems to almost always fall by the wayside in the consistency arena is blogging. For some reason, many marketers still don’t think that it is as important to keep up a blog as it is to keep up other areas of marketing, like social media posting and email.
Here’s the thing, though: What are you going to post to social media if you’re not producing a consistent stream of content? You can only recycle your content so many times before people catch on, and when they do, you lose them.
Your audience wants to hear from you, but they don’t want to hear the same message over and over again. They want to see you as an authority. They want to see you as a person or company that is consistently striving to do better and educate its audience and customer base. You do that by presenting content that frames your brand in that way.
I know that you’ve probably tried getting your blog rolling and have seen more than a few stalls in the process. Perhaps it’s a lack of creativity. Perhaps it’s the stress of keeping up other areas of your business. Whatever the excuse is, allow me just a few minutes to obliterate them. By the time we’re done, you’ll have a hard time reasoning your way out of this, and, frankly, your business will thank you for it. Want to stay consistent with your blogging? Here’s how:
#1. Schedule It as You Would Any Other Workflow Process.
The best way to not treat your blog like it’s expendable is to always make room for it as part of the process of running your business. If you have someone on staff who is in charge of your blog, don’t overload him or her with other responsibilities that force him or her to put blogging on the back burner.
If you work with a freelancer, custom writing service, or copywriting company, set specific deadlines and work only with people who take your deadlines seriously. I’ve mentioned before that this is a huge problem within the copywriting community. Those who deliver mediocre work on time often get more jobs than those who deliver stellar content a week late.
At Beez, we make sure there’s a good marriage between both: excellent staff writers who deliver consistently good copy and also adhere to our deadlines. You should demand as much of any person or company you’re paying to keep you on track.
#2. Research Relevant Keywords and Write Blog Posts Around Them.
This is a great way to get over the inspiration hurdle. Just look at what people are searching and use those topics to populate your blog. You can do series of posts on single topics and get plenty of mileage out of those keywords.
Conversely, you can leave it to your staff writer or contractor to come up with topics based on the keywords. If you choose this route, however, I recommend working with a writer who has direct experience or a proven record of doing quality research. Oh, and you should be prepared to pay for the effort. Quality isn’t cheap, but the ROI can be in the upper stratosphere with the right copywriter.
#3. Know What Your Competition Is Blogging.
Better still, follow them on social media. You can find tons of inspiration from tweets and comments left by other users, and you’ll end up wondering why you never tackled this subject in your blog before.
Don’t go for a direct replica of a competing blog, but do observe which posts get the most attention and formulate a strategy around the stuff that the right audience appreciates. Be sure to approach any “borrowed” topics from the perspective of your brand. Note if there are clear calls to action in competing posts. This is something that lots of blogs lack, even though, for a long time, it was a staple of the overall structure of a blog post. If you include that piece of the puzzle in your blogs, you stand a good chance of stealing some business away from your less conscientious competitors.
#4. Hold Yourself Accountable.
Bottom line: It’s your business. How do you intend to approach the things that keep it running smoothly? Get out of the mindset that it’s “just blogging.” No, it’s a powerful communications and sales tool that you shouldn’t neglect.
As a final takeaway, I challenge you to commit to just 90 days of consistent content generation and look at the numbers. What has engagement been like? What is your site’s bounce rate? How are your rankings on Google? A little self-discipline on something this seemingly small could have a huge across-the-board impact on your entire marketing strategy.
Oh, and as a final, final takeaway: Get help if you need it. The most common reason why blogging gets pushed aside is a lack of time or creative direction within the organization. If that has been a problem for your business in the past, skip the idea of doing it yourself and hire a pro or team of pros to get it done right.