05 Feb The Biggest Mistake Your Small Business’s Blog Can Make
Whether your small business is business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B), if you have a blog for it, there is one mistake that will make it an absolute waste of time. Why? Because any visitor who begins reading it will immediately stop and go to your competitor’s website – and might become their customer, instead of yours!
If there is a Seven Deadly Sins of business blog writing, Number One is this: Treating your blog posts like an ad.
We understand that for some business owners, the temptation is great to take the opportunity to extol the benefits of your product or service at length, with frequent demands to “CALL US NOW!!!” Why not, when you have all the space you want at your disposal? And also unlike an ad, it’s free (sort of). However, this is contrary to the purpose of a business blog – as well as counterproductive.
First, your readers are not a captive audience. Just because someone is reading your blog post doesn’t mean you can bombard that person with endless self-promotional pitches. We’ve even seen small business blog posts that begin with the sales pitch, followed by a couple of paragraphs dealing loosely with the topic. We’ve also seen the kind of blog post known as a “listicle” – that is, a numbered list of facts – that ends each fact with a call-to-action (CTA) to schedule an appointment.
Ads – be they online or in print – are by their nature brief, and should promote a feature, benefit, unique selling proposition, CTA and contact information. Hopefully, were you to do an actual ad, it would follow this basic format, rather than just “WE’RE THE BEST!!! CALL US NOW!!!” Good ads don’t take a hard-sell approach, and neither should blog posts. People may listen to a sales pitch in person – after which they can say, “Let me think about it,” or “I’m not interested” – but they can just stop reading a hard-sell blog post, and leave your website – possibly never to return.
Here are the Three Key Purposes of a Business Blog:
1. A Good Business Blog Provides Useful Information to Potential Customers
People who want to learn about the product or service your business offers read blog posts for overall background. They’re likely comparison shopping, and want to know how your offerings stack up against the competition – or how knowledgeable and professional you are! For example, if you run a plumbing company, readers want tips on troubleshooting problems, how to prevent problems, how to choose a new water heater, when to call a pro instead of taking the DIY approach, etc. Even if they’re not ready to call you yet, they’ll remember the valuable education you provided, and keep you top-of-mind when they are!
As we covered in our blog post – “Why Does Your Business Need a Blog?” – one particularly remarkable example of a business owner who did it right is Marcus Sheridan, a.k.a. “The Sales Lion.” Running a fiberglass swimming pool company named River Pools & Spas, Sheridan and his two partners were facing ruin during the 2008 economic crisis. So he taught himself the principles of inbound marketing and started a blog based on a simple premise – anticipating and answering people’s questions about fiberglass pools. Not only did he save his business, Sheridan became a marketing phenomenon, renowned as one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world. His book, “They Ask, You Answer,” was ranked by Forbes as one of “11 Marketing Books Every CMO Should Read.”
The moral of the story: Sheridan not only knew his industry, he knew what people wanted to know about the practical aspects of fiberglass pools in order to make an informed buying decision. As a result, he was able to generate leads through his website and convert those leads into customers. What do people want to know about your business, products and/or services? Give them the answers in your blog!
The River Pools & Spas blog is still active. Blog posts cover a wide range of topics relating to fiberglass pools. Read any post, and you’ll find a wealth of information on such matters as the pros and cons of an automatic pool cover, types of in-ground pools, etc. What you won’t find are invasive sales pitches for River Pools & Spas. One blog post about fiberglass pool designs uses photos of the company’s pools as examples, but provides pros and cons of each design so visitors can get an idea of which pool shape best suits their yard and sense of aesthetics.
The last paragraph of a typical River Pools & Spas blog post winds up with a thanks to the visitor for reading, with an invitation to click the CTA button below to request pricing – which in turn leads to a landing page with a contact form to reach a local independent installer. Subtlety is the key.
Or, take our own humble blog. A typical Virtual Stacks Systems blog post will drop in a reference to one of our previous blog posts to make a pertinent point, but we save the sales pitch for the conclusion, which we call The Take Home Message and Our Blatant Self-Promotion – so our valued readers will know exactly what to expect.
2. A Good Business Blog Reinforces Your Business’s Reputation for Trustworthiness
A good business blog serves to establish your business as legitimate and ethical. Unfortunately, there are many fields that attract bad actors. Blog post topics can include helping visitors tell the difference between the sketchy/unethical practices that some competitors use, what they should look for during their decision-making process, questions to ask during the decision-making process and what red flags to watch for.
3. A Good Business Blog Builds and Reinforces Your Authority as an Industry Expert
The number of options consumers have to choose from can be overwhelming. A good blog can help your business stand out by establishing it as a leader in your industry. Of course, this isn’t achieved by tooting your own horn. It’s done by example. Circling back to River Pools & Spas, its blog has become a magnet for those wanting to know all about fiberglass pools – including other blog writers, who mention the company in their own blog posts – like we have!
With so many people writing and reading about River Pools & Spas, consumers are bound to recognize it as an industry expert. All the publicity has perhaps played a role in the company becoming a franchise with 21 independently owned locations throughout the United States. Great things can start with a blog!
The Take Home Message and Our Blatant Self-Promotion
So here we are at the conclusion of our humble blog post. The first half was tough love for business owners whose eagerness to get new customers veers into off-putting desperate hard-selling that will have the opposite effect. The second half is intended as a guide to writing effective blog posts that will get you recognition and respect, as well as new customers.
The dilemma, of course, is that blog writing is a skill – and you’re not a marketing writer. Or perhaps any kind of writer. Not to worry! You have a business to run, which itself is a full-time responsibility without having to also take writing lessons! Leave the blogging to our Virtual Stacks Systems content writing team! We learn all about your business and marketing goals in order to write blog posts (and social media posts) that speak in your brand voice and convey your unique messaging. We do what we do best so you can focus on your business and do what you do best!
By the way, our full-service digital marketing agency also offers experienced website design and redesign, SEO marketing, PPC advertising and so much more! We welcome the opportunity to help you meet your marketing objectives and succeed. Every small business is unique, and so are our solutions! Just contact us to learn more and get started!