5 Article Types for Your Business Blog
Businesses for which Avelient builds web sites these days seem to be very interested in building a site with a blog. They’re often not sure why, and we try to give some guidance and refer them to our “To Blog or Not to Blog” post here on The Web and You. Still, I find a lot of businesses are simply too busy to look for the inspiration for their next article, or they put too much pressure on themselves to keep their information relevant and regular.
If you’re stuck for topics, I’ve come up with 5 types of blog posts that you can use as inspiration for your next post. In addition, I encourage you to comment with more types, so that people can use this as a library of outlines for their next post.
- The Review - Every business has something they can review, and customers who trust you are clamoring for some kind of information about your experience with whatever it is they’re considering purchasing. I’ve tried to do this on this very blog, reviewing 10 top online applications for small business, a CRM application called Javelin, and even my experience with a product called SendOutCards. You get a lot of mileage from these types of posts because search engines see them as relevant too. You obviously can’t review one of your own products due to bias, but maybe review something your customers might use. For example, someone who provides desktop support can review disaster recovery and backup applications for their clients (just be sure to list any affiliations with companies in the interest of full disclosure). Personally I’ve been waiting for a lawyer I know personally to try out PrePaid legal and let me know what their experience is with the product. The possibilities here are endless, and if it’s something you use every day it shouldn’t be a difficult post to write.
- The Advice or “How To” Article – Yep, you’re reading one of them. Your customers are looking for advice. If you can give it to them for the absolutely fantastic price of $0, they’re going to be pretty happy with you. When they do have money to spend, you will have established your expertise in your area through your advice posts, and customers are more apt to work with you because you’ve been able to demonstrate your knowledge over time and build trust. Mark Pickard, one of our customers, regularly updates his blog with information he’s collecting anyway as an IT consulting expert at his company MDP Systems. His customers get the benefit of seeing his advice all in one place, and they can refer that information to people who might need his services. It’s a great way to build a referral network.
- The Product Announcement - Though not a great platform to review one of your products, a blog is a great way to announce a new product. The format isn’t quite the same as a press release, however. Since blogs are typically written more in the vernacular, your announcement post should be written with more of a personal touch; give an indication of why you’re excited about the product release, what kind of benefit it’s going to give your existing customers, and maybe even give a special offer to people who regularly read your blog (just be sure to put an expiration date on the offer!). You could even compare your new product to other competing products, and provide a personal take on the compelling reasons to buy your new product. Another customer of ours, Bake Me a Wish, uses its blog to announce a new cake or even announce when a discount is available (the discount here has already expired…sorry!).
- The Analysis – Nothing is more valuable to your customers than your take on a trending topic in your field. Chances are, you’re hearing the buzz around upcoming products or services in your industry weeks or even months before your customers and prospects will, and being able to give customers resources they need in order to make a decision is incredibly valuable. Small business owners especially don’t always have the time to make themselves experts in every area. They need to focus on their core line of business, and as an expert in your field you can let them know the bottom line of what’s necessary in order for a business to grow. A lot of our articles, for example, offer advice on what you need to do to stay current on Search Engine Optimization, Web Design or Social Media. Some people who read those articles will be able to go off and try to utilize tools we mention themselves. Others will call us for help. As with the Advice articles, we build trust and credibility, both of which are invaluable and sometimes hard to establish when you’re not meeting someone in person every day.
- Case Study – I tend not to do this, but if you have customers who are agreeable to being used as an example, you could create a sort of mini case study that demonstrates how you helped a client. Highlight the problem, your approach, the solution and lessons learned. Include testimonials if possible, and ask the customer to link to your case study. Chances are, someone else out there has the exact same problem that you’ve solved, and if they can find this information on your blog, then they’ll be better off because they’ve found you. At the very least you provide them with a roadmap to their solution, and potentially a roadmap to your door (and a sale for you!).
In general, try to keep your articles/posts between 500 and 1500 words. Many bloggers feel that the shorter the article the better, and I agree that you should certainly use words that will quickly and concisely convey your message. On the other hand, you may have a lot of information to share, and there’s nothing wrong with providing a post that’s long but dense with good information. Most importantly, put yourself in your readers’ shoes, and think of the reasons why they visit your blog. Put in that context, the suggestions above may be easier to digest, and then you’re on your way to the latest, greatest tidbit of information your company has ever produced.
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Comments
Good article! Thank you very much for your advice. We will have it into account in our blog. Good ideas! 
[...] DiFabio presents 5 Article Types for Your Business Blog posted at The Web and You, saying, “You have a blog, but you’re experiencing [...]
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Good advice for blog content. I’m a business writer, catering to small businesses owners.I just recently began a blog for small businesses. You can check it out at http://www.MarichelleRocha.com/blogging. I’m working on developing content BEFORE I really announce it to the public, trying to useful information to help my clients.