I can relate to those techie-scared small-business owners out there who are just glad they finally made that HUGE leap into modern times by getting a website.
My photography business skated along for years off-line… I relied on business cards and word-of mouth to attract customers. The ironic part of it was that I’ve been a writer for years, and even had a personal blog that I used as a journal.
It just didn’t occur to me to combine the two…
It doesn’t matter what your business is, a blog can put you out there in a way that traditional advertising can’t.
After several years of entertaining my mutually-exclusive hobbies (and writing articles for other people), it occurred to me that I could use each of those skills I’d played around with to help each other.
And thus, I finally modernized and got a website for my photo business, created a fan-page on Facebook, and started blogging about the whole thing.
What I found was that the blog actually attracted people that normal advertising didn’t. People would show up looking for photography tips, and wind up browsing the website I mentioned once somewhere in the post.
Each new blog post also gave me a link to use as a status update on Facebook… I was beginning to tie everything together.
I discovered that a blog doesn’t necessarily have to be perfectly honed to fit into a certain niche.
For a while, I kept separate blogs, thinking I needed to keep everything in its proper category… I didn’t want to bore my photography clients with random stories about my kids, or tales of my loopy cowdog getting scared of a salamander. I also didn’t want my humor-seeking blog followers to get fed up with my “I took another photo” posts.
After a few months (and a few misplaced posts), I realized that the blogs were all me… in one form or another. It began to seem pointless to keep separating things, and I kept getting stuck when I had a post that merged the two topics… such as a great story about my minions (my kids) interrupting a photo shoot by popping into the frame with their goofiest expressions.
I took another plunge (hey, I don’t like change) and combined the two. I’d blog about photography when the mood struck, and post all my silly stories in-between.
To my surprise, I began to gain readers like never before! Turns out, people liked the variety and would visit more because of it. Those looking for photography-related content could still find those things (thank WordPress for categories and tags), and those looking for random life-moments still had those… and some stumbled across photos they liked and became clients!
I learned a few tricks to make everything relevant.
Even though everything on my blog is categorized somehow, I discovered that I could advertise my photography services just about everywhere… without being pushy or annoying my readers.
I started adding photos to most posts, even those not about photography. A small link to my photo website accompanies each picture, and those who just want to read aren’t interrupted. Those who like the pictures can click for more.
A small mention of picture-taking can be turned into a hyper-link easily, that will take people to more photo-related posts. Linking to previously published posts takes them to even more places where my photos, stories, and contact info are prominent.
See, you don’t have to specifically blog about what you’re selling… write about something fun and semi-related. That one small link is all you need.
Any business can do this!
Selling beef jerky? You can blog about cows, health food, great snacks for vacations, or spices… and manage to keep your readers entertained without straying completely off-topic.
Trying to launch a massage service? There are plenty of topics you can entertain readers with, including benefits of massage, health, history, and news in the industry.
There was a blog post about toilet paper that went viral a couple weeks ago, so rest assured that anything can be made interesting enough to blog about!
Don’t forget to connect everything!
Again, it doesn’t matter what your business is or what you blog about. Just make sure you connect the two.
Mention your business in your blog, and mention your blog posts on your website. Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media to attract people to both.
Just to make a point, here would be a great place to say something along the lines of “would you like to see some great photos? Check out my photography website at…”
According to a Netcraft survey completed in March of 2012, there are over 644 million active websites globally.
What this means is that the competition for readers is fierce. The pool of likely candidates in any given search is in the millions. At which point, your site will get a few seconds of consideration – as the searcher decides if they want to click on yours or the next one. Then, if the do choose you, you get another few seconds to make an impression before they go back to the original search and try another.
This all happens in a matter of a few minutes. It seems unjust, with all of the heart and soul you put into your business and in creating a website that expresses who you are and what your business represents. It almost feels like a personal rejection.
It’s not. Don’t take it personally. This is the way business is done in a globally connected world. To succeed, you need to speak to your customer’s only – not everyone who does a Google search. Your content must address their unique questions, issues and concerns. It must be presented in a manner that eliminates everyone else form the equation and establishes you as the authority on the subject and the answer to their need. You have to do all of the heavy lifting – think of everything the searcher might look for and have it ready for them when they arrive. To survive, it has to be easy on the client or they will move on in a hurry.
Whether is be a blog or a website, follow these guidelines for creating web content that works as hard as you:
1. Know Your Audience – before your write a single word, know exactly whom you are talking to. Visualize the “ideal” client and clarify their background, needs, demands, challenges and questions as they pertain to your product or service. Then write everything as if you were speaking directly to this person.
2. Keep it Conversational – Everything you write should be with conversational, informative, and friendly tone. Remember, you are the expert, sharing your wisdom with inquiring minds. Write as if your customer is right in front of you, asking your advice regarding their needs.
3. Client Needs Come First – Visitors to your website have come looking for information, knowledge and answers. Your content should be benefit driven from your client’s perspective.
4. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) – Don’t assume that your visitor’s have any particular knowledge of your business or product. Content should use words and phrases that are familiar to your potential customer and avoid industry jargon only you understand. Write one idea per paragraph and give them the answer early – then expand on it.
5. Avoid the Hype – Avoid the use of superlatives (the best, the most effective, etc.) when describing your products and services. This should not be an advertisement. They want to get your input then make a decision for themselves – no pressure, no hard sell.
6. Be Relevant – Everything should have meaning and significance to your reader – they want what they came for and care little about anything else. This is also significant regarding your search engine results. Every month Google bots crawl all known websites – cataloging, filing and organizing key words and phrases. This information is used when a user types in a Google search – these keywords are scanned for relevance and used to serve up the “best” possible results to answer the searchers request. Your content should be communicated in a concise manner, including as many keywords as possibly, yet still written for a reader. Don’t just string together keywords – this might generate a search results but it will gain you no readers.
There seems to be a dual challenge – to be found via an Internet and to engage the reader in hopes of building a relationship. These two outcomes are not at odds with each other – nor are they easily accomplished. Your content tells people who you are and is a tremendous means way to help clients find you and to building a relationship with them. By following these simply guidelines you will be well on your way to building a site that works as hard as you do to grow your business.