Insider Secrets to Killer Website Content: 7 Steps to Building a Better Blog

As important as good website design is, let’s face it, it’s not what brings visitors to your site. They come for the content, and if that content is sufficiently compelling, then they’ll take the action you desire, whether that’s making a purchase, completing a registration form or even just picking up the phone to contact you for more information. In short, the success of your website begins and ends with quality content.

That’s why in this series of articles – Insider Secrets to Killer Website Content – we’re taking a look at types of content that are common to many websites and exploring ways that they can be redesigned and improved. So far, we’ve covered customer testimonials and “About Us” pages. In this third installment of the series, we tackle the ever-popular but often poorly executed business blog.

The promise of blog content has always been the ability to easily add fresh content to your website on a regular basis. In practice, however, that’s not quite as easy as it sounds.

While the tools available to us today allow blogsto be updated very easily, authoring content that is relevant and unique is a much greater challenge – one that proves to be the downfall of many a blog.

The challenges of maintaining and sustaining a blog

Every new blog is launched with the loftiest of goals and expectations. Plans are laid to write articles chock-full of insight on the latest industry trends, and anticipation is high for the proliferation of inbound links to come along with the resulting boost in search engine rankings.

The road to realizing those dreams starts with quality content, but being able to produce that content on a regular basis is where the rubber meets the road – which often proves to be a much greater obstacle than many realize when they initially decide to launch a blog.

At the outset of blogging, enthusiasm is high and ideas flow like honey. But all too often, after a few months or even weeks, the content begins to falter. The frequency between updates grows, and the quality wanes as articles begin to read more like standard press releases or company news updates.

For any blog to succeed, it must have regularly published content that is timely and relevant. If you can also make that content unique, then you have achieved the trifecta of excellent blog content.

So how do you ensure that the enthusiasm and quality that you have at launch can be sustained past the first handful of posts? Here are seven steps to turn your blog into a powerful traffic-boosting, sales-generating machine:

1. Answer questions you are being asked.

Every writer’s biggest challenge is coming up with a topic – and blogging is no different.

Staring at a blank screen and trying to get started on a new article is a daunting task indeed. But one way you can generate some topic ideas is to think about questions that often come up in your day-to-day conversations with your customers.

Whenever I begin brainstorming ideas for a new article, I start by reflecting on these conversations. Typically, I can identify a few topics that I’ve recently been asked about, and I can also recall the answers I gave and the discussion that ensued. More often than not, these provide the perfect foundation for a new article.

By coming up with a list of common client questions, you’ll provide yourself with excellent potential blog topics. Better yet, you’ll also create content that people are actually interested in and actively looking for – because you can bet that if these questions are being asked of you, then there are others out there who are looking for those same answers too.

2. Write about what others are not writing about.

Answering common questions is a great start, but you can really take your blog to the next level if the articles you publish – and the answers you provide – are unique.

Think about your own experiences in searching for answers online. If you search for a topic and find very few relevant articles addressing that topic, then that article – and its source – become gold to you. If it’s a really great article that does indeed answer your questions, you will tell others about it via social media or by posting links on message boards and forums where you are an active participant. A unique article succeeds because it addresses a topic that no one else effectively has.

The value of an article with little competition increases exponentially. So anytime you’re brainstorming new blog content topics, be sure to do a search for articles that may be similar in nature. If you do find similar content, make sure yours offers a different perspective or creative spin. If you do not find similar articles, this is your golden opportunity to publish something truly unique.

3. Keep to a schedule and plan ahead.

A schedule is critical when it comes to sustaining your blog over the long term. The frequency with which you update your blog with new content – whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly – will be different depending the nature of your industry and your audience. However, sticking to that schedule is what’s important, because it is all too easy to miss a deadline and brush it off as no big deal. But once you miss one deadline, it’s that much easier to miss another and another and another – until the gap between articles becomes substantial, and getting back on track becomes a grueling uphill battle.

One way to ensure that you keep to a schedule is to plan ahead, and planning ahead starts with ideas. If you dedicate time for you and your team to brainstorm article topics (whether individually or in a group session), you’ll inevitably find that one great idea leads to another and another.

When you have a handful of great article concepts to work on, it’s often tempting to publish these articles in quick succession. However, it’s important to avoid this temptation. Instead, make the most of your brainstorming momentum and plan out exactly when each of these articles will be published based on a regular, sustainable rhythm.

By having a handful of quality articles in queue, you can more easily keep to your schedule. And, of course, while you are waiting to publish those new articles, you can brainstorm new ideas and write those articles so that you always have fresh content at the ready.

Maintaining a schedule helps ensure that you do not publish new articles either too infrequently or too frequently but instead maintain a steady stream of quality content so that your readers know when to expect new articles and remain engaged with your blog.

4. Keep it short and sweet.

One concern I often hear voiced when I speak with clients about blogging is that they fear they will not be able to maintain a regular rhythm of publishing because of the time it takes to do so.

Yes, writing blog content takes time, but if you’re doing it right, it’s not as much as you might think. Blog articles do not need to be lengthy to be effective. In fact, short articles that are very sharply focused and easy to read are often the most effective and popular articles you can write.

By keeping articles short in length but high in quality, you can publish great content with much less of a demand on resources than you may have initially expected while still realizing the value that fresh blog content brings to your site.

5. Enlist help.

Another way to minimize the time impact of creating new blog content is to spread the workload around. If only one individual in your organization is tasked with authoring articles for your blog, then the entire burden of maintaining your publishing schedule falls on their shoulders, which means you also have a single point of failure if their other job responsibilities start encroaching on their available time for blogging. If you have a team of authors, however, then the impact on any one individual is minimized.

In addition to the benefits of sharing the responsibilities, having multiple voices represented on your blog also brings much needed variety to its content. Different authors bring different ideas, expertise and perspectives to the table, helping to create a more well‐rounded blog. Plus, if your organization offers a variety of services, then having experts who can cover a wide array of subjects will give your blog relevance to a broader audience.

When enlisting authors for your blog, look for those with distinct voices that will bring something new to the site as well as those who are enthusiastic about writing and eager to contribute.

You should also seek out those aforementioned subject matter experts in your organization. Many people are hesitant to recruit these experts to write – often because they are so valuable to an organization that pulling them away from their “real work” is seen as counterproductive. This could not be further from the truth. The reality is that these subject matter experts have a perspective that others do not. Remember, you want unique, relevant content that will resonate with your audience. What better way to achieve that goal than by turning to those who know it best? As an added bonus, when your readers see that you have true experts at work behind the scenes, your business and your brand as a whole will benefit from a boost in reputation.

6. Embrace current events.

Timeliness can be important in blog articles. When a topic is current, it is often relevant and being actively sought out by interested readers. Therefore, creating blog content that addresses those current events and latest development can be a great way to add articles to your site with information that others are talking about and looking for right now.

If you are consistently on the lookout for relevant current events that you can build content around, and you are also answering frequently asked client questions as covered earlier in this article, then you are well on your way to ensuring you never run out of possible ideas for new blog content.

7. Get ready to share.

If publishing timely, relevant and unique blog content is step one in building and maintaining a successful blog for your website, then promoting that blog content is a logical step two.

Great content will get found, but can do a lot to facilitate this process by promoting it. Yes, this means letting your connections on social media know about a new article once it is published, but just posting a link on your company’s Facebook page is not enough. You also need to also look for more targeted situations where you can share this content.

One example would be to include a link an email exchange you are having with a current client or prospect as a reference point when they ask a question that your post helps to answer. Furthermore, you and your team should become active participants on other websites and forums where the members of your tribe live day in and day out and where you can post links to your articles when appropriate to the conversation (don’t overdo it, of course, or you’ll become a community pariah). Also, by featuring related articles within each post in your blog, you can introduce readers to other content that they may not have been looking for at that moment, but which they will find valuable, too.

Whatever avenues of promotion you use – and you should use a number of different methods – the goal is to spread the word to readers who are looking for the content you are creating.

Watch your hard work pay off.

There’s no doubt about it – maintaining an effective blog is hard work. But with strategic planning and a solid team behind you, you can publish quality content on a regular basis – content that will serve as a powerful catalyst for bringing new visitors to your website and new customers through your doors.

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10 Principles of Trustcasting in the Web Marketing Universe

In today’s marketplace, the Web is where customers are won and businesses grow. It starts with a great website – one that has successfully confronted and conquered the challenges of providing a beautiful interface, engaging content and utility beyond your primary offering. However, even the best site is only the first step; it’s the foundation upon which you can start to develop a community around your brand. Once you’ve launched your site, you’ve effectively set up shop and opened the doors. That’s when the real work begins. To get and keep customers, you must master the Web marketing universe beyond your own site. You must actively seek out those whose needs, desires and interests align with the products or services you offer, draw them in and engage them in conversation. This is where trustcasting, the ongoing process of building and maintaining trust between a business and its customers, comes into play. As you venture out into the Web marketing universe, you’ll find a myriad of different channels for reaching and interacting with potential customers – from Facebook and Twitter to blogging, videocasting and more. While it may initially feel like daunting and unfamiliar territory, the key to navigating this new landscape successfully is to ensure that all of your efforts are driven by the motivation of establishing and keeping trust. As long as you always follow the principles of trustcasting, you will inevitably turn contacts into customers, customers into fans and fans into evangelists, all while cultivating a vibrant virtual community. Following are some smart trustcasting strategies that you can use to gain trust and grow your business in the Web marketing universe.

1. Give a little, gain a lot.

The first step in gaining the trust of a potential customer who may not yet be familiar with or invested in your brand is to offer them something of value in order to establish that you are interested in forming a relationship that is mutually beneficial, rather than simply self-serving. An easy way to open the lines of communication is to reward the act of becoming your friend, fan or follower on a social networking site with a special discount or promotion. Amelie’s...A French Bakery in Charlotte, N.C., recently rewarded their Facebook fans with a free favorite treat, driving their number of fans from 2,500 to over 3,000 in just over two weeks’ time.

2. Once you’ve captured their attention, don’t betray their trust.

Just because someone has added you as their friend or fan on Facebook or chosen to follow you on Twitter doesn’t give you free reign to bombard them with self-promotional messages and sales pitches. In order to keep their trust and earn their loyalty, you must continue to engage them with offers and information they can’t get elsewhere. Develop a reputation in the Web marketing universe for consistently delivering quality content that is helpful to your customers or advice that makes their lives easier or better, even if in a small way. For example, a specialty foods shop could maintain a blog featuring useful tips for entertaining. From easy recipes to food and wine pairings to simple centerpieces to fun themes, this information would resonate with the type of person who would be inclined to frequent such a shop. By providing fresh content on a regular basis (promoted through Facebook and Twitter), the shop owner keeps the reader engaged, building trust with every post and reaping the benefits when it’s time for their next dinner party. Granted, this requires an ongoing commitment of time and energy, but the reward is turning a friend into a customer into an evangelist for your brand.

3. Throw away your “i” key.

Okay – maybe not literally. But do use it sparingly. According to a study of 60,000 tweeters by viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella, those who use social language (“we,” “you’) or language that describes relationships and communication are more successful in attracting followers than those who tend to talk more about themselves (“I”). Why, you ask? Then ask yourself this, what if you found yourself in face-to-face conversation with someone who talked exclusively about themselves? Would you want to continue interacting with that person? Would you have any reason to believe that person had any concern for you, your desires, your needs or your priorities? Certainly not. Even if the culture of the Web marketing universe is unfamiliar to you, the rules of engagement are no different. Don’t lose sight of the fact that, at the end of the day, you are one real person relating to another real person. Behave online as you would standing in a room with your followers. Invest in the lives of your customers, show genuine concern for the things that matter to them, demonstrate willingness to help in ways that do not immediately benefit you, and you will make great strides in building trust.

4. Power to the people.

Nothing you could ever say about your own company will hold the same level of credibility as the word-of-mouth reviews of your customers. The good news about this is that in the era of social media, it has become second nature for people to post online about almost everything they experience in real life. Use this tendency to your advantage by giving your customers a soap box to tell others about you and build trust on your behalf. For example, creating a Facebook group provides a centralized place where customers can post reviews and comments. Taking this idea one step further, find those who already have a loyal following, and empower them to evangelize for your brand. In 2009, True Value launched a three-month “DIY Blog Squad” promotion. They identified five highly popular home improvement blogs and challenged the bloggers to take on a project using materials from their stores. Although the bloggers were compensated by True Value for these materials and their time to write about their experiences, they were free to share their own opinions and were not paid to publish positive comments. Through this promotion, True Value reached legions of loyal readers and eager DIY-ers across the country, taking advantage of the trust in the credibility of the bloggers’ reviews to earn trust for their brand by extension.

5. Don’t underestimate the “good” of the greater good.

Today’s consumers want to know that the companies they do business with are committed not only to making their own lives easier but also to making a contribution to the community as a whole. Being a good corporate citizen demonstrates to the public that there are principles behind your brand. In doing so, you forge bonds of trust with your customers, who perceive your actions as evidence that you share their values and, by extension, that your motives are rooted in more than simply what’s best for your bottom line. The Web marketing universe offers great opportunity to practice social responsibility in ways that also engage your fans or followers. For example, Yoga Today, an virtual yoga studio that offers video classes online, is currently donating a portion of their profits to the American Red Cross for their Haiti relief efforts. Although it requires a small investment on the part of Yoga Today, this promotion will pay dividends in spades. Not only will it help drive traffic to their primary site and give customers added incentive to sign up for classes in February, it also gives all followers – whether or not they choose to act on the offer – reason to trust in the company’s values.

6. Respond in real time.

In the digital age, you can’t afford to sit back and wait for someone to come across your ad in the phone book. Don’t just hope that they’ll remember your ad when the need for your product or services arises. Instead, be proactive in the Web marketing universe. Use tools such as TweetDeck or monitter to track mentions of keywords and locations of tweeters. Identify people who have problems or issues that you can address, and reach out to them with helpful advice and solutions. By taking the time to meet their needs through a one-on-one approach, you can easily gain the trust and loyalty of a new customer or even turn an angry customer into a fan for life.

7. Be generous with your expertise.

You know your stuff better than anyone. Share that expertise with the world, and you’ll not only gain the trust of your prospective customers but also establish yourself as a credible source of useful information. This rule goes against conventional wisdom about growing a business. Companies tend to shy away from sharing their knowledge, fearing that if they reveal too much, prospects will no longer need to do business with them. The truth is that you don’t need to give away trade secrets to build trust. An HVAC repair business doesn’t need to post detailed manuals on maintaining every model they service, nor does a dentist need to refrain from writing about home whitening products for fear that prospects won’t come to the office. However, tips on performing a seasonal check on an air conditioning unit to spot problems and save money – along with tips on how to take proper care of your teeth at home – are good examples of how these types of businesses can effectively share their expertise with the greater community and create a reputation as a trusted resource while simultaneously growing their customer base.

8. A little humility goes a long way.

Be gracious and genuine. Admit mistakes. Personally address and correct the issue. Apologize. Customers are not only king; they are picky, they are fickle and they are demanding. Many businesses preach that the customer is always right, but few practice it. One delighted customer can spread your message and be an evangelist for your brand. The opposite – the dissatisfied customer – can cause 10 times the devastation. Addressing issues that arise in the Web marketing universe must be approached differently than dealing with problems face-to-face at the checkout counter. Generally speaking, when you respond to a complaint online, such as on a Facebook group page, you are doing so in a public forum. As such, it is critical always to err on the side of humility. Don’t go on the defensive. Instead, take the criticism to heart, thank the customer for their feedback and examine the matter closely. Be gracious and genuine. Admit mistakes. Personally address and correct the issue. Apologize. Don’t fear that you will lose trust by acknowledging fault or error. Instead, your followers, fans, other customers, prospective customers and the community at-large will recognize your humility and sincerity in fixing the problem, and the resolution will blossom into greater trust.

9. Turn ideas into action.

The Web marketing universe offers companies the ability to be constantly tuned in to their customers’ needs, wants and opinions in ways never before possible. To make the most of this opportunity, you must be vigilant in keeping tabs on your wall posts on Facebook, monitoring mentions of your company on Twitter and following your reviews on Yelp or any number of other sites driven by user contributions. As feedback comes in, it is important to respond promptly and keep the conversation going in order to keep your fans and followers engaged. Even more important, however, is to carefully examine the information you are receiving. Take note of patterns and trends. Are there certain requests or concerns that arise repeatedly? Taking this one step further, you can use your Facebook page and Twitter account to solicit input from your customers. For example, a coffee shop could take an informal survey of their Facebook fans to get feedback on their hours of operation or whether or not live music would be a welcome addition. You don’t need to respond to the wishes and whims of every customer. However, if you can identify a legitimate void or an area where improvement can be made based on the comments you are reading, you should take action. While the trust-building effects of these kinds of changes are not as immediate as interacting with fans on Facebook or followers on Twitter, they are nevertheless real.  Over time your customers will recognize and appreciate that you take their input to heart and tailor your products or services to better meet their needs.

10. Community-building is serious business, but that’s not to say it can’t also be fun.

Remember when you had your first delighted customer? Or accomplished that first big project? Or you first heard your company name being announced? The fun of business – and this is not just for small business – is in applying passion. And if you truly love what you do, customers will recognize and respond to your passion, and they will invest their trust in you. The very nature of trustcasting is that people want to interact with people, not companies. Be real. Be yourself. Take an example from two competing heating and air conditioning repair companies in Charlotte, N.C. – Brothers Heating and Air and Morris-Jenkins. Both offer tips and helpful information. Both are out to create a reputation. Both have extended themselves to the greater community beyond their own websites. Both use their actual employees and customers in their commercials. The fun of business – and this is not just for small business – is in applying passion. Brothers has your standard advertising. The announcement of their service, their specials, pictures and videos with reminders that they are everywhere. Morris-Jenkins adds something more to the equation. Their ads and photos show the smiling faces of everyone in the company. They paint a picture that says they simply love what they do. That sense of passion comes out in the greatest measure through their television commercials that show their employees smiling and singing their seasonal catch phrases (“You’ll have cool air at your house tonight” or “You’ll have warm heat at your house tonight!”). In fact, the ads have been running for so long now, they have become a bit of tradition in the Queen City. Both companies strive to do their own form of trustcasting, but Morris-Jenkins clearly has fun doing theirs. It not only translates to better business inside, but better growth as people connect the name and the jingle with friendly service, honesty and a promise of service delivered quickly when it’s needed.

Start Today

The practice of trustcasting in the Web marketing universe is a rhythmic business process that you must adopt to replace the carpet-bombing tactics of old marketing if you want to get ahead of the competition in today’s marketplace. Given the level of time and focused attention required, this may seem like a tall order, especially for a small business. However, this is where a qualified trustcasting agency can help. They can not only guide you through the Web marketing universe but can also work with you to execute these trustcasting principles, assuring your long-term success in getting customers and growing your business.

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