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Ask Me Anything: 10 Answers to Your Boss' Questions About Blogging

Friday 5 June 2015

14 minute read

By Sarah Burns

Blogging is... well, a bit of a nightmare, which is why most people know why they should blog, but still put it off because of X, Y, Z.

This blog answers your common questions and queries about blogging, so those excuses (X, Y and Z) can be used no more!

We want to help businesses produce content marketing - including blogs - that give them proven results, in terms of reach, awareness and thought leadership.

So, let's get started...!

Answered: 10 Frequently Asked Questions About Blogging

1. How do I come up with blog titles?

Simple! Discover what your audience needs from you. What are their common questions or concerns about your industry, services or products? Provide the question in your title, then actually give your full answer in the post. Another great tip, is that lists go down a treat (as do reverse lists i.e. 6 Reasons Not To / 5 Things To Avoid), so consider those after you've nailed your FAQ blogs!

Try our amazing resource for ultimate blog title inspiration!

2. When should I blog - and how many times do I do it?

There is no right way to blog and for everybody the quantity is going to be different. At the end of the day, you should be blogging regularly, but not necessarily, three, four or five times a week, to be exact.

Focus on preparing blog posts that are published in a routinely manner, whether that's bi-weekly, weekly or fortnightly.

Of course, the more quality posts you produce the more it will help with indexing pages and boosting your SEO rankings, as well as giving you more content to share and increasing brand awareness. However, as for as Thrive is concerned, any amount is a fantastic start!

3. Do I share my blogs with people? If so, how?

YES! Be that in email campaigns, social media posts, online newsletters or sticking them in a bottle and throwing it in the ocean (not necessarily our first choice of marketing or promotion)!

Consider where your target audience is (this might differ, depending on your blog post topic) and share the content there - and only there. 

It's also wise to have 'Recent Blogs' on your generic email newsletters, just to keep awareness up that you're regularly sharing new advice, news and tips. 

4. When does blogging give me a return?

This is difficult. In fact, there is no exact answer. But, bare with me and I'll give it a try...

Blogs don't perform magic overnight, that's a fact. What they do is build up and become reusable collateral. If you produce fantastic blog posts that answer your audience's questions or concerns (see #1) then they're going to be read, (it's as simple as that, really)!

Blogs - and content marketing, in general - build trust. Trust in brands, builds relationships between strangers and companies, ultimately this trust awards you with a 'warm lead'. Warm leads can be nurtured into customers. Everyone knows that this process doesn't happen overnight, but it hands down beats the approach of cold sales! 

Producing blogs increases your SEO rank and it also makes producing other content and resources (social media statuses, ebooks, seminars, offine content etc) easier, because you already have raw material in existence. 

Isn't that a return (time, resource, convenience) in itself?

5. Which platform should I use to blog?

This depends on the type of blogger you aim to be, how much money you can invest in your new content marketing approach and what kind of website you already have. 

Some websites are built on WordPress, so they are automatically much easier to produce a blog. Other websites support WordPress as a plugin, so you keep brand consistency and have a nifty little blog platform as a bonus. 

Others are adopting HubSpot (speak to Thrive about this by emailing hello@thriveability.co.uk) or using a custom built platform (often harder - but not always - to format, edit and schedule posts, again ask us!).

We can help discuss your options, but don't let the problem of sorting a blog platform put you offblogging altogether! We can offer concise advice and there are many ways to initiate your blogging strategy!

6. What images can I put on my blog?

This is tricky. If it's actually designing your blog / website platform, be very careful. 

If you're on about including featured images or images inside your blog post, there are lots of great sources for fantastic quality, free images.

Check out Improve Your Blog Posts and Social Media Statuses with FREE Stock Images!

7. How do I let people know my blog exists?

Share them! Whether it's by word of mouth (i.e. 'Did you check out...?'), social media ('Read our latest blog X...') or as part of email campaigns it's important to just get the message out there that you're producing this content (otherwise what is the point?).

Of course, as long as you implement the correct ALT tags and SEO basics (i.e. is your blog subject header actually optimised to be what your audience would search for?) then you should eventually see some organic traffic finding your posts.

Ultimately, think of #4 and expect a slow, but steady stream of subscribers.

Read our blog, 5 SEO Must-Dos For A Searchable Business, about SEO basics.

8. I know I should blog, but I don't have the time, energy or resource to do so - what do I do?

Breathe! This isn't a fatal situation to be in! The key about blogging is about being prepared, so take your time in preparing ideas for titles, then producing 5-10 blogs. Publish them weekly or fortnightly and instantly you have given yourself either a month or two to produce the next set!

Otherwise, why not outsource? Thrive has an excellent content marketing team that produces blog posts to suit many industries and companies. The key thing to remember, when outsourcing, is if you're getting worth from the process - does it free up time and improve on your reputation? Or, does it cause more stress and diminish your brand by being of poor quality?

9. Is there another way of creating content, other than blogging?

Yes! However, why do the others if you aren't blogging?

  • Producing SlideShare presentations
  • Creating social media posts
  • Uploading content to LinkedIn Pulse
  • Sending out email campaigns
  • Designing infographics

Why not make your content stretch and originate all of that content in your blog then share it through those other methods? This increases your reach so many times over!

I mean, when you think about it, it's foolish not to blog, if you're already working hard on social media, email campaigns and X amount of other platforms - tsk! 

10. Can you direct me to some tips, guides or tools that will help me blog?

Well, of course I can, my friend! Try one of our many resources on blogging, including:


What next?

Put your feet up and relax! After all, you read this blog!

Wait, scratch that, let's put these ten answers into practice!

Get in touch with Thrive via email (hello@thriveability.co.uk), phone (01325 778 786) or download some of our excellent blogging materials (visit this page).

If you're looking to embark on a website build project, whether it's completely from scratch or a site refresh, our ebook will give you the knowledge to make your project as stress-free as possible.

The Website Design Handbook for Businesses

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