Sales are the lifeblood of any company. If you are not increasing sales, your business is dying. There are a number of avenues that you can pursue to increase sales but one you may have been overlooking is your company blog.
Your blog is one of the most valuable sales tools you have at your disposal. It is free to create and it can be used to generate leads and convert visitors into new customers. If your business currently does not have a blog you need to start one today. There are a number of resources out there that will show you how to start a blog so you should definitely check them out.
If you already have a business blog, there are a number of ways you can use it to generate new business.
What Is The Purpose Of Your Blog?
This is a question you must answer before you start blogging. Ultimately, you want your blog to generate additional sales, but you need to look at your blog through the eyes of your customer. What do they want?
One thing they do not want is an endless sales pitch. You need to provide valuable information to them so that they not only keep coming back, but they will also start to view you as a trusted voice in your industry.
Each of your blog posts should do one of the three following for your readers:
Educate them
Empower them or
Delight them
Find out what questions or concerns your customer has and write blog posts that address them.
Creating A Blog Post
How do you know what questions and concerns your customer has? Simple, you ask them. If your company has ever sent out a customer questionnaire, you have a treasure trove of information about your customers.
Talk to our employees and ask them about the questions they get asked the most from your customers.
Once you have a dozen or so frequently asked questions, you can start creating blog posts to answer them. Just make sure you are giving your readers solid information that they can act on.
You can also search for keywords that prospects are using when searching for products and services in your industry. Google’s Keyword Planner is an excellent place to start. Once you uncover a few keywords you can build blog posts around them as well.
How Often Should You Blog?
This can vary a lot depending on your industry and how much time you actually have to devote to your blog. As a rule of thumb, you should be blogging at least once per week. Anything more than that and you risk losing your audience.
No matter how frequent you decide to blog, you need to stick to a schedule so your readers know when to expect new content. If you are going to post once a week you need to post on the same day every week. If you decide to post Tuesday and Thursday, make sure you stick to that schedule. Be consistent.
Use Calls To Action In Every Post
Every one of your blog posts should have a call to action (CTA) somewhere in it. If you want your readers to download an ebook or whitepaper, let them know how to do that. If you want them to call and make an appointment, spell that out for them.
Your readers are busy and you have to let them know what they have to do to take the next step. Use big, colorful buttons to make it easy for them to take the next step.
By using these simple tips you will create a business blog that will generate more leads and increase your sales automatically. You should think of your blog as a salesperson that never sleeps or goes on vacation. Your blog is one of the most effective sales tools in your arsenal.