Is This Business Blogging Mistake Driving Away Readers?

Think about your favorite blogs, the ones you read every day or every week. What keeps you coming back for more?

Chances are one part of the equation is the quality of the content. Good writing matters. But you also return because you know what to expect. Your favorite bloggers probably focus on one specific theme; they cover it well, and they are your go-to sources for information on their areas of expertise.

But what happens if a blog’s topics are all over the place? One week it’s an informative article about home improvement, but the next is a political rant about the presidential election, followed by some cutesy cat videos. It might be mildly entertaining, but you won’t want to rely on a blog like that for any real knowledge.

The same mistake—publishing off-topic content—can kill your business blog’s readership. Here are four tips for defining your blog’s focus.

1. Think about your business blog’s goals.

What are you trying to accomplish by publishing a business blog? If you are fully engaged in inbound marketing, you want your blog to attract website visitors and generate leads. Other goals for a blog may include establishing your company as a thought leader in your industry.

The blog posts you write should be focused on those goals.

2. Use keywords to identify focal points.

Generate a list of keywords that describe your company and its products or services. These are probably the keywords—both single word and long-tail keywords—you have already discussed in planning search engine optimization for your entire website.

3. Review your areas of expertise.

Is there a specific industry-related topic on which you or your business can share expertise or knowledge? Work from your strengths. Your business’s blog should be a place to showcase your knowledge of your industry and the information you have to share that helps your customers succeed.

4. Think about what your audience is looking for.

Literally. What is your audience searching for — what words are they plugging into that Google search bar, and what problems do they need to solve?

If you have identified customer personas for your ideal customers, focus your blog around the information they are seeking (and the terms they are searching) in order to attract traffic to your blog.

Now, does this mean every single blog post must be completely focused on the business at hand? Not necessarily. We may be inbound marketing evangelists, but that doesn’t mean every post is about blogs, landing pages, calls-to-action or the sales funnel. We mix it up with discussion about motivation and productivity, workplace changes, and even a little humor. But at least four of every five posts in the Inbound Accelerator are focused on making your marketing a little better.

To review, don’t let off-topic content derail your train of thought and turn off readers and potential customers. You’ll find 14 more business blogging mistakes to avoid (and how to fix them if they are already occurring) in our ebook: 15 Business Blogging Mistakes & Easy Fixes. Correct the problems today for increased readership and lead generation tomorrow.