Business blogging isn’t complicated, it isn’t even hugely time consuming but it is a bit of an art. That’s because your business blog is a direct extension of your marketing, PR and branding, and it has a purpose to serve.

 

Blogs need to reflect the tone, professional services and ethos of your business while working to a strategy that provides interesting information for current and potential clients.

 

So, let’s look at the elements…

The Tone

All business marketing has a tone or voice. For some it’s strictly professional or authoritative, for others it’s more friendly and familiar, and your blog posts should consistently reflect the tone you select.

 

In practise this means a law firm’s blog pages might be more rigid than an interior designer’s, but there is leeway within the tone you set for your business.

 

In some cases it’s suitable for a blog to speak from a personal viewpoint if it suits your image, or that law firm’s blog we just mentioned might make a point of breaking down legalese into easy to understand terms.

 

Critically, you should establish your blog’s voice from the outset. 

 

Two tones revealed

Below are two examples of different blog tones for two hospitality businesses. Each has a tone that serves to reflect their brand.

 

A Melbourne venue with a little bit of attitude A more traditional Sydney venue
WEDDINGS 101 – For The Realists and RomanticsOkay happy couples pull up a chair, we’ll fix you a stiff drink and talk weddings.

Now you’ve made that little decision of who you’d like to spend your life with, it’s time to ponder the big stuff. You know, the game changers that keep you awake at night like 100gsm or 120gsm weight paper for your invites. Would you like to release a kaleidoscope (yes that is the collective term, cool, huh?) of rare Ulysses butterflies or will some bubbles do?

Hold the hyperventilation and we’ll give you a minute for the Xanax to kick in. Right, sorted? Let’s talk you through how real weddings pan out and how we can help…

 Planning your function in 2018

Whether it’s a work function, a product launch or a family affair like a wedding, planning a function takes time and preparation.

If you’re looking to host a major social event in 2018, here are our top tips to make your function a resounding success.

Start early

The key to planning a function is to start early, scouting out the venues and facilities that will suit you best. Many major venues can be booked out months in advance so set a proposed date and start contacting people on your venue list.

 

Some tips about tone:

  • Select a tone that suits your brand. It should reflect the way you like to see your business or your personal business persona.
  • Friendly, accessible and personable tones suit most businesses well. 
  • Be wary of wit and sarcasm unless it’s an irreverent trait of your brand, and you need to be sure you can really pull it off.
  • It is OK to speak from a personal point of view if you are an authority in your industry and your persona is a major element of your brand. 
  • Using tone is like having a little voice in your head that speaks on behalf of your business. i.e if your business could talk, how would it sound?

 

The content:

 

Finding content for business blogging is easier than many believe. You can find it in the questions customers regularly ask, the news affecting your industry, evergreen content like seasonal changes, or upcoming events, and general tips and hints.

 

That means blogs can be:

  • Pre-emptive and utilise evergreen content – running in advance of events like Valentine’s Day, Australia Day, summer, spring, winter or autumn, Christmas or Back to school.
  • Reactive – Referring to, highlighting or commenting on the latest news affecting your industry like government announcements, industry changes, or research that is released, and providing an insight on what they mean for your clientele.
  • Responsive – Answering commonly asked questions within your business or field with how tos, tips and hints.

 

So, for a real estate agent in North Sydney a series of blog posts may look something like this:

 

  • Sprucing up your home for sale
  • Five tips for selecting the right agent
  • Selling your home in summertime
  • Seven questions every buyer should ask
  • How first home buyer incentives affect you
  • What to look for in an investment property
  • A snapshot of the North Sydney market

 

These topics serve the prime blog purposes of:

 

  • Establishing the agent’s authority a leader in their field
  • Providing interesting information that sees people return to their site
  • Catching people, including sellers, buyers, and investors, via the keywords and topics they search

The structure:  

Like any piece of business marketing, a blog has a structure but the main aim is to ensure it’s easy to read.

 

Generally, blogs are broken down into what’s called a listicle where you present a problem and solve it within a series of subheadings. All this occurs within about 500 to 1000 words, with sections including:

 

The introduction: 

This section presents the problem you’re about to solve or acts as a roundup of what you’re about to cover. 

 

The first paragraph usually starts with a universal statement or fact that clearly sets out your theory and highlights where you’re heading, and then the body is broken down into easily read components under subheadings.

 

The body:

The body of a blog consists of a series of sub-heads, usually about five, that cover the points of what you’re saying. It’s broken down this way to allow for easy skimming and to enable better keyword recognition.

 

The conclusion: 

This rounds up your argument, like a final word, and here you can insert further links to services/products or a full bio of your business. Here’s how that works in practice:

 

An example of blog structure:

 This is a basic example of how blog structure works. In this case it’s for a tutoring business:

 

“Five signs your child may need a tutor”

 

Intro:

No parent wants to see their child struggling at school. (Fact and problem your business can solve) But the good news is the sooner you address any academic challenges, the faster you can set your child back on track and re-instill the confidence they need to thrive in the classroom. (Desired result and solution)

 

Here are the five top signs your child may need a tutor…(Lead in to the authoritative advice you’re about to offer)

 

(Then launch into the following subheads, explaining each)

 

  1. Their grades are slipping
  2. Homework is a hassle
  3. Your child doesn’t want to go to school
  4. They seem withdrawn
  5. They are easily frustrated

 

Conclusion:

It’s hard to watch your child suffer, but the sooner you recognise the signs of struggle, the better placed you are to change their academic future (roundup). At Acme Tutoring we have 50 years’ experience working with children to achieve their academic goals using one-on-one expert tutoring techniques (about you). You can contact us here (link to you) for further advice, or peruse our unique tutoring packages (link to your product).