You may be surprised at some rewarding benefits of blogging that you may experience:

• Research that you do from blogging on different topics will be well archived for later retrieval.
• Making your business more transparent, open and honest improves client relations.
• Future clients can assess your expertise by consulting the blog in which you have articulated your approach and complex ideas clearly and effectively.
• Feedback from readers will give you valuable information with which to improve your business approach.
• Participation in a community of professional peers will give you valuable business resources.

All this and more can result from a blog that works for you. So, to summarize, some of our most important recommendations for developing a successful business blog:

1. Cultivate a writing style that is characterized by an honest and authentic perspective that demonstrates your passion and expertise. Potential clients reading the blog will be drawn to authenticity above all else – they are not interested in reading promotional writing from the cold voice of a seemingly large business. They would like to support businesses run by people who love what they do and who are able to express their knowledge effectively.

2. Commit to regular posting to encourage loyal readers. Readers subscribe to blogs that are active with regular posts – the frequency of posting will reflect on the activity and vigour of the business itself.

3. Write posts that are on topic and of reasonable length (500 words is a good number to aim for).

4. Link abundantly to helpful resources for your readers and the posts of other blogs. If you make your site rich with resources in your industry, it will help to establish your business’ reputation and attract new clients and like-minded thinkers to help your business grow.

5. Respond with meaningful comments on the posts of other blogs, as well as those on your own blog. Build relationships in the blogosphere that will help to develop your business and create new opportunities. Make sure that your blog readers know you’re reading their comments and appreciating their feedback. If you keep the lines of communication open and active, potential clients will not hesitate to approach you.

6. Put yourself in the shoes of your readers and create posts that have value.

7. Use headlines that stand out and include relevant keywords.

8. Use embedded videos and images to enhance information and encourage readership. Make your blog an interesting place where you discuss your business and industry – if the atmosphere of the blog and its posts demonstrate expertise, enthusiasm and useful knowledge, you are more likely to attract a devoted readership.

9. Create a clear company blogging policy and/or comment moderation policy. Make it clear to your employee bloggers what is expected for the blog to ensure ongoing success.

10. Have fun! It shows.