In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to keep in constant communication with your customers through multiple channels. Putting together a high-quality content marketing strategy is a great way to start engaging customers with your brand, and perhaps the best and simplest way to get started is with blogging. This white paper addresses how you can develop compelling, informative blog content on a consistent basis — and then promote that content online. We’ll start by establishing a sound process for your business blog writing.

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A Blog Content Writing Guide for
Your Business
Planning, developing & promoting your blog for greater content marketing success
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In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to keep in constant communication
with your customers through multiple channels. Putting together a high-quality content
marketing strategy is a great way to start engaging customers with your brand, and perhaps the
best and simplest way to get started is with blogging.
A blog is a terrific marketing resource
for several reasons. First, it gives you
an opportunity to speak to your current
and potential customers about
important issues related to your
industry, while giving them the ability
to respond and engage in dialogue with
you in the comments section. This type
of back-and-forth between businesses
and consumers helps to inspire brand
loyalty and adds a personal touch to
the way you interact with your
customers.
A blog that’s consistently updated with
good, informative content is likely to be
one of the most-visited sections of your website. It also can do wonders for your search engine
optimization (SEO) efforts.
This white paper addresses how you can develop compelling, informative blog content on a
consistent basis — and then promote that content online. We’ll start by establishing a sound
process for your blog writing.
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GETTING STARTED: DEVELOPING YOUR PROCESS
Creating quality, informative blog content on a
consistent basis isn’t easy. It takes persistence,
creativity and a commitment that lasts longer than
a few months. Your blog is always a work in
progress.
The following are some steps you can take as you
work on your blog writing process:
Prewriting and topic generation
Everyone, including the most seasoned writers, get
writer’s block from time to time. You can probably
relate, no matter what level of writing you do. That’s why it’s so important to focus first on
forming some ideas before you sit down to develop a draft.
If you’re completely stuck, try carrying an idea notebook or download a note-taking app on your
phone to make sure you have a place to jot down any ideas that come up as you go about your
day. Once you have an idea or topic in mind, expand on it before getting started.
One of the best ways to do this is through free writing, which allows you to write anything that
comes to mind without worrying about formatting or style. In other words, just sit down, write
and don’t stop to edit—you’ll have time for that later.
Getting started with a rough draft
As you write the first draft of your blog post, don’t focus too much on proper grammar,
spelling, word count and the general nuts and bolts of your content. Instead, concern yourself
only with getting your ideas into a workable draft that you will condense or expand on later.
At this stage, it is important to set aside some quality alone time to concentrate on writing. Find
your happy writing place, such as a coffee shop, a quiet restaurant, the library or your home.
Turn off your cell phone and steer clear of email and browsing the web. This is your time to
focus on writing.
At the end of this stage, it might be a good idea to let someone else read through your piece to
give an opinion on the readability and interest of your writing. Make sure it is someone you
trust both personally and professionally.
Edit and fine-tune
After you have a rough draft, it’s time to revise and edit for general flow. This might take some
time, as many writers go through several rounds of revisions before reaching a final version.
Next, you should check for grammatical errors, hard-to-read paragraphs, spelling mistakes and
other issues that might impact readability. Many writers have found that they are most
successful when they print out a document rather than reading off a screen. Again, it might be
necessary to have someone else review your blog post to catch any errors you could have
missed.
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BRAINSTORMING BLOG TOPIC IDEAS WHEN YOU’RE STUCK
One of the most challenging aspects of business blogging is coming up wit fresh topic ideas.
The following are nine creative steps you can take to brainstorm new subjects to cover in your
blog content:
1. Ask your readers: Poll your readers on the
topics about which they would like to learn
more. Think about some of the common
questions your customers have asked you
recently. This will give you a good idea of the
subjects your target audience finds interesting
or useful.
2. Brainstorm with coworkers, friends and
other bloggers: Set aside an hour or so to sit
down with your colleagues or other industry
professionals to brainstorm new topics. This is
often much more effective than going at it alone, as you get the benefit of multiple perspectives.
3. Interview an expert in the industry: Find someone you respect or admire and ask that
person 10 questions about the industry in which you compete. It’s a great way to come up with
interesting content, and you may even reap some additional rewards in the form of networking.
4. Work with a professional copywriter: Writing all of your blog content yourself is time-
consuming, and few entrepreneurs or business owners can keep up. That’s why so many blogs
fall by the wayside. Working with a professional writer helps your brand remain consistent.
5. Review a product, service or book: Find a new product related to your field, try it out and
write an honest review on it. If you’ve recently read a book connected to your industry, share
what you’ve learned with others. Making sound recommendations is a great way to get people to
read and engage with your blog content.
6. Bring back popular posts or articles: If you’ve been blogging for some time, you may have
found that certain posts were particularly popular with readers. Consider reusing this content
by providing updates or building on what you previously wrote.
7. Consider the trends: Pay attention to trends in your industry by following other blogs,
reading trade publications and engaging with others on social media. Work any recent trends
into your blog posts (when applicable) to grab readers’ attention.
8. Make it fun: Some blog topics are inherently more interesting than others, but even if you’re
writing on a fairly lackluster concept, try to find ways to bring humor or fun into the content.
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes and think about whether your content is truly engaging.
9. Share something personal: Sometimes it’s intimidating to put yourself and your thoughts
out there for all to read. However, by sharing some personal details or anecdotes on your blog,
you show readers that there’s a human being behind the content. This can help you connect
with your target audience much more effectively.
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PROMOTING YOUR BLOG CONTENT IN A BALANCED WAY
Once you’ve established your blog and written some content, it’s time to make sure readers
have access to it. However, it’s important find the right balance between contributing to an
online community — such as a social media network — and being overtly self-promotional in
your efforts to bring more attention to your blog content.
The following are some tips to help you find that balance when promoting your online content:
• Don’t make clicks your end goal: If you’re joining other online communities, don’t make
clicks to your website the main reason you’re there. Instead, focus on developing personal
connections with other users. The better you get to know people within the community,
the more open they will be to checking out your content.
• Balance what you share on social media: There are a few popular ratios you should
follow for the content you post on social media. You could follow the “rule of thirds,” in
that a third of your updates should be about you and your content, another third sharing
content from others and a final third focused on personal interactions with others. You
could also follow the 5-3-2 rule, in which five posts are content from others, three are
your content and two are personal updates or interactions.
• Comment on other people’s work: Read other related blogs and leave quality comments.
The word “quality” is important here — you should actually put some thought into what
you comment, because a) it reflects better on you and your brand, b) it makes people
more likely to want to come to your blog content to see what you have to say and c) it
removes any doubt that you are only reading and commenting for the purpose of self-
promotion.
Ultimately, even when you follow these tips, people will know that you are trying to promote
your own content. But by making a valid effort at being a part of a community and contributing
something meaningful, you will get more attention in a more organic way. And you’ll likely find
that others are more than happy to return the favor by sharing the great content you’re
offering!
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BLOGGING: ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS
Our writers and editors work with a wide
variety of businesses across nearly all
sizes and industries to develop articles
for their company blogs. Many of our
clients have never had a blog before they
began working with us, so naturally they
have some questions when they are first
getting started.
The following are a few of the most
frequently asked questions we receive
when it comes to creating effective and
informative blog content:
Q: Which topics should you cover?
Generally, you want to keep your blog content topics limited to those that relate to your
industry, your brand and your niche. Anything you think your customers would find interesting
or useful could make good fodder for your content. Some types of businesses have narrower
verticals than others, but this is a good place to start.
Q: How often should you post?
This depends on your overall content marketing goals. We typically recommend publishing a
new blog post at least once a week. Google’s search algorithms reward websites that regularly
post new, informative content, so you don’t get a whole lot of SEO benefit if you’re posting less
than once weekly. Posting more often also helps keep your customers coming back to your
website to view more content.
Q: What makes a blog post a success?
If you have people read it and enjoy it, you can consider your blog content a success from one
standpoint. There are certain elements of posts that position them for better success, including
an interesting and relevant title, easily digestible information, related images for more visual
appeal and, most of all, high-quality writing.
Q: Does your business really need a blog?
If you are serious about content marketing and improving your search engine rankings, having a
quality blog can only help you. It’s a relatively small investment that can pay big dividends if
done consistently and over an extended period of time. Nearly all businesses and organizations
can benefit from blogging, especially if they have a unique niche.
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FINDING THE RIGHT COPYWRITING PARTNER FOR YOUR BLOG
One of the greatest challenges
businesses and marketers face when
outsourcing their blog writing needs
is ensuring they maintain quality and
value in their content while reducing
costs. Many copywriting firms,
including copy mills and overseas-
based companies, fail to provide
consistently strong and well-written
content — impeding the effectiveness
of content marketing strategies.
But does it have to be that way? Some
outsourced copywriting service
providers, such as those based in the
United States like ProPRcopy, are able to deliver high-quality, professionally written content at
competitive price points. The solutions these upper-tier firms provide are worth exploring for a
number of reasons:
1. Outsourced copywriting saves on costs
The main reason why you may be looking to outsource your content writing in the first place is
to reduce expenses. Nowadays, the sheer volume of content businesses must create is
overwhelming for in-house staff, and hiring writers to take on this work is cost-prohibitive.
Reputable copywriting firms offer a much more affordable and scalable solution, allowing you
to essentially reap the benefits of an in-house staff without the unnecessary expenses and
rigidity that come with it.
2. A good copywriting firm maintains consistent quality
By working with an organization that staffs professional and experienced U.S.-based
copywriters and editors, businesses and marketers know who they’re working with and gain
comfort in the level of quality they will receive on a regular basis. Firms like ProPRcopy allow
you to work directly with an editor, giving you the ability to develop a strong working
relationship around shared goals.
3. Experienced copywriters understand the target audience
When companies try to outsource their copywriting needs to an overseas provider, the most
common complaint is that the content they get back is of poor quality and does not connect
well with the intended target audience. This is very frustrating, and it can be difficult to work
through the revision process — if the provider offers revisions as an option at all.
A good copywriting service provider is also able to deliver a wider range of services, including
blog content, website copy, press release writing and distribution, social media content and
email marketing.

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4. Industry knowledge matters
The best copywriting firms have people on their team who have written for a wide range of
different industries, businesses and subject areas. It’s helpful to work with copywriters and
editors who have created content for your industry in the past, and who you know are able to
understand the needs of your business and its various customer profiles.
If you’ve been exploring the options for outsourcing your copywriting needs, consider the
benefits of working with a U.S.-based firm rather than a copy mill or an overseas provider.
Instead, partner with a firm that offers you the high level of quality you need, while delivering
some much-needed relief to your budget.
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Learn more about developing strong blog content on a consistent basis.
Work with the skilled copywriters at ProPRcopy today.
Professional | Affordable | Fast
(800) 746-3121
info@proprcopy.com
www.ProPRcopy.com