The document discusses best practices for small business blogging. It recommends blogging to get more traffic, help with SEO, build loyalty and trust. The author shares her experience starting a blog through a 30-day blogging challenge. She discusses strategies for content topics, posting schedules, tools and plugins. Suggested topics include problem/solution posts, FAQs, how-to guides and reviews. The goal is to help and educate readers while driving new business opportunities.

1. THE HOW & WHY OF
SMALL BUSINESS
BLOGGING
CLAIRE BROTHERTON @abrightclearweb
WORDCAMP LONDON, APRIL 2016

2. WHO AM I?
• Freelance web developer
• Edinburgh-based

3. WHY BLOG?
• get more traffic
• help SEO
• build loyalty
• build trust & credibility
• help & educate others
• help yourself (!)
• gain new business opportunities

4. HOW?
• establish a schedule
• use tools
• join accountability groups
• prioritize the time
• write posts the right way

5. MY INSPIRATION

6. HOW I STARTED…

7. IT ALL CHANGED WITH A
TWEET…

8. WHICH LED TO A
CONVERSATION

9. AND A
30 DAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE
• Run by Sarah & Kevin Arrow of Sark eMedia
(www.sarkemedia.com)
• 1 email a day for 30 days with suggestions for posts
• Post 1 blog daily for 30 days

10. MENTORING
& SUPPORT

11. AND REWARDS :)

12. AND MORE…

13. DISCOVERIES DURING THE
CHALLENGE
• It’s time-consuming
• It definitely takes longer to write technical posts!
• But rewarding
• Need to be persistent
• Life can get in the way - it’s ok

14. • Designers/developers
• Students
• Lay people using WordPress or other online things
• People who have been to the same events
• Potential clients!
AUDIENCE

15. POSTING STRATEGY
• Research your posts
• Write long posts if you can
• Mark up your posts properly (title, headings, alt text, meta
description)
• Only one <h1> per page - the post title
• Bullet points and images good to break up text

17. POSTING STRATEGY
• Write on a schedule you are
comfortable with
• Needs to be regular to build
traction

18. POSTING STRATEGY
• Call to action
• Leave plenty of time to
publicise posts
• Email your list if you have one
• Reply to comments
• Comment on/share other
people’s posts

19. WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT
FAQ
List post
Event
report
Pricing
+
How-To
Problem &
solution
Review or
comparison

22. BLOGGING ETHICS
• Copyright
• Outsourcing

23. WORDPRESS PLUGINS
I USE

24. BETTER CLICK TO TWEET

25. BROKEN LINK CHECKER

26. COSCHEDULE BY TODAYMADE

27. JETPACK

28. SUMOME

29. YOAST
SEO

30. TOOLS I USE

31. TOOLS I USE

32. TOOLS I USE

33. - Rachel McCollin,WordPress developer and writer
“A blog is an invaluable tool for driving new
visitors to your site.
I've often found that people researching
something online have found one of my blog
posts on the subject and after reading it, they've
hired me to do it for them instead of doing it
themselves.”

34. - Jo Waltham, web developer, CalliaWeb
“Be helpful. Write posts which either help
solve an issue or educate. Our best performing
posts are when we write how to solve some
glitch that we ran into.”

35. “Blogging helped me get to know my future ideal
customers. I learned a lot about their motivations,
goals, challenges and struggles.”
- Paige Poutiainen, Create Blog Love

36. QUESTIONS?
• www.abrightclearweb.com/blog/
• claire@abrightclearweb.com
• @abrightclearweb

37. WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT
1. Problem & solution
e.g. Four Plugins To Improve WordPress Accessibility
http://www.abrightclearweb.com/four-plugins-to-improve-wordpress-accessibility/
2. FAQs
e.g. ProBlogger FAQ: How Often Should I Post?
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2015/04/21/problogger-faq-how-often-should-i-post/
3. How-to/Tutorial
e.g. How to Set UpYoast WordPress SEO Plugin [Updated]
http://www.shoutmeloud.com/how-to-set-up-yoast-wordpress-seo-plugin-
configuration.html
4. List post
e.g. 25+ Free Responsive Corporate WordPress Themes for Business 2016
http://www.codeinwp.com/blog/free-wordpress-business-themes/

38. WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT
5. Review or comparison
e.g. Divi ThemeVs Thrive Themes vs X Theme - Pros and Cons
http://madlemmings.com/2015/05/18/x-theme-vs-divi-vs-thrive-themes/
6. Event report
e.g. My Take On WordCamp US In Photos
https://serverpress.com/my-take-on-wordcamp-us-in-photos/
7. Pricing in your industry
e.g.WhyYou Can’t Get The Best Website For £500
http://www.abrightclearweb.com/why-you-cant-get-the-best-website-
for-500/

39. WORDPRESS PLUGINS
I USE
• Better Click to Tweet
https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-click-to-tweet/
• Broken Link Checker
https://wordpress.org/plugins/broken-link-checker/
• Coschedule by Todaymade
https://wordpress.org/plugins/coschedule-by-todaymade/
• Jetpack
https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/
• SumoMe
https://sumome.com
• Yoast SEO
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/

40. TOOLS I USE
• Coschedule Headline Analyzer
http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
• Google Analytics
https://www.google.com/analytics/
• Long Tail Pro
http://www.longtailpro.com
• SEO Edge
http://seoedgeapps.com
• Grammarly
https://www.grammarly.com
• Hemingway Editor
http://www.hemingwayapp.com