You're a business owner. You have read up on why blogs are beneficial to businesses and understand why “content” has been crowned “King.” A blog can improve SEO, increase website traffic and engage customers…you’re sold! The deal is done. You are going to set up your own business blog. The thing is… you haven’t the foggiest on how?

Don’t worry, Made by Dave has got you covered. BUT! Before we dive into how to set up a blog on your Squarespace website, we thought we’d share a few insights we have gleaned over the years, when building websites for our clients. 

As the old saying goes, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” Okay, perhaps a bit melodramatic! But many of us would agree, it is always beneficial to have a plan. Architects plan buildings before they are built and teachers plan lessons before they get taught. So why not apply the same principle to blogs? 

Set yourself up for a smoother process and greater success, by answering the who, what, where and when of your blog first, before making it live on the world wide web!

Who?

It's all well and good deciding you want to have a business blog. But who is going to write it? Writing a blog takes time and requires commitment. You don’t want to create a blog listing page on your website, only to find you can’t maintain it. An empty or inactive blog can raise questions.

There are a few options on the table. Maybe you want to have a go at writing it yourself. If you feel daunted by the prospect of writing a blog – be it you don’t have the time or don’t fancy yourself as a writer – you could always delegate. You could consider hiring a permanent writer to your team or commission a freelance content writer to take care of it for you. 

Some of you may be thinking, “just get Chat GPT to write them.” Using AI tools can certainly be a great starting point for blogs; they can generate ideas, provide structure and save on research time. However, proceed with caution! 

There is a lot of literature on how blogs are where customers go to find out if they like you. It is an opportunity to connect with customers and inject brand personality. Being a machine, AI lacks the human touch and is, quite simply, not you. Plus, unless you are a complete master with prompts, it could take more time to execute than anticipated. 

Any which way, it is good to keep in mind who your blog serves. Who is your target audience and what added value can you bring to them? Use the answer to this question as your blog content compass. It will keep you on track to writing relevant content that is being searched for by your ideal customer. Which nicely leads us to…

What?

“Blogs are whatever we make them. Defining ‘Blog’ is a fool’s errand.” – Michael Conniff  

As the above quote implies, the world is your oyster when it comes to blogs. Your blog presents an opportunity to showcase all aspects of your business. You could go into more depth about the services you offer or showcase previous case studies. How-to guides can cement your authority on a subject matter and add value, whereas interviews with current employees can give prospective ones a snapshot into your workplace culture. 

But, before running away with every idea that pops into your head, we advise planning your blog content strategically. One of the main benefits of having a blog is that it drives organic traffic to your website. What do we mean by organic traffic? The number of visitors who arrive at your website via an unpaid search on engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing.

If you are limited in your capacity to produce blogs, sticking to evergreen topics is a wise move. What do we mean by evergreen? Well a Christmas tree is evergreen; its pines are lucious and alive all year round. Evergreen blog topics are forever relevant. They will always be searched for. Reap the rewards for your hard work for longer; work smarter, not harder!

When?

When is the ideal time to start your business blog? Yesterday. There really is no greater time than the present to launch one and start reaping all the many benefits. However, we want to caveat this! 

At Made by Dave, we have set up blog pages for multiple businesses. We always advise having a few blog posts ready-to-go before launching your blog listing page. This way, you avoid putting any time-bound pressures on producing your first blog entry or embarrassment of having an empty listing page. Plus, when you are ready, you can upload a few blog posts to begin with and backdate them, to make your business appear more established.

Google favours regularly updated websites. So, the more quality blog posts you can publish, the better. But as the saying goes, you have to learn to walk before you can run. Create SMART goals when it comes to creating your blogging schedule.You can only work within your means. If capacity and finances dictate that you start off with 1 post per month, so be it. As a certain British supermarket says, ”every little helps.” Increasing your blog output year on year could be an exciting goal to work towards within your business. 

Where?

We recommend featuring your blog in your main navigation menu or the footer of your website. According to a study by ResearchNow, “84% of consumers make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog.” Blogs have become an expected component of any website.

Feel free to get a bit creative with your blog heading. Rather than read “Blog” it could be “Thoughts,” “News” or “Musings.” Choose something that suits the TOV (tone of voice) of your brand. But don’t go too wild that visitors won’t know that it’s a blog.

Also think about where you can share your blog content. A great benefit of blogs is that you can repurpose them for social media. It saves you or your marketing department having to come up with extra content. It also provides another opportunity to direct traffic to your website.

Conclusion

There you have it. A few things to mull over before diving in the deep end with your business blog. Know who is going to write it and who you ideally want to read it. Create a content plan in advance and figure out what topics will never go out of fashion. When you have a few entries under your belt and have settled on a realistic and consistent posting schedule, prepare for launch. Figure out where it will feature on your website and which platforms you’ll share it on.

Once you have a solid plan, crack on and get blogging! If you are a self-confessed technophobe and would love some assistance in setting up your blog, the team at Made by Dave would love to hear from you and help you on your way!