Avoid making this HUGE blogging mistake

Are you like hundreds, no thousands, of other businesses out there, only blogging about their services. Or worse yet, using their blog to announce “company news”?

In other words, using your blog as a way to keep the conversation all about you and not at all to do with your customer?

If the answer is yes, you need to stop. Now.

Why? 

To put it bluntly, because nobody cares.

I mean, think about it. How many companies do you regularly follow? And if you do, is it to keep up with their news or because they post content that’s relevant to you.

I hate to break it to you, but if you’re clinging your hopes on to the fact that YOU are going to be the company your customers care about, you’re clinging on to false hope. It’s just not going to happen. Or at least, the one-in-a-thousand that might be interested in your company news just isn’t enough to make blogging worth it. The time and effort you put into writing these blog posts is just better used elsewhere.

It doesn’t matter if you have the most exciting, well-written company news or articles that only ever end in a sales pitch. It’s doing nothing for you.

To get a blog that actually generates leads and keeps visitors coming back, you need to provide value. And how do you provide value? By making your content about your customers. Not about you.

Stop thinking of your next blog post with nothing but internal linking opportunities or services/products you can push. And start thinking about problems your customers actually have, that you can solve. For free.

Sounds easy, right? 

Here are some examples of how you can actually implement it.

COMPANY A

Company A sells baby slings. They can be used from newborn right up until toddler. Company A doesn’t know what they could possibly post about other than new product releases, award wins and customer photos. They don’t “do” anything else.

But Company A is missing a trick! 

Company A could use their blog to connect with customers by solving lateral problems. The lateral problems they’re solving aren’t solved by their products, but they still hold relevance.

But how do they know what problems their customers have?

Let’s have a logical think about it…

Why do new parents buy baby slings?

• Not as bulky as pushchairs or prams when out in public
• Like to be close to baby
• Baby settles when held
• To help build a bond and affection

What other things might an owner of a baby sling be interested in? What other things are important to them?

• Other methods of alternative transport
• Ways to soothe and calm baby
• Ways to build a bond and affection
• Practicalities with a newborn through to toddlers

So, with the above points in mind, what other lateral topics could Company A could blog about? 

How about:

• Reasons why baby is unsettled (and thus needs the sling as a last resort!): Colic: causes, diagnosis, dealing with colic, ways to help soothe a baby suffering from colic; understanding crying cues
• Nappies: disposable versus reusable, nappy rash, toilet training
• Feeding: weaning, baby-led weaning vs baby food, when to start weaning, tasty recipes, snacks to take on the go
• Building affection: why do babies like to be held?, why is the heartbeat is comforting?, swaddling
• Ways to build affection: breastfeeding, the pros and cons, common problems and ways to overcome them, using dummies while breastfeeding, breastfeeding when going back to work, how long should a baby be breastfed?
• Skin to skin: how to involve dad, how skin to skin can help build a bond while bottle feeding, why skin to skin is important and how it works
• Reading: when should you start reading to your child?, why do babies and toddlers like rhyming books?, top 10 picture books, benefits of rhyme time at local libraries/playgroups

That’s loads and we’ve barely even scratched the surface. By carrying out thorough research and solving problems without a sales pitch, you’re adding value to your customers for free and they have a reason to keep coming back. 

Not only that, but you’re capturing other long-tail keywords which will help build traffic to your website and perhaps might even land you customers who would never have found you otherwise. By solving parenting problems not directly linked to the products you sell, you’re establishing yourself as an expert and an authoritative voice, meaning you are more likely to be trusted when it does actually come to a problem that your product or service can directly solve.

COMPANY B

How about Company B? Company B sells running shoes. So they blog about running… Running in the rain, how to get faster, how to buy running shoes. Not bad, it’s a better start than what Company A was doing.

But they could do better.

Runners have far more interests than just the act of running. They’re likely to also be interested in other forms of sport or exercise. Healthy eating. Fun runs/park runs/charity events. They’re likely to be interested in different apps to record their PRs or other sport equipment and accessories that may benefit them.

Do you see how there’s so much more to talk about when you blog with your customer in mind and not you? And we haven’t even gone too lateral with these topics.

So the next time you go to write a new blog post, ask yourself, does the blog post serve you or does it serve your customers?

First published on the Stacey B Copywriting blog