Blogging is a long-term, committed relationship, not a date. In order to create a successful blog, you need to give yourself to your readers, and keep giving them reasons to come back.

Following are some high-level considerations to make before launching your blog.

User-Friendly Blog Design
Design your blog with your reader in mind. Take some time to look at blogs that you visit frequently. Why do you visit the site? What makes navigating through the site easy? Make your latest posts, company information and categories easy to find on the page.

Establish a Posting Frequency
Manage your reader’s expectations. Frequent posting helps readers understand the consistency of your blog, but do not over exert yourself. If your company only has time to post once per week, that is fine! It is better to post once a week than five times in one week and then not post for the next three weeks. Blog articles can also be scheduled for future posting.  Consistency is key.

Publicize Your Blog
If you are going to write it, why not share it in as many places as possible? There are so many ways to gain exposure for your blog. Add a link to your blog in your email signature. Use company or personal social media channels to share posts regularly. Connect with other bloggers to share your posts or guest blog. The list goes on…

SEO and Internal Linking
Depending on the purpose of your blog, you may refer to products/services in your posts. To help with search engine optimization (SEO) as well as provide more information to your readers, hyperlink within your blog post to those products/services on your web site that you reference. This may not be something that happens regularly, and should not be forced. But, if the opportunity arises, incorporate a link or two.

Introduce Yourself
Blogging is about transparency. Let readers know who they are hearing from. This helps develop credibility. Consider an author bio/about us section on your blog with a short bio. However, keep security in mind. Do not put information such as personal phone numbers and addresses on your blog.

Have any questions about launching your blog? Leave a comment here or send me an email: Rachel@sweeneypr.com. We’re happy to help.