Whether you’re promoting a personal brand or a full company, a professional blog is a powerful way to drive potential customers to your site and establish your authority. Unfortunately, it does require some writing — and not the kind you did in school! Blogging has evolved beyond its early days and is now expected of any professional web presence. With that in mind, there are some best practices you should follow to make your blog one that stands out.
Use a distinctive voice
When people first started blogging, the blogs doubled as an online journal. Even though blogging has attained a more professional status, it has retained its focus on the individual voice. While it’s not necessary to write in first person, letting your own experience and expertise shine through is essential to making your blog relatable and fresh.
Make time to edit
Always edit your work after writing it, or have a trusted colleague do it for you. It’s too easy to let work with typos or grammatical errors slip through. You can use a tool such as Grammarly or ProWriting Aid to help you identify words that you’ve misused, overused, or misspelled. These tools also point out overly complicated sentences and clunky phrasing.
Add structure to your articles
One big difference between blogging and other types of writing is that blog articles need to be formatted for the web. That means small paragraphs rather than long passages and lots of subheadings and bulleted lists. Internet readers tend to skim articles, so make sure that your blog posts can be read quickly and still get the point across.
Incorporate visuals
Speaking of skimming: You should also add graphics and photos to your blog to help break up the wall of text and add visual interest for your readers. Choose high-resolution images that illustrate your points, or use sharable infographics or charts. This makes your blog more engaging and professional. Plus, including images can help boost the page’s ranking in search results.
Create a schedule
Regular publishing is a must, but it can be challenging for busy people to find time to write. Creating a publishing schedule is a good hack for getting yourself to write. Plus, you can use the schedule to map out content and ensure that you have a good variety of topics. Try to release your posts on a regular schedule, e.g. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and tie them into holidays or commemorative days whenever possible.
Wrapping up
Your professional blog should be more than boring company updates or musings about the state of the world. Keep it relatable and informative, so that your readers will see value in it. Use a voice that matches your brand and a tie that establishes your expertise. By maintaining a consistent, active blog, you can garner search engine traffic, boost engagement on your site, and improve your brand’s reputation.