So you’ve been on the fence for awhile now about starting a blog for your small business. Well let me tell you that there’s no better time than now to get started. Small business blogging is an essential part on any online marketing strategy as it can help increase visitors to your website and generate new leads for your business. In fact, small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not blog. Which ultimately means, more potential customers coming to your company.

Now you may have been told that blogging is hard work and it’s very difficult. If that’s the way you are thinking, then get those thoughts out of your head! Blogging is not as difficult as you think. With a good blogging strategy and some dedication you can really make your small business blog shine.

Small business blogging – Get to it!

Before you start blogging you will need to have some idea of what you want to write about. The best way to do this is to sit down, either by yourself or with some of your trusted employees, and come up with a plan. These brainstorming sessions don’t have to be formal and they may not yield a comprehensive plan, but they will help to point you in the right direction.

Here are some things to think about and hopefully help you with your small business blogging:

1. Editorial calendar

Here is where you will decide how often you will blog and what those blogs will be about. Try to look forward about three months and decide how many blogs a week you will be able to post. If you are a beginner, then 1-2 posts a week is a great place to start!

You will also want to decide on the topics you will be writing about in each post. Log this in your editorial calendar and try to stick with this plan. But remember to be flexible as circumstances in your business can change quickly.

2. Material already on hand

Chances are you have plenty of material in your possession that you can turn into blogs. Look through the material you have on hand and pick out some interesting information that you can share with your readers. Just one report can be turned into multiple blog posts.

3. Stories

Everyone seems to love a good story, so tell some in your blog. Get personal with your followers and they will want to engage with you. These stories can be about your business and your brand, but they can also be just great human interest writing.

4. Expertise

Use your blog to show that you are an expert in your field. People are coming to your site for some kind of information. Show them you are their go-to guy (or gal!) when they need information in your field of endeavor.

5. Don’t use just words

Many people think a blog consists only of words. That does not have to be the case. Use photos and videos in your blog entries. If a picture paints a thousand words how many will a video paint? Your blog will be much more engaging with photos and videos.

6. Guest blogs

You don’t have to sit down and produce every blog entry. You have other knowledgeable people who work with you, let them write an entry on occasion. You can also find other experts in your field and ask them to contribute by guest blogging.

7. Social media

Promote your blog on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any other social media site you’re active on. There is no better way to gain exposure for your blog.

So are you convinced that it’s time to start a small business blog? You know your business needs one and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Follow some of the steps listed above and you will be able to produce some great blog posts that people will follow.

Do you have any other tips for getting started with small business blogging? Help your fellow readers out and share them below!