Using a Business Blog to Reach Your Target Audience

As a business owner, whether online or off, you want to reach your ideal prospects and customers, i.e. your target audience. A business blog is the perfect tool to accomplish that online.

Assuming you already know the benefits of a business blog (P.S. see end of this post if you need help), here are the basic steps to using it to zero in on your target audience.

1. Define your target audience – Are you trying to reach work-at-home moms and dads (WHAMs/WADs)? Or is it solo coaches and consultants? Narrow it further by choosing popular interests or topics. This will make your blog a lot more focused and help it to stand out from the crowd.

2. Next, develop content that will appeal to your defined target audience. Some experts suggest that you pick topics that are popular search terms/phrases used by your audience. Others recommend writing about things that you are passionate about. I say you need a good balance. Without passion, you will have a hard time sustaining your business blog over the long haul. On the other hand you are not likely to develop a following if all you write about are topics that are of little interest to your audience.

3. Work out a posting schedule that you feel comfortable following. Try to post new material at least twice a week, may be more often initially. Whatever you decide, stick to it because consistency is very important in setting expectations and loyalty with your target audience.

4. Start directing traffic to your business blog by various means. Research keywords and phrases used by your prospects and write blog posts that are rich in those. A good rule of thumb is 2-3% keyword density but don’t be afraid to experiment. Probably the most important elements are the headline and the first one or two paragraphs. Use other marketing tactics like article marketing, press releases, forum commenting, social bookmarking and networking, press releases and advertisements to generate high quality traffic to your business blog.

5. Create a strong and easily identifiable look and feel to your business blog. Even though content is king on the Internet, aesthetics or branding do matter. The color scheme, the fonts, graphics and your tag line should all work together to separate you from your competition and be a true reflection of who you are and your business.

Don’t fall in love with eye candy, it can be distracting. Navigation and your calls to action play a major role in how your visitors interact with your blog. Pay attention to those details otherwise you will see a high number of people leaving your blog after visiting your home page, otherwise known as bounce rate. You probably will have to work on the design of your blog before posting but I’m a firm believer of “form follows function.”

6. Implement a method to capture leads from your business blog. Do not expect your visitors to bookmark your blog or take action like buying something on their very first visit. A large percentage of your first-time visitors will do nothing other than read your post. Install some kind of a sign up form to entice them to continue receiving regular communications from you. Offering a free report, eBook or eCourse can be very effective for this. Take a look at my right-hand column for an example or the splash screen that comes up on exit. BTW, if you haven’t already, do sign up!

Reaching your target market doesn’t have to be difficult. By using the basic steps outlined here, you will begin to see measureable results. It does take time to build a loyal readership and it doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you stick with it.

There’s a lot more a blog can do for your business. You’ll find more in-depth information in my new eBook, “The Business Blogging Handbook” that will help you develop a focused plan to make your business blog the hub of your online presence.

You will learn how to how to make your business blog a hub for attracting quality traffic, building deeper relationships and converting more visitors into customers. Go to “The Business Blogging Handbook” for more information.

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