There are thousands of blogging dos and don’ts. This list is specifically for business bloggers and is focused on dos and don’ts that help build relationships with your visitors.
Dos
1. (An obvious one.) Do have an opt in and an RSS feed so people can follow you or choose to hear from you again. Even better, offer something for free when they subscribe. I suggest having both of these. Some may just want to subscribe to your RSS, so offer both.
2. Do put Archives & Categories in the sidebar or footer. Many times when visitors come to your blog they want to know what else you blog about. Give them easy ways to browse so that you can engage them and keep them there longer.
3. Do define your area of specialty so people know exactly what you do. If your tag line is too general, you won’t capture your audience’s attention. Be specific. It pays.
4. Do create banners/ads for your own products/services. This tells people what your business offers. Products you sell are your business. Featuring other people’s products suggests that they are the expert, not you.
5. Do highlight other places you’ve blogged at. This reinforces your expertise and builds relationships with other bloggers.
6. Do invite guest bloggers to post. This also helps build relationships with other bloggers and shows visitors that you are part of a bigger community and that it’s not just you (solo-preneur). It’s a bonus to show different points of view and get free content.
7. Do show social proof (ie: number of subscribers, testimonials). Showing social proof lets people know what others think of you.
8. Do reply to every comment and use plugins to notify commenters of responses. One plugin for this is called “Comment Reply Notification.â€
Don’ts
9. Don’t have ads for other people’s stuff if you are selling your own. You’re basically telling your potential clients to go somewhere else. Of course, if you’re not selling anything yet, then creating something to sell should be a priority and until that day, using affiliate products is fine. But not for long 🙂
10. Don’t stop and start. Keep it consistent. Create an editorial calendar and schedule posts ahead of time. Inconsistent posting is like not calling a friend for a year and expecting your friendship to remain the same.
11. Don’t make it difficult for visitors to get your free stuff. Make it easy to download or view videos. Having optins that are only available to subscribers makes your readers jump through hoops. Most of them will give up rather than subscribing. Let them decide to subscribe after they decide they enjoy your offers.
12. Don’t sell in an email. This is slightly off topic, but emails and blogging shouldn’t be about selling. That’s what landing pages/sales pages are for. Definitely link to those pages from a blog post, but don’t try to sell right in the middle of your blog.
13. Don’t be anonymous. Have a great “about†page that shows people who you are and or what your business is all about. Be unique and original. No one likes boring.
There you go. Now start developing relationships with people that come into your virtual world.
You said it in your title. “Creating Relationships” is what blogging and even social media should be about. Blogging can be quite lonely, and if you don’t get much interaction, downright depressing, but with a little momentum and action-taking, you can make your blog as popular as you like.
The “do’s and don’t’s” you listed are spot on. Great reminders on how to build a blog that is appreciated and valued by others.
Regards,
Mike
Thanks Mike. You’re right. Most new clients I see who have started blogging aren’t doing this and their blogs are stale and a one way street. Once they start engaging, things start to change. 🙂
Tracy
Thanks for the outstanding article. As a relatively new blogger, I have not yet put some of these tips to use though I will this afternoon!
We’ve had good fortune with customer interaction on our Facebook page but not so much with our blog. Your tips may have set us on the path to correct that situation.
Thanks!
There is so much spam in blogs today it is nice to see one that has come great content. I really like #8 – I don’t see a lot of this, but think it’s a really good idea. It would be nice to know if the blog owner was actually interested in the comments made.
Hi Hanna, I am interested. I try to comment or reply to everyone who responds to my blog posts. Glad you liked it. Building relationships is really the best way to build a business. Cheers. Tracy 🙂
The idea of avoiding hard sells is nothing new, but it seems like it takes a new context in the world of blogs where you don’t often meet the people you have long-term relationships in person at all. It’s a lot easier to burn bridges and act improperly with people you can’t actually see and interact with in person. Good article.
My biggest frustration comes when I can’t find a phone number to speak to a Human. Having to send an email inquiry is too frustrating and impersonal. I click off and go to another site. Remember to put a phone number somewhere obvious!
I gotta emphasize the part about the About page. A lot of bloggers and websites overlook that seemingly small piece of information when in fact it is one of the first things people look at at a website! It’s like the website in a nutshell and if people can’t find that, they won’t spend the time trying to get to know you.
Jen: I totally agree. It’s more important than many people think.
Susie: Good point. I’ll have to make mine more easily findable. 🙂
Wallace: Thanks. Good point!
Tracy
Nice Blog! Very useful Information I get from your blog . Using a feed reader (via RSS), saves a lot of time and bookmarking. The information I get from bloggers is usually weeks ahead of the mainstream press. Call this competitive intelligence.By blogging, I have raised my profile on the web and increased visits to my site by a factor of 1000 in less than one year. This is cheap marketing.
So many websites these days have contextual ads for their competitors on their own website.
Crazy really!!
True ….I think I even have a site that has that…better go fix it right away 🙂 Tracy
Great points you’ve covered here and I think many newbies will love these tips as well. I’d like to add to please stop writing for search engines and treat your readers with respect. There are plenty of sites out there that can make your eye sore with all those keywords that it don’t make sense anymore ( I need my migraine pill, haha ). Besides, keyword stuffing is a major no-no that sinks your ranking on the searches, or worst, you can get your site banned. Thanks!
AWESOME point Ajeva. Very important to make the human visitor your #1 concern and search engines second. Tracy
Unfortunately a lot of blogs these days are simply products of SEO tactics. It gets harder each day to navigate the sea. This is a good article and businesses should heed the advice which will pay off in the end.
Running several different types of business online and also a blog, I would have to say similar to Susie’s comments re contact.
Any website that has no phone number or at least some type of physical address, I feel I cannot trust.
It may be the simplest of items but it is very important.
Hi Pandion, I agree. And Thank you. Tracy
I grew up believing that taste is just a matter of personal preference. Each person has things they like, but no one’s preferences are any better than anyone else’s. There is no such thing as good taste. Great Info about Creating Relationships. I feel a lot more people need to read this, very good info!