Blogs are simply the best.
They can help drive traffic to your website and improve your SEO.
People are more likely to trust the information they read on a blog.
And they’re free! (unless you’re super busy then you can pay an expert to write for you)
However, once you’ve spent the time researching and writing and have finally hit the publish button, what next?
Even if you’ve only been blogging a short while, you’ll have very quickly built up a wealth of information that you shouldn’t just forget about.
Let’s see what you can do with it.
Turn your blog into a newsletter
If you send out a regular newsletter, you can use your blog as the main article. It saves you trying to come up with more new content and promotes your blog at the same time.
Just remember that you want to send people to your website so just tempt your readers with the first few paragraphs or give a summary with a ‘Read More’ button.
Promote your blog on social media
Although I’m only active on a couple of social media platforms, I make the effort to post my blog on all of them – Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram.
You may have to slightly tweak the text on your post so it’s suitable for the platform (Linkedin is more serious and business-like, Twitter is more chatty) but you’ll at least have some thing new and current on all your accounts once a month.
And keep promoting all your blogs, not just the latest one.
Your blog may be seasonal or it might be relevant to current affairs.
Add your blog to your email signature
Think about how many emails you send in one day, never mind in a week or a month. Add your latest blog to your email signature as a link to help market and promote it.
Create a video or FB live about your blog
Video is the thing for getting your content out to a larger audience.
Create a video for YouTube to reach a different audience or promote your blog on Facebook Live. Tempt them and give them a flavour of what to expect but don’t give too much away or they won’t need to read your blog!
Create a PowerPoint presentation from your blog
If your blog lends itself to a PowerPoint presentation then create one. PowerPoint presentations can be used for client meetings, networking events, exhibition shows or simply send out as part of an information pack.
Use your blog to answer questions
Writing a blog answering questions your customers regularly ask you makes great content and shows your expertise. If new or potential customer ask the same question, send them a link to your blog. If someone is asking on social media, send them a link to your blog.
Anything that saves you time writing and writing the same thing over and over again, and directs people to your website has to be a good thing.
Turn your blog into a podcast
Travelling to work, exercising, just in the background while doing something else. Some people prefer to listen rather than read. Turning your blog into a podcast can help you reach a whole new audience.
Podcasts also allow you to link back to your website so you can direct people at the end of your show.
Turn your blog into a downloadable PDF
By turning your blog into a PDF you can use it as a freebie for your customers, you can use it as a download on your email signature or as part of a welcome pack for new customers.
Some people prefer to print and read information or simply store PDFs in a handy folder on their computer for future reference.
Use similar blog posts and turn them into an e-book
If you’ve written a series of popular posts on a particular subject or you have a few that complement each other, consider creating an e-book.
You’ll make it easier for customers to find all the content in one place and you can also pad it out more. Blogs need to be fairly straight to the point, but with an e-book you can add much more detail. Think about adding examples, infographics, statistics and images.
Update your best performing posts with new relevant data
Once you’ve written your blog posts, don’t think that’s the end of it.
It’s good practice to check them regularly (once a year) to make sure all the information and links are still relevant and to update with new information.
Not only does it keep your blog up to date, search engines will like it too.
If you have done any of these or you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them.
Liz x
