These days blogs are spreading like wildfire across cyberspace. Finding a way to make your blog stand out from the masses takes some work. When launching a new blog to promote your company, it’s crucial to develop a positive, trusting relationship with your readers. The following are a few simple guidelines that can help you use your blog to build a trustworthy reputation.
Do:
1. Maintain a professional voice in your writing to establish credibility.
2. Determine a target audience and write specifically for your readers. If you consistently relate to your audience, then you’re providing a sense of reliability.
3. Create traffic to boost your searchability and increase your blog’s perceived validity.
4. Adhere to advertising rules and terms of service if you subscribe to a blog provider.
5. Research background information for every post you write to add credibility to your blog’s content.
6. Cite trustworthy that can lead readers to other legitimate online information that relates to your industry.
7. Make your blog as interactive as possible by encouraging participation from your readers and nurturing a relationship with your audience.
8. Post consistently. If you claim you will post weekly, make sure you follow through. After all, your word is all you have.
9. Focus on the quality of your content rather than the quantity. Your goal is to incite readers to return, so provide them with original content they will find to be quality reading.
10. Check your spelling and grammar before you publish each post. If you’re passing yourself off as a writer then this should go without saying. After all, who trusts a writer that can’t even get his point across clearly and accurately?
Don’t:
1. Badmouth others in your industry or their blogs. This just looks petty and unprofessional.
2. Cheat to create traffic by using recycled content, page redirects and irrelevant keywords. You don’t want your readers to think you’re spamming them simply for your benefit. Furthermore, this type of behavior will get you banned from search engines quickly.
3. Abandon your blog.
4. Intentionally mislead your readers. Do not promote ideas, products or anything else that you don’t personally endorse. It only takes once instance of hypocrisy to dismantle your credibility.
5. Write lackluster articles that don’t offer any new ideas.
6. Write about your personal life; this is your company’s professional blog. If you need to vent to cyberspace, set up a personal blog (although it won’t be hard for your competitors to make a connection).
7. Ignore your readers. If they ask for more information on a topic or challenge your stance on a subject, engage in a professional conversation.
8. Commit libel. Your opinions are your own, but recognize the potential trouble you could get yourself into if you’re not careful.
9. Plagiarize. Sure it’s ok to draw inspiration from others, but not when you’re simply paraphrasing stuff they’ve already written about.
10. Commit other forms of copyright infringement. You might want to refresh yourself about the laws surrounding the use of images on blogs.
Guest Bio: This article was provided by SuretyBonds.com, a nationwide surety bond producer that offers advice to entrepreneurs starting up new businesses. For more information about licensing regulations, check out the agency’sSurety Bonds Insider Blog.
