Writing a post for your company blog is something that requires a certain investment of time; whether it takes you 20 minutes or two hours, it’s time that you might otherwise have spent doing something else, and as such you want to be sure that the time is well-utilized. If your blog post garners you some social media attention or some website traffic—if even one person picks up the phone and calls you because of something you wrote in the post—then it’s all well worth it. But what happens when you post a new company blog and it just kind of…. sits there?
What happens when your blog post bombs?
Not All Blogs are Created Equal
To begin with, understand that this is going to happen from time to time—and in fact, the more often you blog, the more likely it is that you’re going to have some duds and some misfires. It’s just part of the process. There will be blogs that simply land at the wrong time or don’t get seen by the right, interested readers—perhaps through no fault of your own.
Before you write off the blog completely, though, take a day or two to let it sit, then read back through it with fresh eyes. Maybe a bit of distance and perspective will help you identify some ways you could make it better.
- What’s the value proposition? Reading through it again, can you clearly identify the value your readers are supposed to glean?
- Is the blog practical? Actionable? Interesting?
- Does it line up with your buyer personas?
- Does the headline grab attention?
- Is it well-formatted with appropriate paragraph and section breaks, bullet points, and images?
- Is it too long? Is it not long or substantive enough?
Retooling, Redeploying
If you identify some areas in which your blog could be revised and improved, then by all means make those changes. Don’t just leave it there, though. Take to social media to try to drum up some interest in the blog. Post it on LinkedIn, tweet it, pin it—distribute the blog however you deem appropriate.
It is entirely possible that the blog initially bombed because you just posted it at a bad time, or with the wrong hashtags, and it didn’t really penetrate anyone’s newsfeed. Waiting five to seven days, then pushing it out again, can give the blog a new lease on life.
Scrapping and Salvaging
If there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to make the blog a big hit, don’t worry: Your time hasn’t been wasted. You’ve got a piece of content that you can pick apart for scrap pieces, recycling the content into a new blog post, a press release, a piece of evergreen website content, or simply a few quick tweets. That’s valuable content fodder, so don’t be afraid to hack away at the post and use its pieces wherever and whenever you can.
Of course, if your blogs are consistently underperforming, there may be a systemic issue to address. That’s where we come in. Grammar Chic’s team is ready to help you kick your business blogging to the next level. Inquire about our services today: Call 803-831-7444, or visit http://www.grammarchic.net.
The Red Ink 