The enterprise blog is the foundation of your content marketing efforts, yet it's fraught with hurdles and often ends before it has had time to flourish. A well-managed blog can generate sales leads and create lasting relationships with your audience. Yet, the dismal truth is that 77 percent of all businesses have a blog and 85 percent of those have five or fewer posts. Worse, many blogs end up digging their own graves and squandering the opportunity to capitalize on the potentially lucrative and highly converting content marketing leads.
So, what are common themes that lead to a corporate blog's untimely demise? And how do you prevent getting to the point where you have hammered the proverbial nail in the coffin? Barry Feldman of Feldman Creative and ClearVoice, a content marketing platform, recently created an infographic titled "Eulogy for a Blog." The infographic narrates a eulogy of an ill-fated blog, yet offers inspiration on how you can keep the vitality of yours intact.
To maintain the health of your blog, you need the following characteristics:
- Engaging content that offers value and resonates with your readers.
- A defined viewpoint that educates, entertains, engages, or inspires your audience.
- Influential guest contributors who enhance credibility and outreach potential.
- A steady and consistent blog post schedule.
- A visually appealing layout that is easy to read across various platforms.
Think of your blog as a living, breathing entity and ask yourself, "What if..."
- Your blog took more time to plan?
- Your blog was a better listener?
- Your blog lived by a schedule?
- Your blog was tidied up?
- Your blog was more capable of pouring his heart into his work -- or maybe seeking the help of professionals?
- Your blog had built relationships with influential people who might have taken an interest in his work, given him some advice, and perhaps opportunities?
Is your blog on the brink of an untimely death? Check out the eulogizing infographic below...