Here are the top 3 mistakes I see business bloggers making online:
- Not using their blog to promote their business (click here to read my post on how to promote using your blog)
- Not spreading their blog content to new audiences (they opt for the “publish and pray” model, not recommended)
- Blogging for their colleagues instead of their customers
If you’ve started a blog for your business, but aren’t seeing the results you want, you might be making this very common mistake…
Are you writing to your colleagues instead of your customers?
You might be thinking…. “I write for my readers”
OK, but which readers? It is very important to focus on exactly the type of reader you are writing for, even in the beginning when you may not have very many readers at all.
When I started out blogging, I had about 5 readers (my mom, my dad, and a few close friends). If I had written with only them in mind, I would have ended up with a blog very different than the type of blog I have today. I’m so grateful that they read my blog in the beginning, but I made a very specific choice not to write for them, because they aren’t my customers.
Just because someone reads your blog, doesn’t mean you should write for them.
Consider this…
You’re a lawyer, and you’ve decided to start a blog to boost your law practice. You’ve read countless articles explaining how a blog is the best way to market your business, reach more customers, and share your expertise. You “drank the Kool-Aid” and started a blog.
Now, what the heck do you write about?
You begin by posting a few articles about new laws and some industry news (things you’d want to read). You share your posts on social media, and with friends and family. A few of your lawyer friends email you back saying they are loving the new blog (whew!).
So, you keep chugging along. You write more posts about new laws and changes to existing laws, and you start to get a few more followers.
The problem with this is… you’re building a following of other lawyers (colleagues, not customers).
This type of blog, while valuable to your colleagues, is not something your customers would read (or likely understand).
While it’s wonderful to get a pat on the back from those in your industry, this type of blog will not likely bring in any new customers (or add any more dollars to your bank account). So, don’t write for your friends, and don’t write to impress them. Write for your customers alone.
It is so easy to fall into this trap, and I see it all the time with clients who are frustrated with their blog.
Before you begin your next blog post, ask yourself this important question….
Is this a post my customer would like to read? Would this help my customer in their daily life?
This means your blog will be full of posts that are simple, straightforward and applicable for your customers. They won’t be posts that your friends and colleagues are going to find all that interesting (and this can be frustrating in the beginning, we all want our friends to think we’re cool, right?). But this isn’t a blog for them. It’s for your business and for customers that need your help.
Throughout your career, you will probably have many colleagues that follow your blog, comment, and share your posts. But, don’t make the mistake of writing for them. They aren’t the ones paying you. After all, they have law firms of their own.
Write for your customers and you will see results (and then, your colleagues will be banging down your door to know how you did it).
Have you ever fallen into the trap of writing for your colleagues? I’d love to hear from you, share your story below!
