"I want to start a blog for my company; where do I start?" I've been getting that question fairly frequently lately. If you are planning on starting or revamping your company's blog, here's your to-do list for success:
Blog Content Strategy Checklist
Establish blog objectives with decision makers
Identify core messaging priorities to support objectives
Ensure you have the people resources to support this calendar
Determine which blog platform to use and who will create and maintain it
Establish editorial process to meet deadlines, establish consistency and quality, align with goals
Provide blog post template with formulas to accelerate writing process
Create samples for best practices
Great a governance model for content selection, writing, editing, review, posting, and archival
If you don't have the resources to set this up, I highly recommend getting a content strategist to help out. Creating exceptional content is a time-consuming activity, and following a process like this one will help in several ways:
5 Benefits of Your Blog Content Strategy
Save time and money. If you jump in and have staff or freelance writers start writing without a plan, you are potentially wasting your money and time -- and making your brand look bad.
Move toward (not away from) your goals. Blog posts are cumulative. Each one builds on your immediate goal to gain new visitors (via SEO, social media) and your long-tail business goals of, oh, perhaps expanding your services. Your plan will make sure you're on the right road, and you don't accidentally take a detour to nowhere.
Ensure quality and consistency. If you have many people contributing to your blog -- let's say they're all doctors and researchers -- you have a potential mess on your hands without some guidelines in place.
Avoid burn-out. The people who are supporting your blog need a system in place to make it as easy as possible to keep the content flowing. Without it, blogging can become repetitive and arduous. They may start slipping in quality or frequency. And a thin or out-dated blog is worse than no blog at all.
Measure success. With a plan in place, you'll know what you are trying to achieve, which makes it much easier to measure effectiveness down the road.
Ready to get started? Give us a holler if you need any help.
Shelly Bowen, MFA, is a content writer, content strategist, and founder of Pybop.
For decades, Shelly has written for businesses on complex topics from disease prevention and medical devices to alternative energy and leveraging data. Today, she's hyper-focused on supporting B-B technology businesses. In her spare time, she hikes, kayaks, draws, and works on her T-Bird.
A wide variety of brands rely on Shelly as an essential freelance writer and content strategy resource.
