Business Blogging Etiquette

Business blogging is much more than just technical mumbo jumbo.

In business blogging, etiquette is a leadership skill that sets your organization apart from the competition.

Many potential relationships and business deals can be lost due to a blog writer’s lack of business etiquette. Business blog writing needs proper etiquette if you want to charm your readers. Here are some thoughts for business bloggers:

Link back – it’s a good thing

We all know what it feels like when we find some shared content posted on another blog – without any credit! The critical part here is not to go policing but instead give proper credit on your part. Blogging is all about sharing and participating in the community. And if you get a positive thing somewhere- just share it and credit it.

Do not react to criticism

Many times, a person comes from somewhere in the blogosphere and has some mean-spirited things to say. You shouldn’t react too soon and reply to them on ‘their terms.’ It is best to attack them with kindness and calm professionalism. You can either address them in a quiet tone or ignore them altogether. If you try to get the last word, it will only increase the tribulation. It’s best to be the bigger person and walk away. If you do not respond, they will ultimately give up. Or you can just block them if they are proving inadequate for your business.

Share the kindness

When you are into business blogging, you get many comments and messages. All these small gestures make the life of a blogger. Share a friendly email or comment on your blog whenever you get a nice email or comment. Any kind comments are most welcome, and the sender of the word will feel good if you share them in your posts. It’s all about building good relationships with your readers.

No newsletter

When you are into business blogging, do not sign up bloggers for your newsletters without their consent. This is something that often happens. Sometimes people join a business blog, and they start getting promotional emails. This can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, and they stop caring about your company’s products.

The best way to get other bloggers and readers onto your newsletter list is to ask permission and offer an incentive. Free eBooks or sample products and online purchase discounts are well-used and effective for growing email marketing lists, including your blog newsletter.

Business Blogs are less intrusive, with minimal (ideally no) popups; however, they can have a column with banners suggesting special offers, including joining newsletters. Your newsletter sign-up form should also suggest other lists they can join to get your targeted information on your products and services.

Education

Spend time educating people. Business blogging is done for selling products, but make sure you do not sell more than you educate. You can see many blogs that only talk about their company products and their updates. It seems like the world revolves around their company, and they fail to understand that readers will stop reading their blog if they keep talking only about their products.

When you educate others, you keep them interested, and they come and read your content along with the sales pitch that you want to add.

So, write engaging content to teach or inform your readers about interesting new facts or knowledge. If you have any writing problems, feel free to ask the best writers for help or advice.

Other blogs

Frequent other people’s blogs and see what they are writing. Your blog might be the center of the universe for you, but other bloggers are churning out great content too. Comment on them, retweet them, and appreciate their blogs if they are good. It is always good if you show appreciation for someone’s hard work.

Stop the pop-ups

Many times, we visit a blog and are welcomed by a pop-up that takes time to load. And then you have to close it to read the information you want. These popups do not help your sales in any way- instead, they annoy your blog visitors. If you visit someone’s blog and see a vast popup, would you instantly sign up for their product? The sane answer here would be no. The same goes for your visitors. Make sure your blog is more educating and less selling.

Follow all these guidelines for ethical business blogging. Apart from all these tips, ensure you do not copy content from other blogs. This is unethical, and search engines like Google will flag down your content, and your blog might even get banned from the search results. In addition, there are copyright issues as well. Stay ethical, stay safe.

Post Regularly

Finally, remember to post to your blog regularly. How regularly you may be thinking, well, there’s no hard and fast rule on blogging frequency, and it’s essential to focus on quality content, not quantity.

When you add content to your blog, you’re sharing your views on your business and everything that impacts it, both negative and positive.

Your perspective on world events that directly or indirectly touch your business is of interest to your blog readers, too, so there really is a lot to say. With this in mind posting a regular blog post or guest article once a week should be achievable. Of course, you may be posting a lot more regularly, and that’s fine too.

As long as the content is non-repetitive and it offers value in some way i.e., sharing knowledge, educating, or offering something of interest,, that can even be off-topic and on the lighter side for a change – like humor.

Remember, cat videos rule the internet. Sharing a video and adding your thoughts is a fun way of communicating with your blog audience as long as you don’t lose sight of its intended purpose i.e., to sell your products or services.