The 5 Worst Pieces of Blog Advice for Your Small Business

Copertina di Business Week: “Blogs will change your business” (Photo credit: Metafora AD Network)

Don’t you just love advice? People mean well and want to help, but sometimes they’re a bit overzealous with their small business advice, especially when it comes to blog advice for your small business.

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some smart and successful people throughout my career as a freelance content writer. And I’ve listened to their words of wisdom. But I’ve also met people who tried to push their business ideals and philosophies, such as blogging for business, on to me as if they were God.

Below are five pieces of blog advice that I could have ignored when I first started my freelance writing business in 2008.

The 5 Worst Pieces of Blog Advice for Your Small Business

Use any blog platform.

I’ve used plenty of blog platforms from Blogger to Weebly; and from custom platforms to WordPress. I checked out Joomla. That was scary. My preferred content management system is WordPress. This shouldn’t be a shock to anyone since I’ve written blog posts about WordPress. Nothing against other systems, but I find WordPress to be more intuitive and easier to use. Joomla is way too technical. If you’re not a web developer, stay away from it. The platform is intricate and one misstep can cause you headaches. WordPress is simple and easy to use. What more could you want?

Post whenever you want.

Let’s face it; sometimes, you can experience a block where they can’t think of anything to write about. Don’t allow this to be a crutch. You can easily create a blog schedule and stick to it. If you want to post twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday, do it. If you want to post on the weekends, post on the weekends. Once you establish a schedule, your business blog will be filled with great content. If you find that you’re stuck for ideas, create an ideas page and list possible topics for your small business blog.

Forget about the word count.

Since I’ve been writing, I’ve heard all sorts of debates on word count. First it was your blog posts should be 300-500 words. Then it was your blog posts should be 700-800 words. Now, it’s your blog posts should be over 1,000 words because long-form content rules. The truth is you should write for your readers. If your readers prefer to read 500 word blog posts, write them. If your readers prefer 1,200 word blog posts, write them. Perhaps your readers prefer long and short form content. Write long and short posts. The bottom line is to write for your readers.

You don’t need videos.

Videos and images enhance your blog. You may have no desire to create a video series. But you may want to upload videos to accompany your blog posts. Or upload videos and write 300-500 words. People love to watch videos because they can get all the information they need within 5 minutes or less, sometimes 20 minutes or less.

Focus on keywords.

When I started blogging in 2008, everyone focused on keywords or SEO (search engine optimization). In fact, some people used and still use Black Hat SEO techniques. These unsavory techniques can boost a blog’s page rank. However, the blogosphere has changed. Keywords are important, but it’s more important to write content that readers want to read. It’s also important to add value and communicate with readers.

Remember…

You can’t escape advice. People will give you good and bad advice, but it’s up to you to decide what to do with it. You can either reject all of it or accept some of it. Most importantly, remember that you’re running your small business. View other people’s opinions through a filter. If it what they say to you resonates with your value system and goals, listen to them.

You have the power to make the final decision. You don’t have to accept the worst pieces of blog advice for your small business.

Over to you. What’s the worst piece of business advice you’ve received? Let me know in the comments below.

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