Business Blogging Is Still a Conversation Not a Sales Pitch

Blogging started as a way for people to keep their journals online. People wrote about their personal lives as a way of connecting with others in similar situations, sharing, staying connected to family, etc. People wanted to talk and listen to others.

It was about having a conversation.

Business blogging is no different. Business blogging isn’t about pitching products. It’s not about telling people why you’re great and why they should do business with you.

It’s about engaging customers and prospects in meaningful conversations.

Mike Sansone at Converstations does a great job of explaining this in his recent post: Is Your Company Blog Simply Marketing Insurance?

What might scare some businesses off is talk about “conversation” and “engaging customers.” What does that mean? How does it work?

Truth be told it’s quite easy. Provide people with valuable information about your industry. Comment on what’s going on in your industry. Having an opinion is good. It might not seem that way when you’re trying to please everyone (so you can sell everyone something) but opinions can demonstrate some form of insight and relevance.

Ask for feedback. Scary for some, but obvious and necessary. Engage your customers by asking them for their thoughts on your products, company or industry. Find pain points and problems customers are facing. Collect information, answer questions and generally be available when a customer reaches out. They will once you start blogging and adding your thoughts to the collective information available.

Tags: business blogs, business blogging, corporate blogs, corporate blogging, marketing, advertising, sales, marketing blog, online marketing