So, you’ve written a great blog post for your business, and you want to share it with the world. Why not? Everyone should know about your great product or service, right? While that is true, let’s first take a few steps to make sure you know how to market your blog articles. After all, you don’t want to spend so much time and effort on your blog posts and have it all fall apart.

Check your blog article

Is your blog article interesting to others? Do you speak clearly and in a comfortable tone? Do you get to your point quickly and support it with relevant information?

You want your blog post to be interesting to others and shareable on social media. Therefore, take the time to look at it with a critical eye. And be sure to correct any spelling, grammar, and clarity issues with your copy. You don’t want to be misunderstood or put someone off because your blog has numerous errors.

Better yet, have a professional proofread your blog post and proofread/edit it for you. They’ll pick up things you might not have, and your blog will be exponentially better if it’s reviewed by a professional.

(HINT: Spell check isn’t your friend. It won’t catch everything, and neither will you. Even spell checkers need spell checkers.)

Know your audience

Do some research on your audience, preferably before you start writing. Who are they? What are your dreams, hopes, desires, worries and fears? What is your problem and how do you solve it? How would they want you to relate to them? Should your copy be informal and conversational or more formal and educational? Create a detailed customer profile, right down to what they eat for breakfast, how they sleep and exercise, and what they do for fun. Know your audience first, and it will pay off later.

Optimize your blog posts

You can have the best blog in the world, but if nobody finds it, what does it matter? Before you publish your blog, make sure you take all the necessary steps to optimize it to appear in search engine results. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Pick a long-tail keyphrase and use it in multiple places. Think about what people type into a search engine. Just type your topic into a search and see what auto-completes. This will give you some clues as to what people are looking for. (HINT: It’s best to do this before you start writing.) Of course, you can also invest in keyword research for your website and topic. That way, you won’t waste time trying to rank for low-volume searches (virtually no one is looking for that) or high-competition searches (you’re competing against the big guys here).

Once you’ve decided on a keyphrase, be sure to use it in the following places:

• Holder (H1)
• First 100 words, ideally first paragraph
• At least one subheading (H2, H3)
• several times throughout
• call to action
• URL (web address of the blog page)
• Title tag (page name in search engine results)
• Meta description (description in search engine results)

Add images

Plan to use one to three royalty-free images for your blog post. You’ll want to designate one as your featured image and, depending on the length of your article, add one or two more to break up long sections of text. Choose images that enhance your writing and add visual interest. Remember that the image may be the first thing people notice before reading your article, so keep it interesting.

Post it and don’t forget

Once your article is published, pay attention to any commitments. If your blog receives comments, take the time to respond and interact with your followers. They want to feel noticed and valued as well. Answer questions and encourage ongoing communication.

More on how to market your blog articles

Publishing your blog is just the beginning of your marketing efforts. At Precise, we encourage you to create three different social media posts for each blog article. Optimize your post for each channel (eg, 280 characters or less plus 2 ̶ 3 hashtags for Twitter, additional hashtags for Instagram) and use an image with each post as well.

Test and measure each social media post to see which ones perform best. Take your best employees and continue to schedule these social media posts in the coming months (on different days and at different times).

Reuse content from your blog article

Next, make your blog posts work quadruple your time by repurposing your content. You can take your social media post a few steps further for even more promotion. Here are some ideas:

• Create charts using a few key points from your blog
• Create a short video with key points too
• Record a video of you talking about your blog. Includes some additional things.
• Record a YouTube video version of your blog.
• Record a podcast version of your blog or chat with another subject matter expert.
• Link to other related blogs on your site to keep visitors interested.
• Use your blog in promotional materials.
• Add a subscription/registration email on your blog posts.
• Add social sharing buttons for each blog post.
• Link to your post with a preview in an email newsletter.
• Add your profile to your blog. Let people know who you are.
• Create an infographic to go with your blog.
• Submit your blog to an ezine.
• Submit your message to RSS directories.
• Join a social sharing group.
• And more!

Act on half a dozen or more of these ideas, and you’re sure to turn heads for your blog post.