Despite all your efforts, does your B2B blog get about as much traffic as a back alleyway? Low traffic is a frustrating challenge for any blog owner, and it might be tempting to throw in the towel — but hear us out first!
Don’t be too hasty to put the brakes on your B2B blogging efforts. Studies show that 69% of marketers plan to increase their use of blogging this year — because it is so effective. So let’s look at what problems may be keeping your blog from achieving a loyal following of readers — and how to fix them.
So…What’s Holding Your B2B Blog Back?
1. It’s A New Blog
That’s right — readers don’t automatically flock to to a new blog, no matter how great it is. It takes time, and — you guessed it — more work! The more content you create means more opportunities to be found, and win over readers.
Time will also allow you to establish credibility, make inroads with search engines, and build a regular audience of readers. Consistently good quality will pay off.
2. Your Content Is Not Optimized For Search
The success of a blog is inextricably linked to search. Each blog post is indexed by search engines, so the more content you create, you give your blog more opportunities to be found!
Just like fine wine, this tactic only gets better with time — meaning older content continues to drive your blog in front of readers.
3. Lack of Promotion
Think like a marketer. While your blog may be rad, what difference does it make if no one knows it exists? In this case, you need to exchange your writing hat for a marketing one.
Go at it on social media, and tell your current audience about the blog. Post snippets from your blog in social. Quote influencers in your blog and tag them in social so they know you’ve mentioned them. Include your blog content when you nurture leads — in emails, in your site’s main navigation, and in a handy resource list for visitors.
4. You’re Missing Out On Email Subscriptions
Encourage your readers to stick around by creating an attractive form to capture email addresses. Once subscribed, your readers will get handy notifications in their inbox every time you write a new post.
Display the subscription form prominently on your blog. Put calls to action within your post itself. Also, include a handy subscription checkbox on your landing page’s form. These subscription forms and CTAs may be just what you need to nurture occasional readers into devoted subscribers.
5. Your Blog Isn’t Optimized For Social Sharing
You’ve made top-quality content for your blog — content that others will be motivated to share, given the opportunity. Set up your blog with social sharing buttons and wait for others to promote it for you. Making it easy for people to tweet your content as we’ve done here also can help.
6. Your Blog Is Too You-Centric
We get it. You have a product or service to offer, and the marketer in you wants people to see how great it is.Your B2B blog, however, is not the place for that. If anything, it will turn your readers off. Your blog needs to be about your audience, and their needs. What valuable advice or answers do they need?
Your first goal is to build an audience, a brand, a reputation, and trust –Susanna Gebauer
If you’re really itching to write about your products, services, and rewards, start another company blog called Company Updates and write about them there.
7. Your Content Has No Value
While this one is related to the previous point, we felt like it was so important that it deserved its own number. Your content needs to be valuable to readers. How? Use your blog to speak to your audience’s needs and interests, as well as answer their questions.
How do you find out what interests your readers? Start by building a buyer persona. What demographic are your target buyers? What drives them? What are their concerns? Once you know this, it’s easier to build content that will naturally appeal to them — and gain you an authentic and loyal readership.
8. Your Content Is Riddled With Mistakes
Top on the list of priorities are the basics — grammar and spelling. If you’re not quite sure where your writing falls on the scale, consider hiring an editor to proof all of your work before you publish it.
At the very least, have a second person look over your work. Even the most seasoned writers can miss simple errors in their own work.
9. Your Writing Style Is Boring
Notice, we didn’t say your industry is boring — that doesn’t factor in here. A boring, unsexy industry does not equate to boring copy. There is no excuse for B2B blogging that reads like a dusty college textbook.
First off, sound like a human. Be conversational, humorous at times, and even witty. Use each post to tell a story that draws people in, and keeps them coming back in anticipation of your next story — and gets them to subscribe!
Your blog still needs to be credible and helpful within your industry, but personality is just as important.
Marketers get hung up on that “business” word and forget that they should be communicating to people — David Meerman Scott
10. You Publish Irregularly
Even if you master the previous points, your readers aren’t going to come back if there’s nothing to read. They’ll lose interest, and move on to a blog that does have regularly published content.
According to the marketing gurus at Hubspot, companies who publish more than 16 blogs per month saw 3.5 times more traffic than blogs who published 0-4 blogs per month. Even companies who published 11 or more blogs per month saw at least double the traffic over companies who published 0-1 blogs per month. That tells you content creation should be on the top of your list.
The bottom line? Give your readers the consistent content they want. This will keep them coming back for more, and establish you as an industry authority, which gains you more traffic.
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