Many corporate blogs fail simply because they strike a wrong chord with readers. If you want to use your blog to increase traffic and sales and improve your relations with the public, it is vital to develop a technique that will allow you to talk to your readers, not at them. This is a very delicate balance for many companies and it can be tough to find the right voice for your writing. Often, corporate blogging can be a bit dull, but there are some techniques that you can use to engage your audience.

1. Allow comments.

One of the best ways to talk to your readers is to allow them the opportunity to talk to you. By encouraging them to leave a comment, you are opening a dialogue with them. Even if they don’t leave a comment, you’ve opened that door and shown that you are not afraid to interact with the public. Many companies make the mistake of not allowing their readers to comment and the result is a blog that is very cold and very static. More often than not, these blogs fail because they do not engage the reader.

On the upside, allowing comments can also help increase your pageviews. Many readers like to keep coming back throughout the day to see what is going on in a comment section. They become mini discussion forums for many and it is fun to keep up with events throughout the day.

2. Ask the reader questions.

One of the best ways to avoid talking at your readers is simply – don’t do it. Ask them questions in your posts, encourage them to interact with you and discuss what is on their mind. By asking them questions, your readers will not get the impression that your corporate blog exists only to drum up more business (even if this is the case.) Impressions are so important in blogging and you want to make sure you are giving the right one.

3. Include polls.

One of the easiest ways to involve your readers is to ask them to vote in a poll. Find a topic that matches well with your industry and create a poll around it. For example, if your site sells apparel for women, you can write a post about the fashion industry and the latest news about how many countries are no longer allowing size 0 models. As your readers what they think about this decision. This is a very easy technique that will engage your readers and it will help increase your search engine ranking since your keywords for that post will be included in searches about models.

These are very easy techniques that can be used in any corporate blog. If you’re having trouble with yours and you want to make sure you are hitting the right note with your readers, consider hiring a blog management company. They can help you craft the right kind of posts and build a strong foundation for your new venture.

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Originally posted 2008-07-04 05:49:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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