If you want to attract more traffic and build a loyal audience for your website, a blog is one of the best features you could add. The best business blogs are both informative and fun to read, and they’ll keep your site’s visitors wondering what you’ll be posting next. Posting a wide array of interesting content in diverse formats—such as blogs of varying lengths, video blogs, blogs with images, and blogs about a variety of topics—is essential for keeping your audience’s attention.
What isn’t talked about as often is what you should avoid writing about in your blog. While there are numerous subjects that you can take on in your blog posts, there are certain types of posts that you will generally want to steer clear of—and particular writing styles that you will want to eschew. Knowing what common traps to avoid is a must if you want to make your blog as high-quality as possible.
Topics to Avoid in your Blog
It’s important to keep in mind that there are few hard-and-fast rules in the world of business blogging, and there may be times when it’s appropriate to write about something you wouldn’t normally take on. In general, however, you should keep away from these subjects:
Arbitrarily controversial topics
Some businesses do choose to take public stances on certain current issues, but it tends to be the exception rather than the rule. If your business hasn’t taken an official stance on a controversial subject, it’s better to avoid needlessly alienating much of your audience in your blog.
Needlessly morbid topics
If your blog is for a funeral home, it’s not likely that your readers are there to learn about the details of an autopsy. You don’t have to avoid difficult subject matter, but always keep it tasteful out of respect for your audience.
Pointlessly personal topics
While doing staff spotlight profiles and posting pictures of your office can help to humanize your business, make sure that you’re not overdoing it with these posts. Your readers are there to learn about your business and your services, not about you as people.
How to Keep Your Style Appealing to Readers
Don’t sound like you’re selling something.
Nothing turns a reader away from a blog faster than the unmistakable sound of a blatant sales pitch. Most internet users are already inundated with online commercials, and they’re not likely to want to spend their free time being urged to buy something. You can write about your products and services, but taking a cooler and more objective tone is more likely to spark genuine interest in your readers.
Write about topics other than your business.
Be wary of posts that sound needlessly self-aggrandizing. If all of your blog posts are about how great your company is and how amazing your products are, readers will quickly weary of it and move on to something else. Your website should already contain the basic information about your products and services; your blog is supposed to provide content that will appeal to your existing customers as well as new ones.
Avoid writing too much about yourself.
Talking about yourself and your business can help you establish your brand, but it’s important to know how much is too much. If you err on the side of content that is all about you and nothing else, it will bore your audience and make your blog less appealing to read. To keep your readers interested, make sure that your blog includes a healthy mix of diverse topics.
Don’t forget about your audience.
First and foremost, your blog needs to be targeted to your likely readers. Don’t devote your blog to subjects that are not likely to interest them. A blog for a dental practice, for example, shouldn’t be filled with technical details about every instrument in a dentist’s office, because most patients don’t care about that. If you’re writing for a company that manufactures dental instruments to sell to dentists, on the other hand, those details would be appropriate to include in your blog.
Make your voice friendly and engaging.
The tone you adopt in your blog should reflect the style, attitude, and values of your business. In most cases, this means making your writing clear, approachable, and accessible. If your writing comes across as overly cold or technical, or if you find yourself veering into inappropriate tangents, it’s time to take another look at your approach to your blog.
If you want your blog to appeal to as wide a readership as possible, you need the professionalism and craft that only an experienced content creator can provide. Pennington Creative has produced regular blogs for a wide spectrum of businesses, from medical practitioners to law firms. If you’re looking to improve your online content and grow your audience, connect with us today to find out how we can help you.
