Originally posted on Search Engine Guide
Recently a friend asked me a question that any business that begins blogging will have to answer; What should your first post be about? That first post is terribly important, because it sets the tone for the blog, not just for the readers, but for the writers as well.
From the reader’s point of view, I would want to see four areas covered in your first blog post:
1 – Who you are. Tell me about your business, but also introduce me to the blog’s writers. Share pictures. The more information about yourself and your business that you are willing to share, the easier it will be for me as a reader to trust you.
2 – Why you are blogging. Possibly the most important question you can answer, because it will force you to spell out your intentions to your audience. And as always, consider your audience when answering this question, ask yourself, ‘Why would someone come to this blog, what would they be looking for?’ Hint: They won’t be coming to your blog so that you can market to them.
3 – What will you be blogging about. Answering the above question makes this one much easier to answer. Will you be blogging about your business, or perhaps the lifestyles of your customers? Spell out the content on your blog so that I know what to expect when I arrive. And remember that this will also serve as a ‘bookmark’ for your writers to keep them focused on what the goal of your blog is.
4 – How I can leave feedback. Tell me how I can be involved. Can I leave comments? Do you encourage comments? What if I want to email you? Spell out exactly how I can contact you, and don’t be afraid to encourage feedback, and even disagreement. In fact this would be a good place to formally spell-out your comment policy, which again can serve as a reference tool for your writers as well. But do everything you can to make sure that my feedback is appreciated, and encouraged.
If your first post contains these elements, I think your business blogging efforts will be off to a fine start!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
nice post and very helpful for writing my first post.
Thank you…
Thank you so much..
Simple, thoughtful, sensible. Appreciated.
Thanks for this! We are just starting a new blog and really want it to take off. Have you ever worked with anyone who was in the health or mental health field? We are trying to look into the ethical implications of writing a blog. It’s not as if I’m just a person out their writing my opinion… Well, I am, but I also have to consider that I am responsible to the state for what I say as a Counselor Resident. Anyways, very helpful. Thanks, again!!
Nikki you are right in that there are certain industries such as healthcare and financial that have strict rules around what interactions you can have directly with customers via social media and other online communications. It’s best to do your homework, as you said.
Thank you I really needed this clear and concise answer.
Thanks for the informative post. Now I feel somewhat confident in starting my own
thanks for the great advice! this is what i came up with http://petersum.com/2012/06/28/the-first-post/
Hye I found this post very useful as I just wana edit my first blog post. I answered all of your questions so that readers may easily find what blog is all about. Actually it’s about life lessons. Thanks.
I’ve just wrote my first blog post! http://astraestic.com/blog/why-did-i-decide-to-blog-why-now/
What do you think guys?
A very helpful article. I was struggling to write my first blog post and bingo I end up on your page. Thanks for your help Mac. I now have my first blog post ready to be posted. Will share it with when it is uploaded.
Thanks, Mack,
Such a helpfull article for newcomers, please tell me more about bullet points or prototipes wich we gives to writer.
Also tell about engauging flow of blog.
Thanks so much. I looked at a couple different pages and your was so helpful. Simple and to the point. I was proud of my first post. Thanks again!
the article on how to start a blog was really helpful. thank you for this. I also include that in starting a blog , the topic should catches the readers attention. they really want the whole story to be read in the first paragraph they see or from the title. that’s all I could add up cause I was always reading blogs.
very amazing post….. i got lot of help from this article thanx for this ….
{ 7 trackbacks }