Bringing Your Company Blog Back to Life

No matter how motivated you were about starting your blog way back when, it’s all too easy to let it slide. It starts with a day of posting missed here or there. Then you start missing weeks, telling yourself it’s no big deal and you’ll get back on track…er…soon. Before you know it, your blog has gasped its laugh breath and you’re faced with deciding whether to bury it or try to perform a modern miracle of resurrection.

Do You Need a Blog?

The first thing to figure out (or remind yourself of) is why you needed a blog in the first place.

Did you need a blog to:

Bring traffic to your website
Aid lead conversion
Improve engagement with your customers/prospects
Increase exposure
Establish yourself as an expert/authority

Whatever your reason for giving life to a blog, ask yourself if that reason still exists or if you have new reasons to maintain a blog.

If the answer is no (highly unlikely), go ahead and let your blog rest in peace. If the answer is yes (much more likely), move on to figuring out why it kicked the bucket.

What Went Wrong?

There are many reasons a blog may go belly up, and examining them can help you figure out how to avoid the dead zone again.

Did you:

Lack a strategy

Blogging without a strategy is like setting off on a cross-country drive without a GPS or, at the very least, a map. Don’t start typing before you’ve settled on everything from your blog’s purpose and who your audience is to what your target keywords are and where you will distribute your content. How to Create a Successful Blog Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide gives you the ins and outs of creating a strategy for your blog.

Find it difficult to blog because of your busy schedule

This is a common problem. Crafting high-quality blog posts takes time and energy, and we all run out of both. If this was the reason your blog went caput, you can delegate the responsibility to someone else in your company who has the time and enthusiasm for it, hire a social media professional to take your blog in hand, or seek the services of a ghostwriter. Be sure to check out How To Get Help When You Don’t Have Time To Blog for tips on selecting the right blogger.

Lose focus

An editorial calendar is an absolute must for staying on track. A carefully planned calendar will help you plan out your content (so you’re never at a loss for topics), keep your posts in line with your marketing efforts, and hold yourself accountable. Simply put, it’s your ace in a hole for keeping your blog healthy. Check out May the Force be With You: Your Blog Editorial to learn how to use The Force (your editorial calendar) to complete your mission (maintaining an awesome blog).

Run out of ideas

This is a true blog killer. Once you run out of ideas, blogging begins to feel like work. Then it begins to feel like torture. You grasp at straws to throw something, anything, up on your blog, but it ends up awful. Then your audience starts to lose interest, because, well, your posts hold little-to-no value for them. The good news is there are numerous ways to get great post ideas. As mentioned in 4 Ways To Get Your Marketing Back On Track, analyzing your audience and making use of social analytic and social listening tools can give you insight into the types of content your audience wants. Additionally, make use of questions your customers ask you and trending topics in your industry to craft relevant posts.

Keep in mind that there are many types of content you can use to make your blog step lively. Create posts around memes or inspirational photos, create series of posts so that each topic builds or expands on the previous one, give interviews, and invite guest bloggers on board. Have theme days and run giveaways on your blog. Mix it up! Editorial Calendar Continued: 9 Ways to Program Out Blog Content shares great ideas for filling your editorial calendar with compelling content.

How Long Should Your Blog Posts Be?

Once you’ve figured out what went wrong with your blog and decided to make the changes to revive it, it’s time to take a look at the simple question of how long to make your posts. Generally, shorter rules when it comes to blogging, but more important than a particular length is whether your posts are tightly focused and if they are easy to scan and absorb. Take a gander at How Long Should a Blog Post Be? to get food for thought on blog length.

It doesn’t matter if your blog was truly dead or merely struggling for its last breath. You can not only revive it but also make it a true content marketing engine. Use the advice above to give your blog a second chance at life.