You’ve worked hard to launch your small business, kept to your ‘mission statement’ and are just now starting to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

During it all, you’ve identified the one area that really needs your attention: content marketing. Sadly, according Ivana Taylor’s, “8 Simply Strategies: Take Your Blog from Blah to Brilliant,” on SmallBizTrends.com a lot of companies approach this task without any conviction whatsoever that timely content can enhance their customer base.

Here’s a summary of her ideas:

1. Call it something: It’s gotta make sense and, yes, be catchy…in the sense that it is “short and easy to spell;” the latter is crucial if you “want your blog to have its own domain name. Furthermore, setup your blog as would a newsletter or even an online publication.
2. Say it with confidence: Remember, you’re the expert, so don’t hold back offering tips and guides on how to succeed in your niche marketplace. In fact, be strong in your opinions. “Taking a strong stand…will not only differentiates your blog from others, it will start attracting those readers and (like-minded) customers…”
3. Don’t blog in a vacuum: Call it learning from others, or just smart marketing, but keeping up with other blogs in your sphere of business will help you bring more “insights” to your content.
4. Study blog strategies: Sounds simple, but you know what you like when you read a blog; it’s important to notice if it’s their “…writing style? Is it the…structure…What keeps you coming back for more?”
5. Keep ‘Style’ in mind when you write: Think of it as a writing assignment, one that will bring more clarity to your content, but practice…practice using different styles of writing that work for you.
6. A place for ‘ideas:’ Bookmark, file or make notes, but keep your ideas handy for when you hit the writing wall. Go back to what you know best and maybe start sharing with your readers how you’ve gone about solving a problem of two within your company. “Share some insider secrets or time-saving tips…”
7. Google Reader or FlipBoard (iPad): It’s amazing how quickly the websites blaze by our screens and we don’t take the time to track the websites we like and articles that are a must read. Go to Google Reader and the FlipBoard “…when ideas are running low.”
8. Ask the reader to do something: It’s important not to take your readers for granted. Give them a reason to ‘click thru’ to a Contact Page, or an offer that is part of your ongoing campaign. Keep your customer engaged. “Give your customers something to click on to help them solve a problem.”

Regardless of where you are in your business — just launching or cruising along happily — contact us to get more ideas in taking your company to that next level of success.