Blogging can seem like a daunting task, especially of you don’t consider yourself to be a writer. While you’re crazy busy running your dispensary, sitting down to write a blog post may seem like an impossible task. The reasons to have a blog for your business are many: you can announce exciting news within your company, share knowledge about your products and services, and most importantly, establish yourself as THE expert in the cannabis field. You can also break down your blog post to create other social media content, so one piece of work turns into many pieces of content. If you’re looking for ways to start a blog and increase your following, read on!
Your first step is choosing a blogging platform. There are free and paid options, with the biggest difference being that a paid site typically gives you the opportunity to use your custom domain. I love custom domains because they further legitimize your brand, and help tie everything together. While WordPress has been my go-to platform for my blog and my website, there are many other great blogging sites available!
Once you have chosen your blog platform and set up your site, content is the next important step. Finding amazing content to share on your blog is simple once you have established your mission and values. Everything that you post already reflects your business beliefs, and your blog is simply an extension of your online personality and brand. Your blog shows why you are passionate about your business, and can help highlight your dispensary from your competitors. Get inspired for your next post by checking out what is trending in your industry, and what people are already talking about. Stumped? Check out these tips to get your blog up and running with stellar content:
- Use customer questions
- If you are asking for questions on your social media sites, this is a great way to expand upon what people are already asking
- You can use your social media pages or your competitors to see what customers want more information about
- Read blogs and articles from the cannabis industry and your competitors
- This may provide some additional insight into what clients are looking for
- Other blogs can spark inspiration for your next topic
- If you have different opinions than what you read on the internet, expand on that to differentiate yourself
- Search for trending topics
- Facebook and Twitter both plainly list trending topics
- Use this data to inform your followers about what matters to them most
- Check out websites like High Times and MassRoots on Facebook
- Search through Quora
- Quora is an online community for people to ask questions and get answers.
- About 100 million monthly visitors visit Quora
- You can search for topics relating to weed and see what people are asking
Blogging involves being engaged in the blogging community, just like other social media. The more you engage with the cannabis community, the better likelihood that people will engage back. Once you find your ideal topic, utilize these best practices to make your following grow.
- 500-1,200 words per blog post is great for SEO
- Blogs should be 500 words at a minimum.
- Longer blogs have a better chance of ranking with Google.
- Include images that relate to your topic.
- Comment on popular blogs
- Find popular blogs in your industry and start following them.
- Reply to comments in another blog’s thread, providing your expertise (especially valuable for your budtenders to get involved).
- Recognize someone else’s content
- Link back to another blog if you are quoting their article or using statistics.
- Engaging helps to foster goodwill.
- Helps SEO.
- Allow comments on your blog
- Invites visitors to engage.
- Gives you valuable feedback and the opportunity to answer questions.
- Proof your post
- Since blogging is intended to establish yourself as the expert in your field, proofreading your articles is a must.
- Take a break. After you write your blog post, take some time away and re-read it later to make any additional edits.
- Reading your blog out loud helps you to hear the flow of your article.
- Play with fonts, size, and graphics. Make your blog visually appealing for your audience.
- Consistency is Key
- Figure out how many quality blog posts you can create in one month, and stick to that schedule.
- Release blogs on certain days to gain the most traffic and build anticipation.
- Use Infographics
- Infographics are easy to digest, which is great for millennial fans.
- Create your own with Canva, or share another company’s infographic (use appropriate attribution and link back to their page).
- Use keywords strategically in your heading and blog content.
- Make sure your blog is mobile friendly!
- People use their phones to digest much of what they see on the internet.
- Check your blog posts to ensure they look great on your mobile device and your desktop.
- Use numbers in your topic
- Numbers get more attention when they are in your blog title.
- Example, “5 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience Using Social Media”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.