6 Things Every Business Blog Needs to Have

Superb content is the hallmark of a successful small business blog, but faulty design can undermine even the best content. That's why every business blog needs these six must-have features.

Use prominent RSS and email subscription blocks. Make it easy for your customers and prospects to subscribe! If your business is technology related, it's possible your audience uses RSS feeds, but email subscriptions have broader appeal, so be sure to include that option.

Kill the clutter. It's tempting to go wild adding "stuff" to your sidebars: ads, tag clouds, Twitter feeds, badges, buttons, and awards. Resist the temptation. A clean, visually appealing blog with one unassuming sidebar helps focus visitors on what counts: your content. Remember, if it takes a person more than a few seconds to figure out what your blog is all about, you'll lose them -- probably forever.

Include a call to action. If you are blogging for business, you want visitors to take some sort of action, be it requesting a quote, downloading a white paper, scheduling a service call, or something else. The best spots to display a call to action are on your (uncluttered) sidebar and/or the closing lines of your blog posts.

Make it easy to post comments. Business blogs trip themselves up by putting obstacles in the way of commenters. Commenters are enthusiastic and want to get involved; forcing them to log in to leave a comment is like telling a prospect you're too busy to take his order right now and to please call back. If you moderate comments in advance of publishing, review them quickly. Also, give commenters the ability to subscribe to comments -- a snap to set up in WordPress and any other respectable blogging CMS -- so they can easily follow conversations.

Use images. Ever since the invention of television, very few of us gather around the fireplace and listen to the radio. This is because people love images. A blog without pictures is like toast without butter, pancakes without syrup, or tonic without gin. The best positions for images are at the top of, or at the top right of, a blog post. Images should be relevant; otherwise, you will only confuse the visitor.

Design your blog to be readable. Font size and font type should be as easy to read as possible. Headlines, subheads, and anchor text (hyperlinks) should be styled in such a way that visitors are drawn to them. And avoid light text on a dark background like the plague.

Provide multiple search and browse options. Make it easy for visitors to find content they crave by giving them a variety of ways to sift through your posts. Must-have options include:

 
• An internal search box -- for strategic searchers 
• Sidebar category links -- for strategic browsers 
• Sidebar links to popular posts -- for people who want what's hot 
• Sidebar links to recent posts -- for people who want what's new 
• Easy to find and elegantly displayed archives -- for people who want it all

Attentive readers will have noticed I use the word "easy" a lot in this article. Business blogs, and perhaps businesses in general, tend to over-complicate things. Especially at the beginning, keeping it simple is the best way to get and keep visitors engaged with your blog.

After you build community and thought leadership, there will be plenty of time to add cool widgets to the sidebar and turn your blog into a digital carnival if you still want to. In the meantime, strive to give your readers content they cannot live without.

For further reading, see Define and Measure: 2 Keys to Business Blogging Success and 5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Quality Content.

---

Brad Shorr has been blogging since 2005. His freelance business, Word Sell, Inc., was among the first to introduce blogging to entrepreneurs and midsized firms. Hi is currently Director of Content & Social Media for Straight North, a Chicago Internet marketing agency. The firm specializes in B2B, with firms ranging from credit card processing to work gloves.  For social media conversation, follow Brad Shorr on Twitter.