Your business blog design has more in common with traditional web design than you may realize. Your readers want to get to know you, what your business is about, what services your provide. Your blog can be an effective marketing tool with just a few changes.
8 things your readers want to see on your blog.
- Who are you? What makes you unique? Your About Me page should contain a photo and a personalized bio, not your business resume. What’s your point of view? Two or three short paragraphs to introduce yourself and your business.
- Services tab. What services do you offer? Clear and concise. We’re a marketing and media company that helps small business to navigate the ever-changing world of online marketing. If you have specific programs, this is the place to display them.
- Contact Us. Display the contact us form as many places as appears convenient. Besides an email contact form, be sure to display your telephone number and business address. You may want to display your email address too as most email clients successfully filter out spam.
- Testimonials. Who are your clients? What are they saying about you? This type of third party validation is still valuable even with the presence of social networking sites that provide the opportunity for feedback.
- Easy Navigation. Think through your navigation plan. Try to stick to less than 10 pages displayed on your navigation/menu bar. You can direct your readers to other pages on your site when they have specific questions.
- Feedback. Your blog is brilliant at allowing your readers to have a conversation with you. If someone has taken the time to comment on something you’ve said, thank them or respond to their comment.
- Call to Action. What do you want your readers to do? Ask them. In the most valuable real estate on your home page … the top right corner. Ask them to sign up for your newsletter, download your ebook, buy your product. Just ask.
- Display Social Networking accounts. Just below your call to action. Linkable icons, so folks can follow you.
Beauty and brains: 4 best practices in UGC design for ecommerce. is a good blog post that expands this topic.
That’s it. There’s the information your readers want about you. Wasn’t that easy?
