We created a blog for a client last week. I trained him how to use the blog, how to post, how to edit, how to approve comments, etc – that was the easy part. The difficult part is encouraging the client to have enough confidence to actually write the blog posts. This client (the owner of Dolce Amore Cafe) is an incredible chef and an entertaining person. He knows more about fine cuisine and the vitamins, anti-oxidants, and minerals than anyone I know. I explained to him that a successful blog post is a gift.

Blogs should be:

1. Information that customers want or need
2. It should be provided freely – the customer should not have to sign up for anything to access your blog 
3. About what is in it for the customers if they attend if you are promoting an event 
4. Written like you are having a conversation
5. Showing off your stuff – what you know and that you are an expert in your industry
6. 2-3 paragraphs (a Tasty Tidbit). If it is a long topic, break the blog into sections
7. Enjoyable to read (not necessarily entertaining – but a pleasant experience) 
8. About topics that will drive traffic to your site (but is not already included on your site)

Please do NOT give away the store – do not provide info in the blog for which you would normally charge customers – e.g. this post is about what we recommend for Blog posts, I did not tell you how to create a Blog because we charge customers to do that!

Happy Blogging!