All You Need to Know About Blogging for Business

By Barry Eichner Aug 5, 2019 2:29pm

Blogging for business is my life—it’s what I do every single day. If you don’t already know, I write and edit a beauty blog, Lipgloss + Aftershave, so it’s safe to say I know a thing or two about how to blog.

I have to interview and select our guest bloggers and assign them a topic for their article. Many of the spa professionals that we work with aren’t full-time writers. Most are estheticians or makeup artists who have strong skills. We select them because we want them to share their skills and product and treatment knowledge with our community.

Because many aren’t writers, I help them flush out their article, so they can sit down and write an article that will best showcase their knowledge base. I often get feedback that they are nervous about writing because it’s not something that they’re used to doing on a regular basis. I give them all the same advice:

Just Sit Down and Start Writing

One thing is certain—if you don’t sit down and start writing, you will never write anything. Writing is skill that you have to hone. It’s like facial massage or getting the perfect winged eyeliner. It’s something that you need to practice. Sit down and write something; commit to doing it like a beginner. Set your ego on the back bar and grow a new skill that will help you and your business.

How It All Works

If you are a spa professional, you know a little more about skincare, bodycare, makeup, and wellness than the average person. You can, and should, share this with your business community of subscribers, fans, and followers on your blog. But first, you have to create a solid plan for blogging.

Create A Calendar

It’s important to develop a solid plan to make sure that you’re writing about topics that will help you achieve your daily sales goals for your business. Use your blog to educate and inform your clients on products, services, and retail offerings that you will be showcasing in your business. This is a great strategy to use because it helps you talk about your business and what you are selling without it being an ad or a solicitation.

Your blog topics should be listed on a digital calendar. Ideally, you would create one at the beginning of the year and layout what you’ll be promoting each month. The calendar breaks down the type of content you’ll be publishing on your blog and your social media channels. For more tips on organizing, check out this American Spa article I wrote on how to create a digital calendar.

Set A Word Goal

Professional Tip: Set a goal for yourself on how many words you want to have in the article. For some, it’s easier to wrap your head around a tangible number. In the fast-paced world we’re living in, 500-750 words is ideal length, but most search engines love 600 words so the average of 600 is always a good goal. Regardless of word count, however, it’s important to focus on the quality of your content. You want to make sure your blog thoroughly covers the topic you’re writing about, whether that takes 200 words or 2,000.

Create Sections

Search engines and readers alike love headlines and sub headlines. They make articles easier to index and read. A help step is to create an outline of the headlines you’d like to incorporate and then write around that. For example, if you’re blogging about a treatment, you can look at the sections of the treatment as a great place to start.

Utilize Content from Your Vendors

Many times, your vendors have written materials on products, devices, machines, and treatments that they sell. Use this content to help write sections of your article. Your vendors create the material to educate and inform, you can use it to help your customers learn too.

Talk About the Why

As spa professionals, we love to talk to each other in great detail about how a particular product, device, or treatment works. We love to know how it impacts the skin, the cellular function, what chemistry is happening. News Flash: Your clients won’t be as interested. They just want to know why it’s going to work for them. Explain to them what their benefit will be. Will they have brighter skin? Will they have a smoother finish with a foundation? Will they feel more relaxed after the new massage? The blog is your chance to help them understand why they want this product or treatment.

Nuts & Bolts

Be sure to know the proper format of an article. You need to have an introductory paragraph informing the reader of your topic. Then, make sure you have a few paragraphs of body that explain that topic in greater detail. Conclude your piece with one paragraph where you recap the article. On average, strive to have at least three sentences per paragraph. Remember that readers love lists, so don’t be afraid to use bullet points to help make your content easier to digest, especially for treatment or product benefits. Also, make sure your headings are eye catching and sum up the topics so when readers skim, they can find what they need.

Finally, reread it at least three times and spellcheck two times before you have someone else read it and spell check it. And don’t forget to live and learn! Practice makes perfect. Happy blogging!