We’ve all been there. The pristine white screen waiting for our pearls of wisdom, and that rising panic about what exactly to write. A business blog is a window to your customers where you can invite them to experience your brand from the inside. Before you put finger to keyboard, you can alleviate the anxiety by getting strategic about how, what and when you are going to blog.

1.    Set up a topic schedule: you can make a simple list in word, use an excel spread sheet, or even schedule out topics in your blogging software to give you an added incentive to post. For topics, think about what your customers ask you the most about your product or service. What hidden features do they/it have that you can reveal? What are some of your best customer service stories? What trends are in your industry? Who can you highlight who is using your product or service well? How is it made/delivered? What global events can you link to your business? These are good triggers to start thinking about the story you want to tell about your brand. Keep this list active and handy, add to it whenever an idea pops up.

2.   Ask your clients: Use the power of social media to reach out and ask your existing audience what they want to know – this way the conversation is already interactive, and you can also let them know you have a blog, and direct them to it. If you have industry people you collaborate with, or even admire, invite them to guest post for you, which will give you content, and share their profile with a new audience.

3.   Find your voice: if you are unused to blogging or writing for an audience, one of the reasons your page is blank might be that you are not sure what your voice is. Blogging is informal and conversational, imagine you are having a chat with a client or customer, and use that kind of tone. Keep it natural and authentic, and let it grow and flow as you get more experienced. You aren’t after perfection here, just regular communication – and while we are on that…

4.   Keep it coming: part of the reason to set a topic schedule is not just to get a list of potential topics, it’s also to lock in a regular day and time to post. Create an offering for your following, but you have to keep it coming. Start with something you can commit to – one post a week is a good aspiration, but if that freaks you out, try once a fortnight – that’s only 26 posts a year! Keep it between 300 – 500 words, and make sure you have a great image to give it some visual impact.

5.   Share: once you have your post written, spellchecked and up, share on your networks, let people know it is there, enable the comments on your website or blog host and respond to people when they go to the effort of letting you know their thoughts. Before you know it you will blogging like a pro and sharing your brand and voice with the world.

To see how one Tasmanian blogger is getting her words out, click here.