Startups are consistently urged to blog, to the point that the advice starts sounding like a Portlandia sketch, but saying “Put a blog on it!” isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Producing a great startup blog requires a lot of hard work and time, so it shouldn’t be something you take on just to check off another thing on your startup’s to-do list.
Here are three questions to consider in the process:
How does your blog fit in the market?
Finding a product/market fit for your content is indispensable. One method is to spot knowledge or perspective gaps on topics that aren’t being shared online.
HelpScout’s blog is rich with insightful research and compelling examples. It’s a valuable resource for the customer service industry — not only because their content strategist Gregory Ciotti is producing great content, but he’s also going against the grain of what’s already out there. He explains, “We noticed quickly that the customer service space is filled with anecdotal content and personal stories. We decided to do the complete opposite, relying instead on consumer research on customer loyalty.”
Similarly, when co-founder and CEO of ShopLocket Katherine Hague noticed their old blog fizzling out, she moved away from the ocean of existing software startup stories. Instead, ShopLocket filled a content gap with an interview series about selling products and hardware. Hague explains that she wanted to create a series that “told the stories of people building real physical products.”
She also decided to treat content more like a product: beautifully designed and presented in a standalone style, rather than the reverse-chronological presentation of a traditional blog. “We wanted it to be pretty so we’d be proud to actually have it be part of our portfolio,” explains Hague.
How do you connect with an audience?
Cultivating an audience shouldn’t be a mindless attempt to attract a bunch of leads. Instead, you want to build relationships with people who care about your voice and your brand. Therefore, it is important to know your audience and offer content that they’ll find engaging and valuable.
For example, the makeup subscription service Birchbox puts out a monthly online magazine with tips and product tests. Whether you’re an actual Birchbox customer or not, you’ll be interested in the magazine’s latest discoveries, style tutorials, and videos. People who are into beauty and grooming are all potential Birchbox audience members.
A startup is similar to a new local theater troupe when they’re going through one of the toughest challenges of blogging – building an audience. They don’t want people to just buy tickets; they want them to stick around for the whole show. They hope to have an audience who will return for more shows and spread the word.
So here are some questions to think about when you’re creating content: What matters to your audience? What do they care about? What conversations do you want to have with your community?
Are you showing who you are?
You also have to express yourself. After all, your blog is a reflection of your company and what you’re trying to accomplish. It can also help you define how you think about your business.
Let your product guide the way. Intercom‘s blog delivers useful tips and articles on everything from sales to UX design. This makes sense because their personal messaging service impacts multiple aspects of running a startup.
Likewise, The Fetch has a great blog that curates the best professional events, job and stories based on locations. In addition to having a useful product, their blog explores different cities, offers conference tips, and advice on community building.
When it comes to starting a company blog, don’t be afraid to express your personality, cultivate a distinctive voice, and experiment with content. A blog full of empty listicles and bland tips that sounds like you’re trying on a knowledge leader’s suit is boring. Even when you’re educating and sharing knowledge like the folks at Wistia do with their Learning Center or blog on creating amazing video marketing, you can do it in a fun, even funky way.
You’ll notice Wistia employees being featured in videos, penning blog posts, and participating in the comments. That fun, fresh approach still takes a ton of work, but people will respond when they see that you’re enjoying yourself and sharing that experience in writing or on-screen.
Treating your blog as another product in your portfolio will change your mindset on defining what you want to accomplish as a company. The important thing is that you’re creating something with purpose for yourself and your potential audience.