There are many reasons that you may be considering (or already have) a business blog on your website. Perhaps you simply want to drive traffic to your website or sales page. Or maybe you want to constantly keep your content fresh. You may want to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field or you need to inform and educate your clients and potential clients about what you do. Whatever the reason, there are some really crucial features that will help to make your business, make you, and make your content a lot more visible. Here they are:

1. A Subscribe Box: You got’em there, now make it simple for them to get your blogs in their inbox.
2. Social Media Links: Your blog is a great tool that can get people interested enough in you or your business to like your Facebook Page, follow you on Twitter, connect with you on LinkedIn, pin your images on Pinterest, etc. Make sure that the Social Media icons are in a visible location, usually on the header or the sidebar.
3. A Sharing Tool: This wonderful tool makes it effortless for people to share your blogs on Social Media and article sharing sites. I use DiggDigg, which is a great WordPress plugin. It “hangs out” on the left side of the content and follows the reader down the screen, so when they think to themselves “I want to share this great article with my Facebook friends,” it’s a snap for them to do it.
4. A List of Categories: Each time you publish a blog post make sure you add it to a category. As you blog more, your categories will increase. This makes it super easy for readers to find more of your incredible content…and stay longer on your site.
5. Your Photo: If you are blogging for your own company or for a company you work for, don’t be shy…add your photo to the page! I feel content is more impactful when the reader can visualize the human being who created it. If you don’t have a professional headshot already, just use a photo of yourself that you like.
6. A Comment Box: If you want to engage your readers, encourage them to ask questions or post their feelings about your topic. You can have your blog set up so that comments are published only after you have approved them, so there’s no chance of someone spamming your blog.
7. Your Contact Info: Make it painless for readers to get in touch with you. You always want to eliminate the need for someone (especially a potential client or customer!) to hunt for the information.

 

Here’s a sample:

 

Any developer worth his or her salt will automatically ask you if you want these useful features on your blog, but sadly many business blogs are launched without most of them. That’s because unsuspecting website owners don’t know what to request.

Have Questions? Just ask.