Learn From The Pros – Advice From Top Business Writers For Your Blog

Writing is often a crucial part of the web, and whether you’re running a small business, or working for one, you might end up writing a lot. From blogging to web copy and promotional emails or social media content, any online business has to think about the content it puts out.

Good writing is a learned skill, but writing for the web is another thing entirely. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners in the UK are writers, and you can take a few pages from their books to improve your own writing, content curation, and ideas.

Brad Burton “Get On with It”

“What are you waiting for? If you’re waiting for perfect conditions, guess what, you’re going to be waiting a very long time. That thing you are avoiding doing, cold calls, networking, whatever that is, start doing it today, it’s not going to get easier. The longer you run, the weaker you become. Deal with it NOW… Get out there and get on with it or don’t. As with everything in life the choice is yours.” – Brad Burton

Author of three books, motivational speaker, and founder and managing director of4Networking, Brad Burton certainly knows how to put his talk into action. Brad Burton hails from Salisbury, and the business he started in 2006 now has over 50,000 active members.

His advice, get out there and get on with it. Whether it’s networking, writing your blog, or promotion, getting to it is a big part of making things happen. In fact, Brad has written three best selling books on almost just that subject.

He’s also right in more ways than one. Studies show that getting started is the biggest part of a large project, and many business blogs fail simply because their authors aren’t consistent enough.

Rachel Elnaugh “Get Creative”

“It’s about being creative. If I dropped you at the side of the motorway with no cash and told you to meet me in Edinburgh, you’d have to get pretty inventive, pretty quickly. You’d have to think about what you have got, maybe negotiate or see if there were any contacts who could help you out. It’s the same in business.” – Rachel Elnaugh

Entrepreneur, investor, and business writer, Rachel Elnaugh has made a career out of business, public speaking, and is a business panellist. Her hard hitting business advice also rings true in the blogging industry, for professional writers, as well as business owners.

No one wants to read the same cookie cutter content and text everywhere they go. While it’s easy to search the news or the web for content ideas, you have to make it your own. Get creative with the topics and ideas in your niche, and do something unique (see the example). Even if it means putting in extra effort.

Simon Woodroffe – “Find Your Passion”

“Everybody has got an idea in them. There are three things people want; people would like to win the lottery, most people have an idea for a business and everybody wants to be loved by somebody. There are all kind of hard things to achieve – especially the lottery! Being an entrepreneur is an easy one but who wants to leave their safe job and have sleepless nights worrying about it, unless you’re obsessed with something. My wish for people when they are leaving school is not to have lots of qualifications, I just wish that they leave school with a passion, vision or obsession. I want them to leave school and say, “I am so into photography or I am so into cars”. To have that passion is so important because once you have had it once it is easy to translate it.
Once I started looking at hotels I just got obsessed with it.” – Simon Woodroffe

Simon Woodroffe is the founder of Yo! Sushi, owner of Yo! Company, and Yotel, and is a public speaker and celebrity entrepreneur. His advice, find your passion, which for him, has changed a bit over the years.

How does it apply to blogging? Sometimes you can go online and read an article and it inspires you. That rarely happens when the author isn’t passionate about what they’re writing about. While you can’t always be passionate about the products your business is selling, you should be passionate about your business, and find some way to carry that over into your writing.

Peter Jones “Know Your Demographic”

“Always be aware of where your money is, what it’s doing – and how it could be working harder for you. And always do your research. Knowing your customer base, your competition and the ins and outs of your business will insure your idea against a lot of pitfalls. The rest is mostly about your drive to succeed, and the team you gather around you. At the end of the day, it’s about focussing on your goal, and not giving up.” – Peter Jones

Peter Jones has basically done it all in the business industry, from celebrity entrepreneur and business TV shows, to startups, to multiple types of businesses. While not much of a writer, his savvy business advice rings true for writers all over the Internet.

Research, analytics, understanding your demographic, and watching your readers is the only way to keep your blog or other content on track, so you can keep moving forward. Understanding your niche, where you fit in, and how to leverage your current position, plus a little determination and focus, is all you need to make your blog succeed.

Duncan Bannatyne “Know Your Opportunities”

“All you have to do is spot the opportunity, and make it happen. I am quite thick, but I can recognise an opportunity and follow it.” – Duncan Bannatyne

Author of 7 business books, entrepreneur, investor, and TV personality on 7 business TV shows, Duncan Bannatyne is a very high profile business writer, and his advice is all about finding your opportunities.

A good opportunity is often hard to come by, so you should recognize yours. Understanding the opportunities and possibilities for your blog is just as important as actually writing, because it will help you to chose the right content, contact the right people, and make the correct decisions for your marketing plan.

In Summary

  • Make a plan and get started. You can move forward organically from there.
  • Be creative and unique, no one wants to read the same content over and over again.
  • Write about what you love.
  • Be smart. Analytics and consumer data exist for a reason. Utilize them for your blog.
  • Watch for opportunities. Whether it’s live tweeting for an event and blogging about it, or writing a blog about the horrible weather to promote your wellingtons, taking advantage of opportunities will boost your blog, and your business.

Source: smallbusinesscan.com