One of the biggest challenges that most businesses face is how to keep readers interested and coming back for more. In the typical business setup, it is very linear. One person does one job, another person does another and so on. While this may work for certain jobs, eventually, your business begins to get stale and workers begin to get tired of the same tasks over and over.
Rather than find more “work” to keep them busy, why not put them to use by having them share something interesting about your business – what does your business do, are there any tips you can share with your customers through your employees, such as how they can connect with you through your social media channels. How about even have them provide insight into certain products or services that you may offer.
Not only will this make work more fun, but your business can also benefit tremendously from the added exposure. I know what you’re thinking though…I don’t want my employees wasting time writing, I want them doing their jobs!
In a sense, they are. They’re also helping you open the door to people that may know your business, but don’t know your full line of products. Take a look at successful sites like Engadget, Mashable and 9to5Mac who have seen success with having a multi-author blog. Not only do they produce content at a high-rate, they’re also able to get their jobs done and have fun doing it! Not to mention, the more quality content you product, the more it helps spread the word. Pretty soon, you’ll become the go-to place for your product or service.
So once you’ve made the decision to begin blogging, be sure to follow these 5 tips on how to setup a multi-author blog for your business.
- Set goals and guidelines for your authors
Before you begin blogging, be sure you assign responsibilities. Define what you hope to achieve. Do you want more traffic, more product sales, more exposure to a certain blog category? By defining your goals and your expectations for your employees, you’ll have something to begin working towards. Without goals, it’s like traveling in the desert with no end in sight. Set them and stick to them, readjust as you meet and surpass them. - Who’s in charge?
Without a captain, who will keep your blog on-track? Be sure to choose an Editor for your blog. This person will be responsible for creating an editorial calendar, reporting to blog authors on the results of their blog posts – how well they’re doing, ensuring that blog posts are being written a certain way. e.g. they include proper images and links to new and old content, etc… While you’re at it, don’t forget to let your writers know what you expect from them. This is typically communicated by the Editor-In-Chief. - Create an editorial calendar
One area that I always recommend to anyone who is interested in starting a multi-author blog is to create an editorial calendar. This blog calendar is important because it defines when a post should be written and helps to ensure that content is always being written. For each author, assign them a specific time and day of the week. This way you don’t have to worry about content not being written. With a calendar in-place, the people who read your blog can also get familiar with seeing a certain author every Friday at noon. This helps to build loyalty with your readers. - Encouragement is a great remedy – keep things fun!
Instead of making blogging a chore, make it fun. Some great ways to do this are by keeping your writers informed on how they are doing. Be sure to praise your writers and don’t be afraid to make suggestions to also help them improve their content. Other ways to keep things fun are by running contests. For instance, you could run a monthly contest and reward your team of bloggers who had the most views that month. - Sharing is caring
Once your team is all set, create a secret Facebook Group and encourage them to participate regularly and to openly discuss such as new topics, enhancements to the blog, etc… Not only will you foster some great ideas, but you’ll also begin to build a tight-knit community at your business, eager to spread the word.
To get started setting up a multi-author blog, take a moment to watch this short video. Remember, multi-author blogs can be a great asset to any business. Just be sure you’ve followed these 5 tips before getting started! Happy blogging!
