The 90s was a time for really great things: the Backstreet Boys, scrunchies, frosted tips, and one of the greatest tools in any a business’s arsenal — the blog. What was originally known as the “weblog,” shortened to “blog” years later, was one of the first ways companies and individuals began to share news via the internet to interested viewers.

Twenty plus years later, we have become better and smarter about using blogging to promote our business. But is your blog successfully bringing in new potential customers?  If your answer is no, you might be unintentionally driving away leads by making one of these mistakes:

• Your blog looks unprofessional. A website is a direct representation of your company, and the same is true of your blog. If you aren’t putting effort into making sure your posts are uniform and high quality, your readers will be able to tell. Visual faux pas like warped or pixilated photos, inconsistent fonts, or blatant typos are off-putting to viewers and may cause them to navigate off the page without reading anything. Be mindful of the words and phrases your blog is using as well — slang might be appropriate for some companies, but could send the wrong message for others.

• You make promises you can’t keep. Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial? Let’s say you purchased an amazing new blender that was supposed to be able to blend anything in the world and never break and make you lose tons of weight effortlessly. Chances are, it didn’t live up to your expectations and you are unlikely to trust that sort of thing again. Your customers are smart, and they can generally tell if your guarantees are too good to be true. Be upfront and honest about what you can do, and you’ll get a more positive response.

• You’re posting on irrelevant topics. Everyone might be talking about the latest drama with the Kardashians, but if you’re an accounting firm, this story probably does not belong on your blog. It’s good to know your audience and write about topics that will interest them, but it is also important to stay true to your own brand. Figure out a general range of subjects that are relevant to your industry and focus the content of your blog on those areas.

• You post erratically or infrequently. In the long list of duties you have to perform to keep your business running, blog writing can often fall to the bottom of your priorities. But you want your readers to look forward to new posts and know approximately when they’ll get the next update — chances are, that’s one of the reasons they’ll keep returning. Keep a regular update schedule and post frequently to retain an audience.

• All your posts sound like a sales pitch. This is difficult because, in the end, you are trying to sell something, whether it is a service, product, or idea.  Instead of pushing your enterprise, discuss what your business does and how it could be beneficial to the reader. Don’t be afraid to include a pitch, but don’t make the reader feel like they are reading an advertisement.

Your blog is one of the best tools your business has to communicate directly with potential clients. If they are looking at your blog, make sure the content you put there is going to encourage them to take the next steps, rather than drive them away.

If you have trouble regularly updating your blog or finding the right topics to pursue, we would like to help! Contact the professionals at Proven Systems at (800) 720-5398 or info@provensystems.com for a no-cost consultation.