This is the second installment of a four part series outling what steps you can take to help Market your blog.  The first part of the series can be viewed here.  In this post, I am going to go over what you need to implement into your blog to build regularity and credibility. 

Now that you have created a brand for your blog, you need to set forth an outline of when you are going to perform certain functions for your blog, such as posting frequency and a set schedule when you are going to execute certain marketing tasks.  We are going to term this your “Marketing Calendar.”  Create a 7 day schedule when you plan to alot time that you have available to dedicate to your blogging activities.  Set days that are strictly for blogging (this could range to a couple times a week to everyday if possible), and set a day or two for getting the word out about your blog (this will obviously be in addition to blogging if you set a 7 day blog schedule).  Stick by this schedule and try 3 or 4 new things every couple of months.  Keep the best performing ones, and drop the ones that aren’t working after the two months are over.

After you have laid out your schedule strategy for posting and marketing, start writing a few blog posts that relate to your blog topic.  Keep in mind to pick topics that are geared toward your target audience.  Stay on topic, and keep your posts narrowly focused.  Too many ideas in one post may confuse readers.  Also, it gives you an opportunity to expand your thoughts in another post if you have a few great ideas that you had considered combining in one post.  Keep your readers in mind while posting, and write as if you are having a direct conversation with each one individually.

The final area that will bring a strong feeling of credibility to your brand/blog is posting testimonials of your expertise in your field.  If you have previous customers or friends who are well aware of your aptitude, ask them kindly to write a short recommendation of your prowess.  Post your rave reviews prominently on a sidebar on your blog, or dedicate a page solely for the purpose of listing your testimonies.  In addition, you can add a submission form on your blog for customers or subscribers to leave their feedback and add exceptional ones to your testimony collection.

In the next segment of the series, I will layout 3 specific actions you can take to help get the word out to potential readers/subscribers and give them value in doing so.