Your business expenses might include:

• buying stock or materials and paying subcontractors
• business premises costs
• repairs and renewals
• motor and travelling
• advertising
• legal and professional fees
• general office costs

Splitting the cost

If you work from home you are probably entitled to claim tax reliefs on bills such as electricity; phone, broadband etc. Let’s say you have a 7 room house including your office, you could get tax relief on 1/7 of your electricity bill.

Tax is a difficult area best solved by a one on one appointment with a tax advisor – I’m not getting my fingerprints on that train wreck! as a first step – check out HMRC self employed tax reliefs.

And it’s understandable.

What do I write about? What are my readers interested in? What do hope to achieve through blogging? Where are my car keys? These are just a few frequently asked questions thrown in my direction.

Business blogging for business thinkers

The nature of your blog content will depend on the nature of your business. It’s no good writing about polar bears if you’re a landscape gardener. By the same extension, avoid patter about landscape gardening if you’re in the polar bear trade.

Stick to what’s relevant. Business blogging is there to create a two-way relationship between you and your client base.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t rock the boat. As a freelance copywriter, I blog about all things copywriting – I also blog on the subject of film reviews. Why film reviews you ask? You’re right to suggest film review isn’t a direct extension of copywriting. Even so, it’s proved fruitful on a number of fronts.

Firstly, reviewing films allows me to flex my creative muscles and practise what I preach – writing/copywriting. On top of driving traffic to CreativePen, showcasing my copywriting prowess and enhancing my SEO quota, film review also helped build crucial contacts in the entertainment industry.

So how do I write an effective business blog?

This is a complicated question. I’ll give you a few hints and tips as to how I go about blog writing for my clients.

Where to start:

• Think about your business, think about your brand. View your business blog as a direct extension of your branding. Your principles should bleed through.
• Produce a content strategy to define how best to utilise your blog space. This often includes brand principles, key messages, target audience, keyword/key phrase research and analysis.

What’s next?

• Figure out what type of blog will satisfy the needs of your target audience. Is your blog going to be news driven? Is it going to be about you and your product/service? Are you going to have multiple blog categories in order to cover a range of sections? Whatever topics you cover, make sure they are keyword/key phrase heavy.
• Tone is crucial. You need to adapt your conversation so it speaks direct to the reader. Do you want to portray a professional or personal tone? Is humour appropriate? Will technical talk entice your readers?

All of these questions will be easier to answer if you produce a content strategy ahead of time. Plotting a clear travel of direction means that when you come to the writing stage you’ll be better placed to produce a business blog both compelling to read and effective on the marketing front.

Business Blogging: Page Layout

As with any form of copywriting, think about the visual layout of your business blog. Blocks of heavy paragraphs cascading down the page are never appealing to look at. Headings, sub-headings, bullet-points and lists will boil your blog down into content pleasing to the eye. And while you’re at it, why not throw some photos and images in for good measure?

Blogging gives your company an edge

There are, of course, no guarantees when it comes to business blogging. Even so, you can earn a dedicated following which will bring extra custom, business contacts, further your brand and help you climb the Google ladder.

And don’t forget: keep your blog up-to-date with weekly posts if possible.

Long gone are the days of introverted teenagers tapping out their every thought into the box of lights in front of them. Man evolved, the world evolved, now blogging has evolved.

Why should I care about business blogging?

Well that’s a good question. Gather round while we discuss. Blog writing has fast become one of the best ways to market your business online. Don’t just take that from a freelance copywriter. If Microsoft deems business blogging important, then who are we to argue?

I’ve tackled numerous web copy projects for clients and more often than not, I advise on the introduction of a blog page.

Besides creating a two-way conversation with customers, business blogging is a fantastic means of drumming up interest and creating sales.

The benefits of business blogging:

• Blogging communicates crucial information about you, your product and service direct to your target market.
• It’s a great way to build upon your brand principles and take your message to the widest possible audience.
• Parachute keywords and key phrases into the heart of your website on a regular basis. Done correctly, you’ll you climb the search engine ladder faster than a fireman. Google gets a real buzz from regularly updated information.
• Blogging is a great way to make new contacts and secure incoming links. Float a good post in the blogosphere and give people the chance to link back to them.
• If your business is the cake, then blogging is the cherry. A business blog drives traffic to your site, hold visitors’ attention and gives them another reason to come back.
• Finally, keep your blog up-to-date on a regular basis. People are naturally suspicious of the internet, especially when parting with money. So build consumer confidence with regular blog posts. If your website looks well kept and cared for, people are less likely to click on the ‘back’ button.

I’m always on the look out for great people to work alongside, so drop me a line if your great!

“This is the life”, mutters Frank as he takes view of the green fields below.

With that, both engines start to chug.

Houston, we have a problem!

Bullet points and in-flight safety?

Abandoning the cockpit, a frantic search for a parachute ensues. All Frank finds is a ruler, a half-eaten sandwich and a copy of Reader’s Digest.

7,000 feet and counting…

A bulb suddenly lights up the murky abyss of Frank’s mind. Whipping an iPhone from his trouser pocket with the precision of a gunslinger, he connects to the internet.

6,000 feet and counting…

Frank shakily thumbs the words ‘what to do when a small aircraft goes down’ into Google. Clicking on the first return, a stream of dense content clogs the screen. With time of the essence, Frank hits the back button and continues his search for more easily digestible material.

5,000 feet and counting…

Now don’t take this the wrong way, online readers generally have short attention spans. This is especially the case when aboard a light aircraft in freefall.

As such, writers of web copy are tasked with keeping readers on the beaten-path and averting any unnecessary detours. This is no easy feat to achieve.

The copywriter must unleash a furious assault on the senses of the reader. Bullet points, of course, are a crucial cudgel in the copywriters’ arsenal.

Chunking-down body copy with bullet points

4,000 feet and counting…

A quick glance out of the cockpit window informs Frank that the once distant fields below are creeping up faster than a cheetah in a Ferrari. Desperation sets in. Clicking on the next search down, Frank hits the same wall. “I don’t have time to read a book”, he screams, “where are the bullet points and lists?”

3,000 feet and counting…

Frank is of course right to suggest that the visual composition of body copy is vital to holding readers’ attention. So when tackling a dense web copy project, why not try throwing a bullet pointed list into the mix? This will break your content down faster than a snowman at a tanning shop.

Readers are partial to the odd bullet point

2,000 feet and counting…

Beside himself with anger at the uninviting content, Frank sets about writing an email to the website’s author:

Dear Sir/Madam,

This may be my final communication with the outside world, so I feel it crucial to underscore the importance of bullet points when it comes to online readability.

Web writers use bullet points for a number of good reasons:

• Readability                   – quite simply, people like lists
• Concision                     – makes for scannable web copy
• Visual                           – visual layout is crucial

In closing, bullet pointed lists must contain relevant information. They won’t work unless the list has been carefully thought-out. Bullet pointed lists need to be understood at a glance.

Regards

Frank

Ground control to major tom: we need bullet points

1,000 feet and counting…

With the end in sight, Frank makes one last ditch effort and clicks on the next website down. Hallelujah! The body copy is immaculately presented, utilising the benefits of headings, subheadings and bullet points.

Quickly scanning the content, Frank lays claim to an invaluable piece of information – ‘check the ignition’. Dashing into the cockpit with more vigour than a tooth fairy at the dentists, Frank spots that the ignition key is turned to ‘off’. Rotating the key one click to the right, the aircraft quickly jumps back to life.

2,000 feet and counting…

Ascending back to the heavens, Frank gives thanks to the bullet point which just saved his life. Dialling home, he tells his wife of the near catastrophic events. As the conversation draws to a close, Frank muses:

“Bullet pointed lists, headings and subheadings offer copywriters a fantastic method of making content visually pleasing and easy to read. Honey, we need writers to keep rocking the boat by peppering their content with appropriate page breaks. After all, to make a cake, you’ve got to crack a few eggs.”

10,000 feet and counting…