What To Do When No One Is Reading Your Company Blog

4. How will you measure your blog’s success?

   There are many ways to execute a content marketing strategy for your blog. It is important to spend time on things that accomplish your objective. To determine whether your strategy is a success, you first need a goal.

   According to Engel, “My number one tip for small business owners who are trying to execute a content marketing strategy would be to set measurable goals and track your progress. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific) and track and review your progress so you know how to best use your time and resources.”

   For example, your content marketing strategy goal could be to increase sales by 10% within one month of launch. Let’s say you try two types of messaging, technical and emotional, and distribute them on targeted websites.

   Your technical content focuses on the quality of the material used for your hand-made bow ties, while your emotional content focuses on the ability to express oneself through fashion.

   Using free analytics tools like Google Analytics you can learn that young men who read the technical articles are more likely to order a bow tie than those who read the emotional articles. You can then conclude you need to write more technical articles and fewer emotional articles.

5. What will you do with what works?

   Repeat. Continue to learn what works best and do more of it.

By refining your content marketing strategy and tactics in this way, you are more likely to accomplish your objective and achieve your blogging goal.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Jen Benz is the co-founder of Zanifesto, an easy to use, web-based infographic builder that empowers budget savvy entrepreneurs to create high quality infographics, media kits, and other marketing materials. Connect with @zanifesto on Twitter.