Business blogging should be an opportunity to advertise, think, and share your message. However, inexperienced marketers frequently misstep when crafting public content such as blogs. Some of the common pitfalls include becoming overly personal, using terms that are too technical, and failing to understand what drives your customers.  Here are a few ways to avoid these mistakes.

There is nothing that will drive someone away from your blog (or business) faster than the feeling that they don’t like you. This can happen if we let negative emotions bleed into our writing. While a good rant once and a while can be fine, make sure that you do not come off in a way that might disillusion your customers. One of the best ways to do this is to have another person to help you with your blogs. Someone who is not involved in the writing process but who can look over your finished draft is a great resource to help ensure that you sound “sane”. In other words, having an outside perspective can ensure that you don’t alienate potential customers by coming off in a way that will seem strange to them.

Another thing to be aware of is the tendency of experts in a field to forget how little knowledge a layman has. While you may be used to terms which are accurate and precise, their ability to convey information reliably depends on the education of the reader. The overuse of jargon means that your blog will only be accessible to a select few, and often these people will not be your ideal customers. Therefore, try to explain topics in a way that anyone can understand them. This increase in accessibility creates the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert to those who lack knowledge in your field.

Finally, I often see business blogs that are overly patronizing, or which do not reflect the way that a customer feels about the service. If your blog comes off as overly pretentious, it can be quite off putting to your customers. A fast food joint, for example, should understand that its market is not the same as the market for a 500 dollar a plate establishment downtown. In either case, failing to properly understand why someone wants your service will make you sound confused or incompetent. Understanding your niche is key if you want to create a successful online presence.