{"id":3997,"date":"2012-02-28T09:06:19","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T14:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.shareaholic.com\/?p=3997"},"modified":"2014-05-13T11:08:12","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T15:08:12","slug":"great-startup-blogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shareaholic.com\/blog\/great-startup-blogs\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Examples of Great Startup Blogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"shareaholic-logo\"<\/a>Is your startup’s blog on WordPress? Get more traffic with\u00a0Shareaholic for WordPress<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In the social media world, there\u2019s no shortage of blog posts discussing mistakes to avoid. In the startup world, there\u2019s a plethora of post-mortems discussing lessons learned, offering a wise perspective enabled by 20\/20 hindsight. But what can you do\u00a0right now<\/em>\u00a0to make your startup\u2019s blog great? And how do seemingly idealistic tips like \u201cwrite content that solves your customers\u2019 problems\u201d and \u201cmeasure everything!!\u201d actually play out in the real world?<\/p>\n

We could all use inspiration from startups who create\u00a0shareable content<\/a>\u00a0each day. See how you can incorporate their strategies into your own content marketing.<\/p>\n

5 Startups Who Do Blogging Right<\/h3>\n

1. Birchbox \u2013 Keep your readers engaged with a call to action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Birchbox<\/a><\/p>\n

With guest bloggers and how-to videos, the\u00a0Birchbox<\/a>\u00a0content is always fresh. To keep readers engaged \u201cin the funnel,\u201d they optimize their posts with a call to action. Whether it\u2019s recommending a product or another blog post, they manage to keep you interested in what they do without over-selling it. They remind me of the content empire\u00a0Mint<\/a>\u00a0built with the\u00a0Mintlife blog<\/a>. With so much content to choose from and the calls-to-action, Birchbox increases the liklihood that readers will discover a post they love enough to share.<\/p>\n

2. 37 Signals \u2013 Draw a line in the sand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"37<\/a><\/p>\n

On the\u00a0Signals vs. Noise blog<\/a>, 37 Signals has\u00a0a strong opinion about pretty much everything they write about, whether it\u2019s small business tips, culture or design. In their book\u00a0Rework<\/a>\u00a0they call this \u201cdrawing a line in the sand.\u201d Having a distinctive perspective about your topic is how you win super-fans, but not everyone is going to agree with you. Other points of view work to your advantage though, as your content becomes the hub for great conversations, drawing traffic and social shares.<\/p>\n

What is your startup’s point of view?<\/p>\n

3. Runkeeper \u2013 Change it up with different kinds of content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Runkeeper<\/a><\/p>\n

Runkeeper\u2019s blog has fitness tips, user profiles, contests and the occasional product update. I\u2019m impressed with their\u00a0recent use of Slideshare\u00a0<\/a>to visualize their fitness tips. Slideshare is known for its library of B2B webinar and conference slides, but this was an innovative use of the platform coming from a B2C perspective. With\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0becoming so popular, the content marketers who find ways to visually communicate will achieve more traffic and more social shares.<\/p>\n

4. Etsy \u2013 Think big.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Etsy<\/a><\/p>\n

Etsy\u2019s content<\/a>\u00a0strives to be more than an arts and crafts blog. They\u2019ve built a visually-compelling lifestyle blog that shares the sellers\u2019 stories and covers topics ranging from\u00a0food<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0photography<\/a>. While some may say this approach indicates a lack of focus, their blogging frequency gives them room to explore. Like Birchbox, each Etsy blog post includes a call-to-action that engages the reader and drives their interest to even more content.<\/p>\n

5. SEOmoz \u2013 Build a community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SEOmoz<\/a><\/p>\n

SEOmoz<\/a>\u00a0is an inbound marketing powerhouse \u2013 definitely chugging the same Kool-aid as blogging stars\u00a0HubSpot<\/a>. There\u2019s a reason why: It works!<\/p>\n

\"SEOmoz<\/a><\/p>\n

Keeping up with the ever-changing Google algorithms can be difficult, but SEOmoz gives you the sense that we\u2019re all in this together. The\u00a0YouMoz blog<\/a>\u00a0features community blog posts, while the main\u00a0SEOmoz blog<\/a>\u00a0shares\u00a0SEO<\/a>, PPC, and blogging guides, including the must-see\u00a0White Board Fridays<\/a>\u00a0series.<\/p>\n

Your content strategy is more than your blog. How will you share this blog post on Twitter?\u00a0Will<\/em>you share it on Facebook? \u00a0This post<\/a>\u00a0by their gifted community manager\u00a0Jennita Lopez<\/a>\u00a0explains how SEOmoz successfully approaches this process. It\u2019s worth noting that although this post is about SEOmoz, the real focus is a topic (community building) that is relevant for their marketing audience.<\/p>\n

Bonus blog #6<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 The Shareaholic blog, of course!<\/strong>\u00a0Sharing\u00a0blogging tips<\/a>\u00a0and more, we follow the example of our fellow startups with everything we post.<\/p>\n

Your Blog is For Your Customers<\/h3>\n

This list includes a B2B software company, a cosmetics retailer and two online dating sites. What do they all have in common? Their blogs are for their customers. Entrepreneurial reflections and photos from the holiday party have their time and place \u2013 on your personal blog or Facebook page. When it comes to creating shareable content and user acquisition, the most successful blogs are the ones that put the needs and interests of current and potential customers first.<\/p>\n

What company blogs do you like? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is your startup’s blog on WordPress? Get more traffic with\u00a0Shareaholic for WordPress. In the social media world, there\u2019s no shortage of blog posts discussing mistakes… 
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