This is a guest post by contributing Bella Web Design writer, Debbie Held.

So you’ve finally tackled that looming goal on your business’ to-do list: You’ve set up your blog.  The good news is that in all likelihood, people coming to your website are going to be looking to see if you have a blog. The bad news is that they will then click-through to see if you actually update it.

Hey, let’s face it: Scheduling your writing time can be difficult in your day-to-day world, even for those of us who get paid to do it!

Your blog gives you a unique opportunity to showcase your business, services, or even your personal opines and musings in a forum for immediate online publication. Besides, writing soothes the soul, and solid writing will never go out of style (no matter where it is published).

Not a good writer, you say? Neither are the majority of bloggers out there. In fact, the blogosphere has been so saturated with low quality writing that your own fairly decent blogging skills can make you a stand-out among readers.

Below, some helpful tips:

• Be concise and to–the-point. Folks today are really (way too) distracted to read like they used to. While they’ll skim many sites and bookmarks in a day, they’re just not likely to read verbose passages, especially on someone’s blog. Aim for roughly 500 or so words per post.
• Open strong. Grab their attention in the first 10 seconds or else they’re gone and not coming back today (or… ever?).
• Use bullets (like the ones you see here, for example). See first point.
• Create a routine.  Find a time that works for you, enter it in your calendar, and force yourself to work on those blog posts. As time goes on, the process will become easier and more enjoyable.
• Update your blog regularly. This is vital both for readership as well as Google crawler purposes. Three times a week is awesome, twice a week is satisfactory, once a week is imperative.  Your cool blogger friends will be happy to help, too, as this will provide them with added fodder and exposure for their own blog audiences.
• Keep reading/find your own voice.  As they say, “Practice makes perfect.” Keep reading the works of writers and authors whose voices you enjoy, but not just from the Internet, please. Newspaper and magazine articles are the real “go-to” source for proper writing style and form. While certainly not mandatory on your own blog, these articles can help you develop your own voice with continued practice.

Above all, don’t get hung up on too much of anything initially, other than getting some original (as in, yours and not copied from elsewhere) text posted to your blog on a routine basis. You can write about anything you want, really. Don’t get boxed in by anyone else’s vision. After all, isn’t that why you went into business for yourself in the first place?

Deborah (“Debbie”) Held is an Atlanta-based freelance journalist and business writer who has written nearly 600 articles for local, regional and national publication and does not always practice what she preaches. She blogs weekly for other people, usually in “ghosted” form, and she swears that this is the year in which she will tend to her own blog. She lives in Atlanta with her teenage daughter, her beagle, her Italian greyhound, and Gavin, the cat. In her rare snippets of free time, she enjoys knitting. Please contact her at www.debbieheld.com.