If you own or manage a hotel, resort, inn or bed and breakfast etc. you need to create a blog that builds trust, increases your bookings, customer base & profit.

I’m going to show you how to create a blog.

Welcome to another edition of Hospitality Property School.

I’m your instructor, Gerry MacPherson.

Create a Blog Introduction

It has been well over a decade since blogging take on a life of its own.

Many experts we turn to have become famous due to their blogs and because we see more people blogging, it is very important that the content of your blog is quality.

This is especially true if you want to get found on the internet.

You might be thinking…

Why should I blog and why would people want to read what I have to write?

You might be surprised but there are people out there who care about your ideas, your generosity, and your willingness to share.

I am going to share with you what you need to keep in mind, 16 reasons why you should start a blog, tips to get started and some of the initial mistakes new bloggers make.

A Couple of Things to Keep in Mind

1. Your blog should be readable and make sense with an introduction, body and conclusion.

2. Your blog should be easily updated.

3. Your blog should be easy to create. A what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor can make your blog all that it can be.

If you can get those three things right, you’re off to a good start.

To be successful, a hospitality property owner needs a blogging strategy that allows them time to create high-quality content, so they can slowly build themselves as an expert and a leader.

Here I have to emphasize slowly.

16 Reasons Why You Should Blog

You learn new things, about yourself and your region

When you’re blogging you are sharing what you know and see, and want the world to know and see.

You might have the most amazing things to offer your guests but unless you tell them about it, they might never find out. It’s like having a priceless artifact in a dark room unless you say something – no one will know.

Blogging helps you focus

It helps you grow your thinking muscles and you will learn to reflect more deeply.

It helps you write better

It will be challenging, especially in the beginning but making time to write consistently helps you become a better writer. I this age of blast emails and texting, good writing seems to become a lost art so many of your readers will appreciate the effort.

It helps you break out of your shell

Blogging will help you build confidence. You learn to recognize and build your strength, and also admit and improve on your weaknesses.

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Does it challenge you?

The hospitality industry can be very challenging but sometimes you can get lost in the day-to-day operation and lose focus.

Blogging can be a release that will allow you to step back, refocus and let you see your day-to-day issues more clearly.

It is an inexpensive way to market

Anyone can start a blog for free and even self-host which is affordable for almost anyone.

It helps you build a client base

People are attracted to things and places they get value from. When you start a blog and start creating value and building an audience, that audience could soon become paying guests.

It disciplines you

Blogging helps you cultivate discipline. I have to admit that making time to sit down and write can be a pain, but once I sit at my desk and shut out all distractions, I get into a zone and the time and words fly.

I’m thankful for it because it’s made me more organized.

It helps you build credibility

By regularly sharing helpful information about your property and region, and openly sharing bits about your life, you build trust and position yourself as an expert.

It can land you speaking engagements

Your blog opens you up to a world of opportunities, including speaking engagements. Defining yourself as an expert in the hospitality property industry or your region can open up many doors and gain you the respect of others while increasing your client base.

It can promote more than just your property

We all have things that make us who we are and operating a hospitality property would defiantly be a huge part of what defines us, but in many cases, there is more. Whether yours is writing, cooking, drawing, painting or singing, a blog can help you promote it. This could lead to a niche clientele base or even an additional revenue stream.

It sharpens your observation

Blogging challenges you to look beyond the obvious, to see a thing other might just pass over. The more you blog, the better you appreciate tiny details others take for granted. I have also noticed blogging has helped improve my memory – I think!

It boosts your resourcefulness

Blogging pushes you to be more creative and an idea machine. To share with the world information it does not know it needs or wants.

It helps you make better choices

You’ll develop an eye for meaningful things. Since you can’t blog about everything you will become selective and write about things important to you and your readers. You will become more skilled at making better choices in your life.

It helps you acquire valuable new skills

Blogging will help you slowly learn things about domain names, hosting servers, HTML, social media, link building, SEO, blog design, etc. and other things that can be very beneficial in your daily operation.

It makes you stand out from your competition

I read that 1 percent of Internet users produce the content online. The remaining 99 percent consume.

By blogging, you stand out from the pack and help build your clientele base and develop a network.

Did they make sense? Let me know in the comments.

Here are a Few Tips to Create a Blog

Create a WordPress blog

If you’re a beginner, start with the easiest platform to create your blog. It’s good, easy to use and free and it has a ton of great features. There is a bit of a learning curve but there are lots of YouTube videos that will help.

Add features

Some of the other features that you can add to your blog are:

A homepage: A page that directs your visitors to your content and other features.

Contests: They’re an easy way to get an audience and get your property & services in front of guests.

Member section: You can add a place where people can leave reviews, give feedback, etc.

Images: Show your potential guests what you have to offer.

Contact form: For visitors to sign up for future information and specials or even to book.

Before you start your blog, you have to decide the reason you want to write a blog.

Take a moment to ask yourself these questions:

Why is your property blog-worthy?

What story supports this property?

Who would share your passion?

Are your employees aligned with this passion?

After you have answered these, start brainstorming:

Who are your target guests?

Once you know who your ideal customer is, do a little research into their behaviour and then you can adapt your blog accordingly.

Some places you can start this type of research include:

Q & A forums ie. Quora, & Yahoo! Answers

Social media ie. Groups of social media sites

Tools for getting content for your potential customers BuzzSumo.com & Topsy.com

Blog comments on other blogs your potential customers might read. What type of content are they already engaging with on other blogs?

You want to build trust with your audience so if you can discover the information your customers seek and become the go-to blog for providing that information, they will likely start to trust you.

Your Competition

Compile a list of 5-10 of your closest or the same type of competitors with blogs, audit their content and see what is working.

If they’re ranking higher than you for crucial keywords, then write and promote better content for those keywords. If you see gaps in the content on their site, capitalize on those gaps.

Targeting Keywords

Create a list of 5-10 keyword groups you want to rank for and with them the associated long-tail keywords you can include in blog content.

If you are new to this go to Google support for more info on keywords and keyword planning.

Google’s algorithm is constantly changing and is becoming more and more natural.

You are better off writing good content that engages your reader, and no worry about the search engines.

Decide on a Rhythm

Decide on their realistic number of blog posts you can commit to per week, per month and then stick to it. This will become your editorial calendar and by creating this calendar you’re creating accountability and a rhythm. Posting to your blog is not about frequency, but instead about good content and consistency.

Make sure your blog schedule is in sync with to rest of your social media strategy.

Initial Mistakes Bloggers Make

Here are some of the most common mistakes beginner bloggers make and some ways to avoid them.

Considering all blogging ideas in general

When you start blogging, you’re going to be thinking of ideas all times a day or night and wanting to post them.

The reason you’re blogging is to help your business grow, so all of your post ideas should help serve those growth goals. They should have tie-ins to concerns in your

Your writing is too rigid

Don’t write like it’s university or college theses. They are normally not that interesting for your average customer to read.

Instead, write as you talk. Be conversational in your writing, be loose, and toss in contractions. Your readers want to feel like they’re doing business with real people, not computers.

You think people care about you

When you start writing, people do not care about you.

Why should they?

They don’t know you, all they care about is what you can teach them.

Don’t force yourself on your readers, but instead share your personality. There is no right or wrong way to do this, write is if you’re talking to a friend.

Don’t be all over the page

Quite often when bloggers start writing they let your topics get too wide-ranging.

Stay very specific especially in your first few posts. Decide your goal, then your topic and then your title.

Don’t Babble

Many new bloggers write exactly what they are thinking and this stream-of-consciousness style of writing isn’t good for blog posts. Most readers scan, so make sure your post is organized.

Organize your flow thought and create a logical flow outline for your post, the use the same outline for every post and stick with it. You will be basically filling in the blanks and it will become easier over time.

Don’t plagiarism

Copy & paste is a really cool technique but it doesn’t work when it comes to your properties blog.

If you’re using other people’s content, give them credit.

Finish writing and forget to edit

When we reread something that we have written, all brain allows us to skip over mistakes.

Quite often we put too much trust in our brain. This can be a mistake.

Your blog post is going to need editing. Take the time to read each sentence slowly and carefully, fix your run-on sentences, typos, and grammatical mistakes and when that is done, give it to someone else to read.

In conclusion

As an independent hospitality property owner or manager, it can feel like an uphill struggle to even think about having enough skills or resources to create a blog post, but it doesn’t have to be if you follow to guidelines laid out in this episode.

Do you currently have a blog post?

Let me know in the comments so we can check it out.

You will have access to this episode for the next six weeks and then it will get locked in the vault for Hospitality Property School Group members only.

To see all the other valuable material you’d have access to as a member of the Hospitality Property School Group, check out the short video in the episode post-show notes.