This guest post is by freelance proofreader Stefanie Flaxman of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Need writing help? Take your FREE copy of Stefanie’s new ebook Your Ultimate Online Proofreading Guide for Better Writing.

There’s an important word that often gets overlooked when managing your business blog. Business.

A blog that gives your readers insight into the products or services that you sell is not an arbitrary journal. Although personal anecdotes help you connect with your customers, and business blog posts shouldn’t be dry and mechanical, you must never forget that you run a business.

If your blog posts don’t display the work that you do—for money—you’re not actually promoting commerce.


A few months ago, I saw an allegory for this mistake in an unexpected situation.

My apartment had a minor ant infestation in my kitchen and bathroom. The weather was warm, and it’s fairly common for those pests to branch out of their normal territory in search of water.

Before the problem escalated, I bought a number of ant traps (poison) and strategically placed them around the visible trails. (Side note: if you think that my discussion of killing ants is inhumane, please report me to PETA; I’d love the publicity.) The traps were supposed to take effect within a few days, but by the end of the week the situation had not improved.

The ants seemed to have no interest in the poisonous food that I placed along their paths. My assessment was that the heat had ignited a strict search for water, not food. They weren’t interested in the food that I offered them because they were looking for something else.

While my ant problem was at a standstill, I reflected on the situation in terms of business writing.

Does your business blog offer “food” when your customers want “water”? 

In other words, do you write about topics that don’t turn your readers into buyers?

Use your business blog to show customers that you have what they want. Every blog post shouldn’t be a sales letter, but you need to demonstrate the value that you provide for your target audience—whether it’s aesthetic, educational, or practical value.

You may have a large audience of fans who adore what you do, but your creative efforts won’t actually turn into a career if you don’t monetize your following.

Make your business a balance between what you love to create and what people want. Think of it as artistic functionality.

You create a unique product that serves a function. When you create something that serves a function, your product helps people. And when you have something that helps people, people buy it and spread the word about you.

For my ant situation, the missing ingredient was my patience. After a few more days, the little creatures were gone. I did, indeed, buy a product that solved my problem.

If you need a set of discerning eyes to review the writing that you use to attract customers, take advantage of my proofreading services. Revising your writing can make the difference between satisfied “ants” that buy what you sell and indifferent “ants” that go elsewhere to buy what they want.