I have always told my clients that every blog post needs to have at least one image, and I stick to that rule myself. I even go so far as to set up a separate field for the "primary post image" in my Drupal website installations so that an image must be uploaded. (That also has the benefit of giving the website a specific image associated with that blog post for slideshows and other displays.) I usually mention that images help generate interest in your content, but don't go into a lot of detail unless asked regarding all the reasons for including an image. So, here are ten benefits that I see to making sure that every time you write a blog post, you include at least one great image.

"Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate." - Vince Lombardi

Lombardi is arguably one of the greatest NFL coaches to ever take the field. His speeches and coaching skills are legendary. While he is often quoted for his motivational comments, he was no slouch when it came to teaching his players technique either. If you have decided to embrace Content Marketing as a strategy for your business, you're going to want to invest in the best possible blog coach you can find. Of course, before you're ready to hire someone, you need to recognize why you'd want to hire a blog coach in the first place.

One of the biggest challenges for businesses who want to use content marketing to communicate is finding ideas and sources for new content topics. Since most of your blog topics should not be talking about your specific products or services, what do you talk about? One technique is referred to as Newsjacking. We will discuss Newsjacking in greater detail in another post, but the basic idea is that you will take a look at a trending story and then write about it. You may simply share the details with your audience, but it's even better if you can add some additional perspective that will be helpful or interesting, and uniquely you.

Each time you create a new blog post, there are a number of things you need to do. The post needs to be shared to your appropriate social networks and groups, and you may want to consider sending a link to some customers or potential customers if you think they will find the topic useful. If your website is contracted correctly, it will have an XML Sitemap that automatically updates itself and communicates new content to search engines like Google, but what about the major blog directories like Technorati? A popular tool to to notify these servers when you have new content is called Ping.

For most businesses, implementation of a blog is a core component of a content marketing strategy that is designed to attract more and more visitors who can be educated through blog posts and converted into customers. While the creation of great, compelling content is a key aspect of that strategy, it's also extremely important that your blog is optimized for search engines. The best blog post in the world is worth nothing if no one knows about it and can't find it!

Every time you publish a new blog post or article, it includes a title or headline. How much time do you spend thinking about that headline? If you're like most business owners, you probably only spend a couple of minutes. It's the content of your blog itself that's most important, right? Wrong! The fact is, most of your potential readers will decide whether or not to read your article based SOLELY on your headline! On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but just 2 out of 10 will read the rest. Just as magazines spend considerable effort making their covers compelling to readers, you too must devote sufficient time to making your headlines even better. Here are some things to keep in mind.

In an earlier article on mobile websites for business, we mentioned several telling statistics and gave you quick links to tweet those stats out to your own Twitter followers. This is a technique that we noticed on Social Media Today and wanted to duplicate on our own articles when appropriate. By providing tweetable links, you offer readers an opportunity to share some interesting information from your blog while also sharing a link to your article at the same time.