We routinely tell business owners that great blog posts are an important part of their sales, marketing and SEO strategy. With so much riding on each and every post, it's tempting to push the sales element really hard. But that is exactly the opposite of what you should do.

The hard sell is one sure way to turn off prospective customers. Think about the late night television commercials that scream at you at 3 am. Instead of making me want to learn more about their incredible claims to lose weight, grow more hair and attract the perfect mate (all for $19.99) those pushy loud ads actually make me roll my eyes and change the channel.

The best blog posts answer questions your customers have about your product or service. They want information and once you answer their questions, they'll be ready to buy. If you jump right into sales mode, you sound just like those annoying late night commercials and your customers will look for answers somewhere else. Once they do, they may never come back.