So, do you need a blog, and is it worth the effort?
If you run a business that has an online presence, the short answer is, “Yes, definitely!” For a slightly longer, more detailed answer, read on.
And that’s traffic that you can convert into sales!
One of the biggest difficulties small businesses face is getting people onto their website in the first place. There are SO many websites out there, how do people actually find yours?
You’ve spent hours on end building your website (or spent money on someone else building your website for you) and poured your heart and soul into it. After all, your business is something you are hugely passionate about and you want your customers and clients to love it as much as you do!
You hit publish and wait. Refreshing your stats page every couple of minutes but nothing happens.
So how exactly do you get eyes on your website without bombarding your social media accounts with promo posts? With blog content!
And that’s why I’ve listed this as the #1 reason your business needs a blog. You’ll have great content to share with your target audience that will get them clicking through to your website AND you’ll have content that can be found through search engines.
2 YOUR BLOG FORMS PART OF YOUR BRAND (AND SHOWCASES YOUR PERSONALITY)
Your website is a place that your customers and clients can get to know you – to learn who you are, what you do, and, most importantly, how you can help them.
The voice you use in your blog posts is just another elements of your business brand.
If you’re selling services, it’s really important that your potential clients get a feel for your personality. After all, they want to know that you are going to work well together.
If you’re selling products, it can be difficult to showcase your personality if the majority of your social media posts are images of your products. In this instance, you could use your blog as a gateway for your customers to get to know the person (or people) behind the business.
3 YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR BLOG
Social media platforms are great for sharing your products and services with your audience but what happens when Facebook suspends your account or deletes your group for no reason? Or the Instagram algorithm changes again and suddenly no one is seeing your content.
Your followers can literally disappear overnight.
If your website is self-hosted (which I recommend it is!), you have complete control over the content you share on there. It’s not just going to disappear without warning.
4 IT PUTS YOU ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITION
Ever thought about booking a service online and visited heaps of websites that all offer the same thing? It’s hard to differentiate between them, let alone make a decision on which one to use.
Make your business stand out from the competition by starting a blog!
Your blog can also help you to establish your expertise in your niche or market. Let’s say, for example, you’re looking for someone to rebrand your business and you find two potential people. The quality of their portfolios is pretty much the same. One doesn’t have a blog. The other is full of blog posts explaining everything about branding from the psychology of your brand’s colours to a step-by-step guide for definitely your target audience. Which one do you hire?
I know personally, I’d go with the one who had a blog because their expertise is clearly visible. You can see the passion they have for branding and see that they have a great deal of knowledge too!
5 YOU CAN USE YOUR BLOG TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR CUSTOMER/CLIENT EXPERIENCE
Whilst a blog is a great way to attract new people to your website and potentially convert them into paying clients and customers, it’s also a fantastic tool for looking after your current clients and customers.
Use your blog to share useful information that will actually help customers old and new.
A great example of this, is the blog over at Bluchic.
Their blog is full of useful posts about why having a great website theme matters and how to make the most of their landing page templates to achieve great conversion rates. Not only do posts like these act as sales tools for their products but they also offer support and guidance to those who have already made purchases from them.
You can also use your blog as a kind of “FAQ” library. Rather than simply having a huge FAQ section to your website, take some common questions and turn the answers into blog posts.
Not sure what I mean?
Take this blog post for example. I often get asked why a business needs a blog. So, I used that question as the purpose of this post. And now you know exactly why your business needs a blog!
KD-VA can support you through the process of starting your blog as well as offering blog writing, content planning and editing/proofreading services.