So on the assumption (I know, you’re not supposed to) that my readers today are business owners – I wanted to talk about the ‘Why’ of having a blog. It’s work, it’s one more thing (actually several more!) on that list of things to do, but – in this age of on-line, search, social media, and mobile everything, it’s a must do for your business marketing.
Just in case you haven’t heard, you should drive traffic to your website! That’s why you should write a blog; it’s part of the “What’s Next?” once you established your business on-line. Writing a blog is the number 1 most effective way to drive traffic. You do want more people to see your business, I know you do.
Why you should add a blog to your marketing? Because it;
- Establishes your expert status
- Add words and pages to your website
(Regular additions to your site will keep Google coming back) - Creates a space indispensable to your ideal client so they know where to go for solutions
Talking up a storm about what you do and how you do it is not really the way to go but may be a place to start. What you really want to think about is what information can you provide that will be useful to people. Why should they trust you and buy from you? Let them know you know what you are doing and talking about by giving them something in return for their trust. In the same way you would give them something in return for their email address.
This is basically how it works:
- Define or refine your ideal client, what they want to know, hear about, and buy
- Research, and then use, the words they would use in Google
- Write about numbers 1 & 2
- Google indexes those words and you get found by the people in #1
This is a somewhat simplistic way of looking at the process. However, it is just a process and you can work it. Be persistent, track your numbers and results, see how it’s working for your business and adjust as you progress.
Couple of things to know, a blog post is essentially another page on your website. That’s how Google sees it. Making sure people see what you write by posting links to social media also adds page counts to Google and gives your ideal clients the opportunity to share! Be savvy about what you write, how and where you post to social media so that people want to know more and will then go back to your website.
Bottom line answer to the question:- Because you want to get found so you can sell more stuff!
Here is a great post from Hubspot about what a business blog actually is.
Now I know you know there is more to this – there always is : ) Let us know if we can answer questions by leaving a comment below, or checking out our Web Mentoring page.