I seem to be starting a lot of posts with a number these days and here I go again. But before, I get into it, let me start with a question.
“Do you have a blog and if not, why not?”
Okay, so some of you are probably shutting off already. “Blogging is so passe”, I hear you thinking. Or maybe “Yeah, right. When am I going to find time to write a blog on top of all the other work I already do?”. Well, excuses aside here are seven good reasons why you should have a blog.
1.) A blog is a great way to provide free content on your website
Building customer trust is one of the most challenging things to do with a website, but also one of the most crucial. Giving away free information or products is a great way to establish trust in you and your company as people find themselves thinking “Wow, if they’re willing to give away this useful info, we’re bound to get value when we actually shell out our hard earned cash with these guys.”
2.) A blog is a great way to develop content that is related to your product or service.
Search engines love content heavy sites and blogs are a great way to develop content that is related to your product or service. If you stay focused in your blog and talk primarily about topics that your customers would be interested in, search engines will pick up on the keywords in your blog and this will help to boost your website’s rankings for search terms that are related to your product or service.
3.) A blog can help to distinguish you as an expert
Are you an expert in your field? Would your customers call you an expert? Maybe you don’t think of yourself as one, but many others would consider you to be an expert. You probably know a heck of a lot more about your product and service than your customers, which is why they pay you to provide it right?!
So use a blog to show people that you know your stuff. Give away information that is useful, timely and relevant and your customers will love you for it and come to trust that you are the person to turn to in your industry when they need your product or service.
4.) A blog can demonstrate a good work ethic
Okay, let’s face it. blogging can be a bit of work. It takes a certain amount of commitment to sit down regularly and write something that is thought provoking and worth sitting down to read. The corollary of putting in the effort is that others can see that you’re not afraid of a bit of work and this inspires confidence in your ability to provide a service that is worth paying for.
5.) Blogs generate traffic.
Okay, so you may think this sounds pretty close to point 1 and it is. But search engines aren’t the only way that people find your website. People who read your blog and benefit from it, will share articles with their friends by email or on social networks and this in turn will drive traffic to your website.
By generating more traffic to your website you have a greater opportunity to a.) convert that traffic into sales and b.) generate revenue from the traffic (through ad sales or affiliate marketing).
6.) Blogs give you a voice and help people to relate to you as a human
Blogs are a fairly personal medium and reading one you start to feel like you’re listening to someone talking to you. Having this personal connection is important to many people and can help to break up an impersonal or otherwise business focused website and help people to relate to the fact that there is actually a human behind the business who they can relate to and talk to if need be.
7.) You never know where your blog will lead you
Okay, so maybe business isn’t doing so well and you’re ready to look for a job again, or maybe you’re just after a change of pace. For many people blogs are the new CV. Your blog may just help you launch a new career.
Okay, so maybe you’re ready to start a blog. Before you get started remember that choosing the right software for your blog is important. You want software that will be search engine friendly and will allow you to leverage the great new content you’re developing. You also want something that is going to be user friendly and easy to update. I recommend and use WordPress myself but there are lots of other options out there as well so do your research, or pay someone like us to do it for you. 