Why Every Business Needs A Blog
If you have a website, I bet you've asked yourself the age old question - to blog or not to blog?
There are so many reasons why you should blog for your business! Here’s my top 5…
1. Blogging positions you as a trusted expert
Blogging demonstrates why people should hire you and your business. Why they should trust your expertise and what makes your business different.
Say you were researching a graphic designer for your new business logo. Would you choose a designer with a few examples on their site? Or a designer who also blogs about their logo projects, and posts technical know how on logo design? The second one is going to impress you more, right? They’re clearly demonstrating that they know what they’re doing.
2. Blogging is free advertising
Yep, free.
Money is always limited when you run your own business. So anything free is sweet news! Advertising can be expensive and it's finite - the ad runs its course and its done. Good quality, relevant blog posts last forever; you can repost and repurpose them indefinitely. You can reuse your posts across any medium, from social media to publications.
Plus blog content is your property. You don't need to permission to use, share or edit it. That's priceless.
3. Blogging helps bring in the right kind of clients
Blogging is a great way to show your point of difference, and your unique voice and personality. All these things are really important for attracting the right kind of client. This is someone who likes your style and way of operating, which means you're likely to want to work with them too.
Anyone reading my posts would know that I'm a details person who's also personable and upfront. They'd also see that I love processes and have lots of my own systems set up. This would probably attract people who like structure and plans but deter clients that aren't properly organised themselves.
4. Blogging is great for SEO
Oh yes, blogging is gold for your website! Focus on posts that promote and describe your business and your industry. Choose a few key categories that you feel comfortable writing about and create posts. Google loves relevant posts much more than frequent posts.
Blogging also helps keeps your website content “fresh”. Google takes note of when your site is updated with new content. Readers also prefer websites that are regularly updated - I know do.
5. Blogging helps grow your community
While blogging is a marketing tool for your business, it's not just about winning clients. It's a fantastic opportunity to network, and build a virtual industry community. My community embodies small business owners, creative entrepreneurs, writers, web designers and other freelancers who share my business path.
I've had to figure out so much on my own as a freelancer, which is hard and confusing and often overwhelming. I want to share my knowledge with other freelancers. This creates a fantastic small business network.
At the end of the day, your blog is a business tool. It's like a digital business card at a networking event where people come and go but after a while you recognise the regulars. Be one of them! Shine a light in your industry with your blog!
And if you’re scratching your head over what the heck you can write each week, here's a few post ideas for business blogs.
About the author: Lilani Goonesena is an Australian freelance writer, SEO copywriter and Squarespace web designer based in Vientiane, Laos. She loves boosting freelancers and small businesses with web design, SEO content and digital marketing strategy. She writes an awesome weekly newsletter on digital marketing, social media, blogging, web design and "all that online stuff". Lilani also blogs at the delectable Eat Drink Laos, just for fun.