7 Reasons Your Small Business Should Have A Blog In 2021
Businesses with a blog generate more business, attract more qualified leads, and increase their email subscribers more than businesses who don't have a blog.
Inbound marketing is the way of the future and blogging is a foundational pillar.
Inbound marketing, also known as content marketing, is the methodology of creating material with the objective to attract people to your brand. It's the term we use to encompass marketing tactics that naturally and organically draw people to your content.
If you think a blog is a waste of time or that no one will read it, think again. Here are some statistics that will make any savvy business owner re-think the necessity of a blog. Still not convinced? Here are more statistics.
In short: Blogs are a legitimate and powerful way to drive revenue.
1. Blogs are a proven way for you to showcase your area of expertise. Blogs are the most commonly visited resource for interested audience members to learn more about your expertise and will use your blog to understand your vibe while comparing you to others in your field. Think of a blog as a place to showcase what you know in more depth. Your web pages can't house the amount of information necessary for someone to make an educated decision about how and when to work with you.
Your blog is a powerful tool for forming a deeper connection and building trust with your audience while establishing you as a thought leader in your field.
2. People who are searching the internet for the thing you offer will find you faster, and easier, if you have a blog. Blog posts optimized with keywords are a great tool to rank higher in a search from your audience. Google wants to give its users the most accurate information possible based on their search criteria so the algorithm is designed to do just that. Be sure to optimize your blog posts with specific keywords that your audience may search for, as well as giving it an interesting title that would encourage your audience to want to read it. Consider these two titles: "Dinner Ideas For Picky Toddlers" versus "Dinner Ideas For Kids." The specificity matters to Google and it matters to the mom or dad searching for what to feed their picky three year old.
There are millions of resources designed for your general area of expertise but the way to stand out in a search is to narrow down your area of focus.
3. Optimize the back end for searchability. Rename the images in your blog post to include the keywords you're using in your posts. Add a description in your SEO settings so that Google knows what your post is about. Tagging your blog post is another backend tool to optimize for searchability. These are all tools to optimize your post so that you have a better chance of being found by your ideal audience. Like bullet point #2, Google needs to know what your post is about and optimizing your post for SEO matters.
4. Organize your post for "skimmability." Ok, most people skim a blog post. Our brains are trained for efficiency when it comes to finding what we need and your blog should be broken up into sections so people can skip what may not apply to them. Notice how this post is broken up by bullet points? #notanaccident Designed to be a quick read, this is a layout that I know my readers appreciate because they can get just the info they need and then apply it directly to their business.
5. Blogs can be a significant revenue stream. Food bloggers, mommy bloggers, and...yours! Big players like Huffington Post and Moz report revenue streams of multiple millions of dollars per month just from their blogs alone. Affiliate marketing, paid ads, and paid case studies are examples of how one can monetize their blog. These are also the foundational elements of influencer marketing. If you swear by a specific product or service that you frequently talk about with your audience, you can get paid for all that traffic you're driving to their website. It's as simple as pitching the company and asking for either a coupon code for your readers and/or an affiliate link to include in your content. Anytime someone uses your coupon code or affiliate link the company pays you!
6. Blogs offer an easy way for people to share your content. If you read something that you know would benefit someone in your sphere, would you send it to them? This is a nearly impossible metric to track, but from my own experience, blog post sharing is a common practice with people in my own network. And why not!? It's good karma to provide helpful resources to people.
Consider it a virtual introduction to just the right person in a crowded room from a trusted source.
7. It serves as a reservoir to tee up other marketing tactics. Your blog posts can be the source from which all marketing activity flows. The time you took to write that piece isn't simply for it to "just" live on as a blog post. It can serve many purposes as it can be re-purposed many times over in your social media content and email marketing activities. You could even do a podcast on that blog post.
Blog posts 'live on' allowing you to reference them in future speaking engagements, podcast interviews, and in other posts you write by linking to it appropriately.
To wrap up, the best ways to attract people to your business blog are to:
1. Create compelling content that resonates with your readers
2. Get specific on your topics so that your audience knows what they're getting into
3. Optimize your post so that Google can work as matchmaker on your behalf
4. Post regularly and keep your layout skimmable
5. Ask people to share your content on their own platforms... like we do:
If you found this blog post helpful, consider sharing it with your audience! It's our goal to help small business owners find their ideal clients so they can make a lasting positive impact.
Thanks for being here,
Kelly