According to research conducted by marketing giant Hubspot, companies who blog will receive 97% more links to their website. That means that if your business is not actively blogging right now to attract new customers, you are missing out on potentially DOUBLING your website traffic, and no doubt increasing your sales traffic. This is why your business needs a blog.
Here’s the thing: the cost of blogging is minimal. The opportunity cost, however, is humungous. You can establish a blog with very little work. Some companies choose to maintain this themselves, some hire freelance writers, and others outsource this process entirely.
Content Is King
You should determine the pros and cons of starting a blog for your business today. My aim is to give you six reasons why you should make this a top priority.
- People are starving for information. Everybody wants to know how they can do “x” better, cheaper, and faster. Ultimately, one of those three will be the core motivation for just about any blog post. Take this one for example. It addresses how you can “better” reach out to your customers (“x”). Sure you could write this in a few marketing lines on an ad – and you should. But that very ad should link to somewhere that YOUR customer can learn about the details. That place is your blog.
- Businesses need connections. I cannot personally think of a business that does not benefit from having strategic relationships. A blog can help better articulate to other businesses what your area of expertise is in. For instance, general contractors looking for quality subs to work with would be impressed to find a roofing company with a blog that establishes their credibility. Connection made.
- You need customers. Well this one seems pretty obvious, right? A blog puts your knowledge right in the hands of your customers. The DIY market has scared small businesses. They have become afraid to share their knowledge because they feel that everyone will take it and run with it for free. This is a misnomer. Yes, there are those who will do this. However, the vast majority is not looking to do “x” themselves, they are simply wanting you to prove your ability and qualifications to get the job done.
- Effective advertising with almost no barrier to entry. For many companies, getting a blog up and going will cost nothing other than the time to do it. A carefully crafted blog post with the right kind of social media promotion can pay dividends for months to come. Some companies blog multiple times every day of the week, while others choose to blog one time each month (which is what we try to do). Whatever you choose to do, be consistent, and be generous.
- Your competition has a blog. If no other reason I give convinces you, this one definitely should. Unless you live in an extremely rural area, it is likely that the majority of your competition is already running a blog and is capitalizing on customers that you will never be in front of without one. Your experiences, knowledge, and expertise are different – so even if you feel like a subject has already been covered, others may not lay it out in the same way you will. This post is case in point. Do you have any idea how many “Top # of Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Blog” posts are out there? A lot. But, none of them are from me, and my current and potential customers need to hear from ME on the subject, not my competitor.
- Content is the future, and the future is NOW! Admit it, you felt a little Wayne Szalinski right there. Seriously – we eat content for breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and every snack in between. And this is not changing anytime soon! You are already behind the times if you are not blogging. But in a few years time, I would venture to say that your business will become irrelevant and obsolete – especially if it is an online business – if you are not blogging regularly. The Internet is where customers live now, and it is in all of our best interest to find out where they are hanging out, and exactly how to talk to them.
Great, How Do I Get Started?
I’m so pumped that you asked. If you’ve had a website designed in the last 6-8 years, I would be very surprised if the ability to blog is not baked in somewhere. If so, then you’re good! All you have to do is start. Perhaps you or someone on your team is a good writer or is at least passionate about writing. See if they would be up to the task, and give them a chance to shine! There are plenty of free tips and tricks to be found online to improve your writing skills. Give it a shot!
If you prefer to spend your time doing what you do best, then another option would be to contract a company like ours. Our digital marketing package includes one 400-600 word blog post each month, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), automatic social media integration, detailed traffic reporting, and even a one-time email campaign. If you couple this monthly post with strategic social media promotion each month, I believe it will be no time before you start seeing results. They may not be immediate, but every seed planted is a tree waiting to be watered.
We are dedicated to helping your business succeed. To prove that to you, I would like to offer the first 10 businesses to reach out to us a free blog post to kickstart their blogging efforts. If you hate the work, no need to continue. This is absolutely FREE. Take advantage of it while you can. Just email [email protected] with the subject line “FREEPOST” to claim your free article.
We’re so excited to hear from you. Happy Blogging!!!!