Does your business have a website? Of course it does. These days, it’s a necessity if you want to compete and thrive.
Does your website have a blog? Chances are, it doesn’t, especially if yours is a small business. You’ve been meaning to start a blog, but haven’t had time. Or maybe you’ve got one, but you don’t post on it very often.
Big mistake! A website without a healthy, active blog is like a retail store without a sign out front. People drive right by. Or if they do notice your business, they can’t tell if anyone’s home.
Blogs play a significant role in drawing traffic to your website and raising your search engine rankings. That’s because unlike the rest of your site, your blog is updated frequently. Fresh content encourages visitors to come back multiple times, instead of just clicking once and not returning. If your customers really enjoy your posts, they’ll share the link with their friends — and now those people are regularly visiting your site, too. Search engines love this kind of thing.
Still unconvinced? Check out this short video that shows how a blog post on a country inn’s website attracted precisely the kind of visitors the innkeepers were looking for.
Blogs also offer your customers a chance to comment, offer feedback on your products and services, and participate in a conversation. Remember those old general stores where people used to gather and trade ideas and opinions? A blog can create a similar community of loyal fans who come to you when they need expert help and advice.
If you’re new to blogging, here are a few keys to success:
- Commit to posting something at least once a week, if not more often. If you don’t keep things lively, people will forget to drop by.
- This may sound counterintuitive, but your blog is not a platform to advertise your products and services. Visitors can go elsewhere on your site for that. Instead, make your blog informative and fun to read. Give away a bit of your knowledge without expecting anything immediately in return.
- Keep a running list of ideas for posts. It helps to carry a little notebook and jot down topics whenever they pop into your head. Avoid deadline pressure by writing your posts a few days in advance. Even better, stay one or two posts ahead of the game in case you get busy and don’t have time to write.
- Don’t be afraid to give your blog some personality! Use your own experiences or those of your customers (with their permission, of course) to help illustrate your point. At the same time, stay on topic. People visit your site to read about your company’s activities, not to hear about your grandchildren.
- Allow people to subscribe to your blog through email alerts or an RSS feed. That way, they’ll be notified of new posts and won’t need to remember to check your site.
- If you don’t enjoy writing or are just too busy to keep up a blog, consider hiring someone to write for you on a regular basis. A good ghostwriter will brainstorm with you, gather your ideas, and bring them to life. Make sure to ask for a few samples of their work to see if you like their writing style.
For more ideas on running a business blog, check out this article. And don’t hesitate to contact us for help in setting up and maintaining your blog!
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