OUTSIDE-THE-BOX IDEAS FOR BUSINESS AND BEYOND

Why Aren’t You Blogging?

Why Aren’t You Blogging?

In any industry, blogging is a fantastic way to define and display your brand, or your company’s brand.  You’ve probably heard this a million times. And you probably even believe it. But when it comes right down to it, blogging takes time – and time is our most valuable luxury. The idea of adding one more thing to your daily tasks is almost impossible to think about.

But consider these important facts…

1. Blogging Declares Your Authority

 

Unless you have stumbled upon a very unique industry, you probably have at least one competitor in the business world. Most of us have more competitors than we can count. By creating a blog, sharing your expertise and experience with others, you are helping to establish the idea that you are an authority in your industry. All of your competitors may be able to offer similar expert information, but are they doing it? And even if they are doing it, are they YOU?

Blogging helps your potential clients find you. It helps your potential clients see your expertise. And it helps your potential clients feel great about choosing to do business with you.

Declare your authority by posting:

-Your opinion on a hot topic in your industry
-Updates about your business
-Interviews with clients
-How-to-guides

2. A Blog will drive traffic to your website

Think of every page on your website as a guidepost for Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Each page points those search engines in the right direction, telling them how relevant your site is to a certain topic. If your website has a few pages (About, Services, News, Contact, etc.), then you have a  few guideposts for search engines. If you blog once a week for a year, then your site has suddenly grown by 52 guideposts! Twice a week? 104 new guideposts!

Not only that, your site will look more important to search engines if you update often.  Google and company are reluctant to promote sites that are rarely updated or “inactive”. Even if you have visitors to your site every day, if you aren’t updating, you look stagnant to search engines.

Regular blogs will also give you content to share on social media and via email newsletter. And trust me, your followers would so much rather hear from YOU than read an article you found somewhere online.

Blogging helps search engines find you. Blogging gives you content to share on social media. 

3. Blogging tells your story and enhances your brand

There is something that makes you different from every other person or company in your industry. Your experience has given you an angle and blogging is one of the best ways to promote your unique skill set.  Through your posts, you can tell the story of who you are, why you got into your business, what you’re passionate about, why you are the BEST person to do business with, etc. How can you achieve this?  By being personal. Don’t stick to just business tips and advice…tell your followers who you really are! We all would prefer to do business with people we know and like – make this part easier for your potential clients by meeting them halfway!

 

A FEW GUIDELINES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED

  • At a minimum, post twice a month. But whatever you do, post regularly. Let followers see something consistent from you.
  • Keep blogs at the sweet spot of 500-1,500 words.
  • Read up on Search Engine Optimization and how to use it to help your blog grow.
  • Break up your posts into small paragraphs for easy readability.
  • If you’re stumped on topics, do a quick online search for blog topics related to your industry – you’ll find so much information. But just in case, there are a few ideas below to get you started.

SOME TOPIC IDEAS

  • How did you get started in your industry?
  • What unique experiences made you the business person you are today?
  • What is one problem related to your industry that you can help solve?
  • Who can benefit the most from your business?
  • What’s the story behind your business name?
  • What has been your biggest business success?
  • What is a challenge you’ve overcome?
  • Client case studies.
  • Client follow-up interviews?

Good luck and happy blogging!