Should You Blog?
Deciding to blog can be a bit overwhelming. It can feel like there are thousands of voices with different opinions on the matter. In the end, it is a business decision and only you can determine if it is right for your business right now.
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice”
– Rush
Too often, I see people start a blog and falter when it gets hard (because it does!). Currently the world has 1.13 billion websites, that is a big stage in which to compete. But, you don’t necessarily need to compete on that world stage, you can build content that is helpful to your clients and future clients. It is a wonderful platform in which to reach out across that digital divide, as I am doing right now as you are reading this.
Here are questions you can ask yourself on whether blogging is the right step in your marketing plan for your business.
Do you have a lot to communicate?
If you find that you have so much to offer, but can’t find enough space to talk about your specialty, a blog might be right for you. If in the back of your mind you are thinking, oh it would be great to talk about that…and that…it is time to start doing just that!
Part of website design is meeting expectations. If people come on a blog post, they expect it to be detailed and comprehensive. You have the space to clearly write about the subject.
A common workflow is to write a blog post, post it, drive people to your blog post and use bits and pieces of the information over time to help with social media content.
Is Your Website out in the SEO Weeds?
First, what the heck is SEO? It stands for Search Engine Optimization. It covers the (way too big to address here) whether if someone is searching for information that you have, will they find you through the search engines? In that list of search results, are you listed first, second or too far down for anyone to care.
Blogging is a great way to expand the information you are communicating and through something called “keyword research” you can try to answer questions that people are asking the search engines.
I not only launch websites, but I also maintain them. One thing I have noticed (and this is not scientific), if a website owner promotes their website after launch, they get some activity on their website, a few leads, etc. But if they then ignore their website, don’t provide new content and don’t share links to it, it shrinks back in the forest where no one can find it. Blogs help to solve this, keeping your website active and fresh to incoming visitors (that you drove there).
Part of the commitment you need to make is to constantly promote your blog posts, by sharing links through your newsletter, social media, discussion platforms, and your day-to-day interactions. I like to think of a good rule of thumb is spend as much time as you did writing the blog to promote it (maybe more if it is needed).
Do you Think it Might be Fun?
When you think about it, do you get excited? This is an important question, because you have to continue to do it and if you are having fun, that will go a long way toward success. It takes time, patience and a lot of blogs to find readership.
It can be a fun way to connect with people as well, and you can help them with your hard won expertise. You can also learn from your readers and grow your business in ways you may not have imagined.
I hope this have given you some food for thought on whether to start a blog and this website helps you to envision how it will work on your website specifically.
Comments