I’ve talked quite a bit in the past about blogging, and there are numerous reasons for that. I know your first guess is that since I run a successful custom writing company that the goal is to get you to order work from us, but let me dispel that notion for you in just a couple sentences.
Time is a big factor in the decision to assume the writing responsibilities yourself, and lots of businesspeople find that they just can’t carve out the time to blog consistently. That’s where copywriters come in – to pick up the slack.
So today, I want to put out an appeal to you: whether you do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you, it’s important that you start blogging, right now, today. I could go on all day as to why but here are a few basic reasons that I hope will motivate you.
1. Blogs Attract Traffic
Really, is there anything more important? A good blog gets attention and keeps people on your site longer. Even if you’re using paid traffic (and I think that’s an excellent idea as part of a larger SEO strategy), you will find that certain posts get people there while others keep them there.
If you do the CPC thing, you’ve probably noticed that some content monetizes better when it’s left alone. Send traffic to it, and you get nothing, but the same content will get clicks organically just for being there. The secret is that there is content that people are willing to click through to consume and there’s content that people only perceive as valuable within the context of your greater content marketing strategy. In other words, some content is click-worthy; some will get attention just because it’s there. A good blog should have a good amount of both types.
2. Blogs Position You as an Expert
The more you write about the products or services you provide (or just about topics that relate to them), the more trust you establish with your audience. People are predisposed to “following the leader,” so if you position yourself in that way, your odds of creating and maintaining loyal customers increases. The more people think you know, the more confidence they develop in your expertise and in your product.
3. Blogs Reinforce Your Brand Image
…that is to say, when they’re done right they do.
I don’t want to make anyone feel intimidated, but there are some really not-so-great blogs out there. Don’t post things for the sake of posting them. Just because it’s interesting or has done well on social media doesn’t mean it belongs in your blog. Your blog needs to have congruency with your brand. Post content that means something to your readers and promotes well the product, service, or niche around which your blog revolves.
If your blog is the central point of your website (in other words, you’re marketing information not products), you have a bit more wiggle room, but you need to stay grounded in terms of how you present your content. Things that relate back to other articles or can be given a point of reference in another article are the bits you want included in your blog.
4. Blogs Keep People Engaged
In my last post, I mentioned that there’s a difference between features and benefits: features inform; benefits sell. Your blog is a huge benefit to your website; therefore, its primary job is to sell. The longer you keep people on your site and the better-engaged they are, the more probable it becomes that they will click on an ad or a product or click through to your presell page.
That isn’t to say that your blog should be peppered with sales language (in fact, that could actually backfire on you), just that you need to keep things both interesting and on-point. Provide clear calls to action about how they can use your product or service to solve a problem and provide an avenue (or two) to the solution via your blog.
5. Blogs Help You Build Lists and Generate Qualified Leads
The less someone has to do to engage with your content, the better. People don’t like having to jump through a lot of hoops, particularly in their online activities. Promise more great content delivered right to their inboxes, and it accomplishes two things.
First, it allows you to grow a targeted list of people to whom you can market by keeping them up-to-date on new blog posts and product offerings. Second, it weeds out less relevant leads and saves money in the long run. Email marketing is one of the most effective strategies, and it is one of the least expensive. Leverage email using your blog and watch the numbers rise – all of them: engagement, profit, everything.
There’s a lot more I could say about this, but I think you get the idea. Need help getting started? Contact us. Otherwise, let your voice be heard! There is no better way to build confidence, trust, and meaningful relationships with your site visitors than with a consistently updated, informative, relevant blog.