Something I’m always telling my clients is “You need a blog!” YUP. I just rip off that band aid basically during my first conversation with any client. And I know you (like many of them), are thinking “yeah, no thanks! That’s a lot of work”. And I hear you! I do! A blog is just another thing to add to your list of things to do for your business when you’re already dealing with social media, inquiries, fulfilling orders, and more.
Blogs can be an excellent way to engage with customers, position yourself as an expert in your industry, promote services/products, and so much more! It’s literally your own platform. It’s an extension of your website that can make a huge difference for your business.
Oh and it’s a total game changer for traffic to your website!
Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog
1. It gives you a way to leverage your new hangout: PINTEREST!
Pinterest is a search engine all in itself now. It’s one of the best ways to drive traffic because a) users are going to Pinterest to solve their problems b) they live on for months – unlike Facebook and Instagram, they don’t get lost in the feed.
Sharing your blog posts on Pinterest can direct traffic directly to your website. By creating more content to share (outside of sharing about your products/services), you’re building a relationship with potential and current customers!
Many bloggers will tell you Pinterest is one of their top referral sources!
2. It’s YOURS
Social media is constantly evolving. Platforms come and go – remember Foursquare? My point exactly. Having a blog gives you a home for your business. It can grow and change along with technology updates and you own it.
If you’re an Etsy seller, you don’t own your platform. They could be gone tomorrow!
3. You are the expert: Become a source of helpful information
By sharing information on your blog, you become more valuable to your customers and your potential customers. This gives them the ability to create a much deeper and more meaningful relationship which goes beyond a transaction. Think about how you can provide value to your customers. What are your customers searching for? Those are the topics you should be writing about!
While establishing authority can feel fluffy and not directly measurable, it certainly has it’s klout! Imagine the power of someone looking for an answer to a question and YOU being the answer!
Sell homemade earrings? Provide tips for properly storing them, cleaning them, and traveling with them.
Sell shirts? Provide tips on how to wash and care for them to keep them in great shape!
4. Improve your site SEO
Raise your hand if you want more website videos! Yup me too! If you think about how people find your site they could a) type your URL right into their browser if they already know you exist or b) be searching for something and just happen to stumble on your site.
Blogging and social media are great ways to drive traffic to your site. You probably don’t have many pages on your website. You also probably don’t update those pages all the time. Blogging helps to solve both of these. Every time you write and publish a new blog post, it’s one more indexed page on your site. Which means that’s another opportunity for you to show up when someone is searching for something.
Google is always looking for the next big thing! It wants the best information to match what is searched and prefers sites with pages that are frequently updated vs static pages. The more you provide your ideal customer, the more it helps you rank on search engines.
5. It can move people through your sales funnel
This is often overlooked when you’re thinking about a blog. Being better indexed on Google gives you more opportunity to attract customers who can then turn into leads and eventually customers.
If you don’t have a blog yet, what’s holding you back?
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