Question: As a small business owner should I consider blogging as part of my marketing plan?
Answer: Yes. It is worth the time and energy. But what is blogging? Blogging refers to writing, photography and other media that’s self-published online.
Blogging started as an opportunity for individuals to write diary-style entries, but it has since been incorporated into websites for many businesses. The hallmarks of blogging include frequent updates, informal language, and opportunities for readers to engage and start a conversation.
The word ‘blog’ can be a scary one for a lot of small business owners. For one, writing isn’t always easy. Many high-achieving entrepreneurs still find it difficult to craft their thoughts into words. Writing a blog can also be a time-consuming task, especially if writing is not a part of your typical day-to-day workload.
Blogging is, however, an extremely important element of any business that has an online presence — which is just about every business that survived the pandemic. It is one of the key elements in keeping your website performing at its best. Why? Because Google values quality content. The more quality content you have on your site, and the more frequently you add and update that content, the higher your site will perform in organic search rankings over time. Because Google places such a high value on content, a site without a blogging strategy is less likely to be discovered by potential customers. And, if customers can’t find your website, you’re losing sales.
According to Randy Duermyer, the word blog is actually a shortened form of its original name, “weblog.” These weblogs allowed early internet users to “log” the details of their day in diary-style entries. Blogs often allow readers to comment, so as they became more common, communities sprung up around popular blogs. The popularity of YouTube and similar sites also gave rise to video blogging, or “vlogging.”
Like most internet-based innovations, many entrepreneurs saw marketing potential in having a blog, and the adoption of blogging among the business community helped further increase the popularity of the medium. Blogging is a marketing tool for a business, but for some it is a business in itself.
Blogging Is Good for Business. Maintaining a blog requires time and effort. But, the rewards are worth it when done right. According to HubSpot, businesses that prioritize blogging see 13-times the return on their investment than businesses that don’t. On average, companies with a blog receive 55% more website visitors. That may have something to do with why businesses that blog generate 67% more leads per month
How to start blogging. It is as simple as obtaining a website and publishing original content on it. Tech-savvy bloggers can buy a domain name and build the website themselves. Those with less HTML coding knowledge can create an account with sites such as WordPress that simplify the web design and publishing process. Blogs are usually simple websites. Older pieces may be archived in separate sections of the site, and there may be a separate page of 100-200 words with contact info or a bio, but the blog itself is usually just a single page that can be scrolled through — similar to the news feed on social media sites like Facebook. As with a Facebook news feed, a blog displays the newest content at the top of the page.
All of the posts on a blog are usually created by a single author. However, when a company or organization maintains a blog, it may have a content marketer create and post the content.
Interlinking also increases the power of an individual blog by connecting it to another blog to give both increased search engine juice. For example, Duermyer shares, if a music teacher maintains a blog, and they write a blog post about how to form a chord, they might link to a musician’s blog to show an example of the chords in action.
Blogging is different from a website. Blogs can be found on websites, but they may be posted independently as well. Blogs are updated regularly where websites are maintained, but the content is not updated as frequently. Another benefit of a blog is that they invite reader comments by providing space to foster conversations.
Pros of a blog include: they are good for SEO (search engine optimization), maintaining communication and building rapport with customers, and they provide a source of potential income.
Cons include: time-consuming to create and post, constantly requires updating and pay is not instant. Blogging in and of itself will not generate direct income.
Statista estimates that the number of bloggers will reach over 30 million by the end of this year. And that is only the U.S. This means that starting a blog requires marketers to be niche-focused in order to stand out and attract readers to your blog.
If you start very focused, you can branch out and cover broader topics later. However, the topics you need to write about need to be those that are of interest to your target market. If you do a keyword analysis of what words your buyers and potential buyers are using to look for you, and write about those topics, you will attract visitors.
Another approach is to find what is appealing to your competitors’ customers. The key to effective blogging is to create content that is worth referencing. The quality of the content will dictate how well the message travels. Ease of reading also determines how long visitors will stay connected to the blog.
Look for Blogging Part 2, next Sunday.
Sources: Randy Duermyer, 2021; 7 Blogging Tips for Beginners, Si Quan Ong, Anrefs, 2021. For Free and confidential mentoring in website design and development contact SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands. Website: www.capecod.score.org, email: capecodscore@verizon.net.