To Blog or Not to Blog ?
Jon Richardson • December 13, 2020
6 Benefits of Blogging
A good blog post is like an ever-increasing circle. It ripples out across cyberspace driving traffic to your site. As your Blog post connects to more and more people they become attracted to your content. Therefore, blogs are a must in today’s digital world. But let’s look at why:
1. Boost your Website Traffic
The main purpose of your blog is to attract traffic to your website. You can then convert them into leads. Blogging is a top of the sales funnel activity. The more quality content you post, the more traffic you put into the top of your funnel.
That is why every business needs a content strategy and calendar to plan relevant topics in advance.
2. Convert Traffic to Leads
To convert traffic into leads you should add a Call To Action (CTA) to each blog post. A CTA takes the visitor to a landing page with an offer e.g. free downloads: cheat sheets, top tips, fact sheets, etc in exchange for the prospect’s email address. This freebie is known as a ‘Lead Magnet’. A lead magnet is like gold for your business because it is the first interaction with your prospect and the start of the customer journey.
Then you can start emailing them with a ‘nurture’ campaign to build a relationship with them. Existing customers can be sent promotions for products and services.
3. Position yourself as an Authority
Blog about your areas of expertise and giveaway high-quality content that educates your audience. You will soon be thought of as an authority. Trust and value are created by blogging and it is part of the customer journey to convert prospects into paying customers.
Posting high-quality blogs make it more likely for individuals and organisations to share and link back to your blog. Search engines, such as Google and Bing, algorithms pick up on this and see your blog as a source of authority. As a result, your website will rank higher in search, so traffic, leads, and sales all increase.
4. Build a Community of Customers
Creating and nurturing a community of customers who love your content and products/services is an excellent way to grow your business. People can engage by sharing their views in the blog comments section.
You should also try to direct prospects to your social media channels and website from your blog so that they can get to know your brand. Using the blog to build a community based on trust and value is an extremely effective way of creating and building a business.
Along the way, you will also gather valuable insights and information about your target audiences. Listen and take note of the topics of importance and interest for your community. This will enable you to focus on the most popular blog topics in the future.
5. Create Long-term Success
Blogging is part of Content Marketing Strategy and Content SEO. Posting quality blogs boosts your position in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). As your authority increases, more people will discover your business. You are laying the foundations for long-term growth and success.
Strategise your content to point it at your target audiences. Never forget that your blog is an essential source of income generation. It is not just an afterthought for your website. It is the lifeblood of your business!
6. High Quality Blog Writing Generates Revenue
I often hear, ‘Oh my friend gets his blogs written for £25’. The marketing world is no different to any other industry – you get what you pay for. An experienced and qualified content/copywriter knows the value they bring to the table and will charge accordingly. Ryan Deiss of Digital Marketer highlights the importance of quality copy:
“The most important skill any marketer can master is copywriting. All marketing comes down to the marketer’s ability to translate a “big idea” into a tight, easy-to-consume package. Translating BIG IDEAS into as few words as possible is the essence of great copywriting.”
Save yourself time, money, and stress in the long-term with high-quality blogging. If you want an effective blog writer, you should expect to pay well for the service because of the value they bring to your business in increased leads and sales.
A high-quality blog writer will have:
- Knowledge of SEO (search engine optimisation)
- A background in digital marketing
- Understand your Customer Avatar and Before & After Matrix
- Good interview and listening skills to extract the information in your organisation
- The ability to write engaging content
Conclusion- Every Business Should Be Blogging
In the 2020s, every company should have a content marketing strategy that includes a blog. The only exception is if you are a very small business whose customers are all within your neighbourhood and you have no need to advertise e.g. like the local fish and chip shop in my town that has a massive queue every Friday night.
Everyone else should be harnessing the power of the blog to drive traffic, leads, and sales. There are also many other effective content types such as podcasts, videos, and written content like lead magnets, email campaigns, newsletters etc.
To summarise:
- Understand what your marketplace wants and needs.
- Blog about the topics that they will engage with.
- Be consistent in style and quality
- Blog regularly
- If you can’t manage the above hire a professional who can because poor content will damage your business
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