7 Top reasons you need a blog in your business

You may think that having a blog is not necessary for your business. You may even remember the blogs of the early 2000’s which were basically a diary entry of the author and what they have been doing that nobody read.

But the blog has evolved and is now a vital tool for any business.

So, what is a blog?

It is essentially an article, written about an element of your business or industry, to help, entertain or educate your customer and there are a number of great benefits.

1. **Cheap targeted marketing** – as there is little to no cost in publishing a blog, it is very cheap. But because of the subject matter, and the way in which it is written (in your own voice) the blog is targeted at exactly the right customer for you and your business. As an estate agent I would write blogs about preparing to sell your property. These would naturally attract people that were thinking of moving home and needed to sell, and they would often call to make a valuation appointment after reading.

2. **Drives traffic to your website for free** – using keywords in the blogpost, and hosting them on your website, will mean that when people search for help in this area they will be directed to your website by google. It also keeps the content of your website updated regularly which helps with your google ranking.

3. **Brand awareness** – having your blogs posted on your website is great, and it also gives you excellent content to post onto your social media. Using the website as the host for the content means that you can direct people from social media over to your own website to read the blog (and maybe they will buy from you whilst they are there!)

4. **Expert** – Having a helpful and informative blog will show you as an expert in your field. This will position you very well against your competitors and everyone wants to know that they are dealing with someone that knows what they are doing!

5. **Helpful and not ‘salesy’ marketing** – people do not like to be ‘sold’ to. They will put up a barrier as soon as you ask if they need any help and in almost every case they will instantly respond with ‘no thanks I am just looking’. If you offer the help before they have even entered your shop, they have not put up their imaginary barrier and will feel more comfortable buying from your company.

6. **Builds trust and rapport** **with your customers before you have even met them** – reading your content will make people feel as if they already know you, and will build trust. People buy from people after all and they will not buy from a company that they do not trust. Spending 5 minutes reading your very helpful blog will start to build trust before you have even met them. It gives them a glimpse into the real people behind the business and they will start to feel as if they know you.

7. **Attracts your ideal client** – If you have ever done any marketing before you will likely have been told that you should aim all marketing messages to your ‘ideal client’. If you write your blog post directly to your ideal client, similar people will be attracted to you and your business. This will increase your brand awareness with new potential customers and strengthen the brand with your existing customers.

You could spend hundreds of pounds on an advert in the local paper, which, if you are lucky might be seen by some people. But if they don’t need what you are offering at the exact time that they see your advert they will forget you as quickly as they found you.

You need to attract raving fans to our businesses, not just stick an ad in a paper that has your logo on it and hope that it is noticed by someone who wants to buy from you.

If people spend time reading your content, building trust in you and your company they will be more likely to buy from you, and not your competitor.

This all sounds great doesn’t it? But where do you start?

Shameless plug here, I offer a blog writing service, so you could ask me to write them for you.

But you can write them yourself. You already have the knowledge and expertise because you are the expert in your field, simply write an article (approximately 1000 words) and post to your website, then share the link to your social media page. Make a nice graphic to grab attention and away you go.

The key with this is to be helpful and informative, as well as consistent. A weekly post is ideal to really get the most out of it.