You’ve obviously heard the hype: “everyone’s blogging nowadays,” “even large corporations are starting their own blog,” and so on. What’s the big deal? Why should you (or your business) have a blog? Maybe you’ve gotten by so far with an informational site, complete with an “About Us” page detailing your top executives/employees. Maybe you even have a Facebook or LinkedIn site that you try to update frequently. But you keep reading about blogs and how they’ve changed the landscape for online (and offline) businesses. If you own or operate a business, whether an internet-based company or a mom-and-pop brick-and-mortar store, here’s why you need a business blog:
- Credibility and Building Reputation – Many people will begin their search for a product using a search engine. Even if you don’t have a website for your quilting business, having a blog explaining the differences between high-quality and cheaper fabrics will help bring customers to your storefront. Blogs usually land high in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), getting your product in front of the eyes of many new, potential clients and customers.
- New Markets – Blogs are a different way of viewing products, and usually lean towards being more organic, genuine, and believable than an online store’s sales page. Blogs are a great forum for customers to discuss, critique, and even purchase your offerings.
- Sales and Special Offers – Your blog readers will often times be made up of your most loyal customers. Offering them special discounts, previews, and freebies can increase your blog readership and your customer base.
- Creating a “List” – Internet marketing gurus all have different strategies for building an online business, but most have one thing in common – they agree that growing and maintaining a list of highly-targeted and interested prospects make it much easier to grow your business’ profits. Having a blog is an incredibly easy way to harvest email addresses of ready-to-buy prospects who need what you offer.
- Telling the Truth – Some business and corporate blogs are nothing more than stuffy sales pages saying the same things in each post. Other businesses use their blogs in a better way: to offer their employees a soapbox to tell the not-so-pretty truth about the business and its products. Counterproductive? Only if your business offers a second-rate product or service. The beauty of employee blogs is that the honest truth usually prevails in the end. Readers are quick to pick up on hype, bitterness, or incompetence and will gladly set the record straight with their comments.
- Joint Ventures/Partnerships – Blogs are a great place to promote other companies’ products and services that complement your own. The benefit of this practice is a pay-it-forward approach. You’ll start seeing links to your own products and services from other influential blogs in complementary industries.
- Idea Generation – Avid and loyal fans of your product (or your competitor’s product) will be happy to let you know how your product sucks or why it rocks. Build your next offering from the ideas and support (or criticism) of your blog’s readership.
- Sounding Board – Much like #7, blogs can be an effective place to hold an ongoing focus group, test new ideas, or preview product variables.
- Can Be the Basis for Something Bigger – Book deals, consulting jobs, and public speaking are just a few positive outcomes of starting and maintaining a successful blog. When you publish a blog, you immediately become a “published author.” Use this leverage to build your company’s or your own reputation.
- Focus – Dedicating a portion of every other day or so to blogging about your product, service, or industry helps keep you focused on your business goals. Use blogging time to not only reach out to your customers and readers, but to plan and map out your business’ future.
There are many other reasons to use a blog in a business setting; these are just ten of the reasons I blog for my business. Blogging has helped me maintain the path I’ve chosen for success and has helped build good habits for continuing to analyze, measure, and tweak my business. I hope you’ll consider starting a blog for your business or yourself; when you do, let me know!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am currently starting a blog, and I really enjoyed this post. I have not looked into the depth of possibilities for a blog. There was a lot here that made my passion rise for what I am doing. Hopefully others will feel the same, or get inspired to start one!
Great post, Nick!
Thanks for the kind words, Brandon!
Indeed it seems as though starting/maintaining a blog has also helped me organize my thoughts into a more concise stream of consciousness than before!
I’ll definitely be posting more in the future about the success having a (good) blog can bring to a site.