The chances are that, at some point in your business journey, someone has told you that you need a blog. It’s most likely to have been a coach, but the advice may have come from another source. Perhaps a marketing or SEO advisor, or simply a client or colleague who’s concerned to help you get more work.
And maybe you’ve thought that’s all very well, but why? What does having a blog actually do for you?
That’s going to depend on what it is you do, of course, but these are five reasons why a blog is likely to benefit most businesses:
1. A Blog Can Educate Your Audience
Not everyone will immediately get why your sector, or what you do within it, is important. This may be especially true if what you offer is a business service. Why does anyone need an accountant, after all? Or a branding specialist? Or SEO research? Not to mention that app you’ve developed that’s going to transform businesses. Oh, really?
You can use your blog to answer all these questions, clearly and persuasively. This isn’t a strident advertising campaign, clamouring for sales. Your blog can speak with quiet authority, explaining why your sector is vital — and, at the same time, showing why you’re the professional they need.
2. A Blog Can Offer Valuable Information
When important things are happening in your sector, you’re likely to know about it before your readers. Perhaps government measures have changed the goalposts (for financial advice, for instance). Maybe it’s market forces having an impact (such as property sales). And most sectors nowadays are being affected by new automation systems that make old ways obsolete.
Your audience will hear about these things eventually, and the chances are they’ll see whoever told them first as an authority. Imagine what it could mean if that were you.
3. A Blog Can Build Your Reputation
You’re an expert in your sector. It’s not always easy to remember that, as you try to keep up with all the developments or to figure out how to fulfil an especially difficult request, but you certainly know far more about what you’re doing than your audience.
This means that what can seem a fairly ordinary insight to you might be a lightbulb moment to your readers, and they’ll remember it was you who gave it to them.
4. A Blog Reminds Your Contacts That You’re There
Chances are that you meet a lot of people during the course of your business activities, whether it’s at networking meetings, expos, trade shows or just generally out and about. Some of these might be potential customers — but they’re not necessarily ready to buy yet.
That’s why you need them to keep you in the forefront of their minds. It would be easy to slip out of their memories, but a new blog post is the perfect way of bringing you back. As long as they know it’s there, of course — which is where social media comes in.
5. A Blog Is Great for Your Website’s SEO
You can have the most compelling website ever created, but it won’t do your business much good if no-one ever finds it. That’s what SEO is all about, making sure that your site ranks high on Google* for the kinds of queries potential customers are likely to make.
There are various ways of boosting your SEO, but the simplest and most effective is to regularly add new content — such as blog posts. The Google bots love new content, and posting regular blogs can provide a significant contribution to pushing your site up the rankings.
How Do you Create Blogs?
Producing regular posts isn’t easy for a busy entrepreneur, especially if writing isn’t your thing. Using writing AIs, such as ChatGPT, can speed up the process by generating ideas and even giving you a first draft — but not the final version.
A wholly AI-produced blog is likely to have generic content and a generic voice, which defeats the whole object of having a blog. And, because AI works by copying information from the internet, it’s likely to be seen at best as unoriginal, at worst as plagiarism.
If writing it yourself is too daunting, the best option is to hire a high-quality copywriter. They won’t only produce a polished piece — they’ll also be able to reproduce your voice, making your blog personal and individual — with all your strengths and quirks.
Set up a meeting to discuss how I can help you create the blogs that will make a difference to your business.
* Other search engines are also available.