What’s the point of a blog for a small business?

Congratulations on seeing growth in your business. Now that you’re past the starting phase you have the time to invest in resources that can nurture more growth. You ask a few friends, poke around on Facebook and come to the conclusion that it might be time to start a blog. But what’s the point? What can a blog do for you? Why should you invest all the time and effort in to writing a blog when you have an actual business to run?

You’re asking all the right questions. Starting a blog shouldn’t be done on a whim or because some guru told you to do it. There is a lot of content planning and strategy that goes in to making a successful blog. Especially a blog that brings in leads and paying clients. So, let’s talk about some of the benefits of having a business blog and see if it’s the right decision for your business.

How does a business blog work?

A small business blog is a set of articles about subjects relevant to your business. You can write the blogs or commission someone to write them for you. People read business blogs because they have a problem and they need a solution. This is your opportunity to be that solution. Each article should be written to help your reader solve a problem that they may be having.

Well written blogs help build awareness of your brand and build trust between you and the reader. If you answered their question, they are more likely to read your blog again. If you consistently answer their questions you become their expert source. Then they do your advertising for you by sharing it with others (which grows your audience).

Why does my small business need a blog?

If you go to most small business websites, you'll see the same standard pages. Typically, there's a services pages, an about page and a contact us button. That’s great for establishing a basic online presence. Even some brand awareness but that’s not helping your business grow. It’s a $100 bill each month that’s not bringing in leads.

This is where a lot of small business owners get frustrated. In their minds they did the thing that people said would work and it’s not doing anything. Then they get upset with their web developer because they feel like they wasted their money.

It’s no secret that websites with blogs see more traffic.

And I’m here to tell you that that money is not being wasted; it’s not being used to its full potential. Use your blog to establish yourself as a thought leader or to spark curiosity in your reader. Use it to answer your potential client's questions before they even get on the phone with you. Each blog article is a way to connect with the client and position yourself as the expert they are looking for.

Your clients need at least seven points of contact before they decide to do business with you. That's seven different first impressions. The more impressions where you can control the narrative, the better. Whether they interact with you on social media, on the phone, in a store, on your website or through reviews. Some of that you have control over and some you don’t. Having a blog gives you the opportunity to set the standard for what information is known about you.

For example, do you want clients to read reviews about you from your website or from Yelp?

Your website is optimal because you can filter though spam or fake reviews. If Yelp was the only option you would be at their mercy if a competitor left a false review.

Your blog along with a social media plan and email marketing, are touch points that you control. Use them to create positive impressions before clients ever talk to you in person.

The best part is once you post your blog, you don’t have to do anything to it again. You can set it and forget it (it's good to update though.) From there, the blog magnetically attracts your clients to you. Your blog does the heavy work of creating informed clients. Informed clients that become customers later.

But how does the blog attract people to your site?

Search Engine Optimization

You’ve heard of SEO, right? That’s the process of how traffic is funneled to your site from search engines. Search engine optimization is an organic inbound digital marketing technique. It attracts your ideal clients to you from search engines like Google.

Imagine if you were a plumber in Denver. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in the Denver area that Googled ‘plumber’ would get a direct link to your website? That’s search engine optimization at work.

How do you get this to work for you?

Through your business blog. Place keywords in your blog articles so that it helps them rank higher on Google results. Having a consistent blog is your reminder to the Google algorithm to share your content. Share your content when people search for plumbers. Share your content when people search for plumbers in Denver. Share your content because it is relevant to current times since it was posted last Friday.

There are nearly 2,900 searches a month for ‘plumber in Denver’. That would be a great amount of traffic for a local business.

A Blog Establishes Your Expertise

A common problem for service driven businesses is establishing their credibility. This is especially a problem in the beginning. Every business owner has the same thought creep in to their mind:

"Maybe my niche is oversaturated and I can’t compete. I should give up and throw in the towel. Everyone is doing the same exact thing as me. I can never convince anyone that I am better than the next guy."

You can if the next guy doesn’t have a blog.

Your blog is your way of communicating to your potential clients how you do business. To your audience, having available free content establishes you as a thought leader.

Having a blog helps establish your credibility. Prospects know that you understand their problems because you already offer solutions to them before they even have the opportunity to ask the question.

Your Business Blog is Working Around the Clock

You ever wanted to stay up until 3 AM on case someone called you about your business? No? Ok, I didn’t think so. Your blog is your employee that doesn’t need to sleep. While you’re catnapping, your blog is hard at work, offering your content to night owls and early birds alike.

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A business blog doesn’t have to be hard but you do need a plan to make it effective. Write about matters that your business covers. Write about things that your customers frequently ask you. If you can write a concise article about it, then it positions you as the expert. And if someone is already on your site, reading your content, you already look better than the small business without a blog.

You’re a small business owner, not a writer. You need to spend your valuable time running the business. You don’t have time to figure out what to write. Now that you know why you need a blog, let us write it.

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