With so many things we know we “should be” doing, we all know we “should be” blogging. But why?
A lot of my clients are super-excited for their new blog. Whether we’re pulling over entries from an existing blog or starting from scratch, I always recommend launching a new website with at least five new posts that set the tone and give the influx of visitors you get when you launch an idea of the kind of things they can expect from you going forward.
Every entrepreneur seems to have a list somewhere (oftentimes in their heads) of things they want to blog about. And my clients are in a deep period of reflection and ambition and excitement when we’re working together, so those first five usually come easily. It’s the next five and then the five after that that are the toughest.
Sure, life can get in the way. It becomes easy to prioritize other work over blogging. The thrill is just gone and now that your new site is live, you want a break for a bit (then that bit turns into six months). You just don’t know what to write about.
I want to help you move past those hurdles and excuses and the first step is to go back to the beginning for a “forest through the trees” moment and remember why on earth we blog in the first place.
Why you should be blogging
TO INCREASE WEB TRAFFIC
Even if most visitors to a particular post aren’t potential customers per se, there is a benefit, search-optimization-wise, to having popular content that brings in a decent amount of visitors.
TO GET FOUND
If you are writing about topics very specific to what your potential clients need help with and they go searching for answers and find your post, there’s a good chance they’ll stick around to find out more about what you have to say and offer.
TO BUILD YOUR LIST
If you’re working on building your email list and have something captivating to share, visitors to your blog might be inclined to sign up if you promise more installments.
TO IMPRESS NEW VISITORS TO YOUR SITE
Maybe your business is mostly word-of-mouth and potential customers are visiting your website to learn a bit more about you before they make the call. Your blog can offer the opportunity for you to show them a bit more of your personality, interests, and what they can expect from you outside of the more formal and static and sales-y content of the rest of your site.
TO POSITION YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT
Your about page and client testimonials can tell your visitors that you’re great at XYZ, but your blog posts can prove it.
TO HAVE ORIGINAL CONTENT TO SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
What do you share most with your community on social media? Photos of your cute kids? Interesting articles from major publications related to your industry? News of up-coming events? Okay… Well how many of those are getting them to go to your website? If they share those with their community, is it benefitting you in any way? Instead of just sharing a photo of a great experience, why not write about it and use the photo as an invitation to learn more?
TO SAVE TIME/CREATE A RESOURCE
You know there are lessons, instructions, tips, directions, advice, referrals, etc. that you are repeating to your clients or customers time and time again. Turn them into a blog post, categorize them as “client/customer resources,” and in the future, instead of repeating yourself, you can simply send a link. As a group, they show potential clients and customers how committed you are to helping them and they get a glimpse of your expertise.
WOW! That’s a lot of reasons! Are you blogging yet?
Convinced but still stumped about just what you should be blogging about? Well then check out the next post, What You Should Be Blogging About and stay inspired by following me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram… And signing up for my newsletter (see what I just did there?)!