If you’re a business owner, I bet you hear it all the time. “You need a blog…” “you gotta start a blog…” “blogs are the hottest thing going for businesses…”
And then you ask yourself, “why the hell do I need a blog?” And then you say, “I don’t have time to write a blog.” And then you go on about running your business and completely forget about the idea until the next time someone says, ”you gotta blog…”
Okay, here’s why every business website should have a blog:
1. It’s great for search engine placement
Google loves content. The more relevant content the better. And every blog entry is considered by the search engines as a new page of content. Even if it’s just a paragraph. And increasing relevant content moves you up in the rankings.
2. If your blog is really informative…
with short case studies and solid advice, your customers or clients will be visiting regularly. That keeps you in front of them much better than even a newsletter could.
3. Blogging can be a cheap and easy alternative to a website…
for new businesses. A blog is free. And you can constantly be adding content without having to pay a web designer or web host to add the content to your website.
4. As your business gets bigger…
blogging is an effective alternative to putting out press releases or doing press conferences. And you are in control of what gets out. No chance of a slip up or embarrassing statement.
5. Unless you regularly put new content on your website…
most people will never return to your website because it’s stale and the information is old. A blog introduces fresh new content regularly and gives people a reason to return to your website.
In that way, if most of your blog entries reference new information or services on your website and link to that information or service, you’ve got a constant promotion machine feeding your website.
6. Great source of new, one-way links to your website
If you have your blog as part of your website, every time someone links to your blog or a blog entry, that’s a powerful incentive to Google to push you higher in the rankings. And it’s one more way for people to find your website and be introduced to your product or service.
All that said, I don’t know a single business owner who has the time to create new content from scratch on a regular basis. Click the following link if you want some great ideas on how to create new content and blog entries quick and easy. Because you need every advantage you can get.
More reasons every business website should have a blog
As a copy writer, I often run into businesses that are so afraid to say anything that might be construed as “real” that they fall back on “marketing gibberish” and wind up saying nothing. And that’s exactly the response it creates. Americans are so tired of empty promises and “marketing speak” that advertising of all sorts is falling on deaf ears and blind eyes.
You can recognize the new marketing paradigm or get run over by it
People really are getting frustrated with monolithic, faceless corporations that are inaccessible. They aren’t willing to accept advertising as the only point of contact with the people who provide their food and clothing, their cars, their furnishings, etc. All the recent fervor over products from China has brought home to a lot more Americans how little control they have over what they eat and use. And that they really have no idea where their products are coming from.
There has always been a small contingent of Americans who have bought into the idea that they really want to know who is growing their food and who is making their clothes. But this idea, and the discontent that is feeding it, is spreading. And woe be to the business that ignores it.
So what does this have to do with blogging?
Everything. Americans are tired of having the door shut in their face. Of feeling ignored. As a web copy writer, I see it every time someone complains to me (and I hear this a lot) that they can never find full contact information on a website.
If they are lucky, there might be a contact form that you can fill out and send off into cyberspace in hopes that something comes back. Yahoo is the worst offender I know of. God help you if you want to contact anyone there.
People love the web because it gives them control. They can come to your website and if they don’t see what they want, they can go straight to your competitor. A blog can give your customers the same sense of power and control. Even if, in reality, it’s an illusion.
A blog gives people a chance to see what’s going on at the top of the company. What the top people are thinking, what’s motivating them. And it lets people know there’s a human being at the helm.
And most importantly, it gives them the feeling that they can be heard. If they have had a bad experience with your products or services, they have an outlet, a point of communication with someone that matters.
People have the belief that “customer service reps” and “call centers” are designed to keep them out rather than communicate with them. And having the phone answered by someone from a foriegn country doesn’t help that perception. A blog can also give them the feeling that they can influence the products and services that companies create by having a dialog with the people hiding behind the advertising.
Blogging can improve your products and services
Blogging can give the people at the top of the firm direct contact with the only people that matter. The end users of your product or service. Running a company can isolate you from the users of your products or services. Running any business is a 24/7/365 proposition. So any input or feedback that you get on how people react to your product or service gets filtered up the chain of command. And second or third hand information can be a dangerous tool for making business decisions.
Blogging gives you direct access to the people who matter most. Your end user.
WordsmithBob or Bob McClain uses search engine optimization to help business websites get found on the web ahead of their competitors and writes powerful sales copy to convert website visitors into buyers or leads. His WordsmithBob website is full of articles, tips and resources to help website owners improve their rankings and their sales.
You may contact him by email at bob@wordsmithbob.com, or call him at 612-226-7667 to get help for your business website.
Bob McClain or WordsmithBob, has spent the last six years in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, perfecting his skills in web writing, web text, web copy and Search Engine Optimization.
After receiving a BA in Technical Communication and a minor in Creative Writing from Metro State University in St. Paul, MN, McClain formed WordsmithBob.com. His focus has been using SEO to help businesses get found ahead of their competitors on the web and convert visitors into buyers or leads with powerful sales copy on their website.