Does blogging still work or will blogging work for me? Versions of these questions rose to the top of my FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) almost the minute I launched the Entrepreneurs Blogging Club in late 2022. Since just saying, "yes, blogging works" isn't enough, I'm writing a post about how blogging works for
- your business,
- your website, &
- you!
When I told Joy Schulz from Radical Joyfulness (https://www.radicaljoyfulness.com/) that I was writing this post, she said: "The short answer is: yes! For the longer one, keep reading."
Blogging works for your business: credibility
Blogging helps your business because it shows you as a credible expert.
I tend to use my blog posts to answer the questions I'm most often asked - consider it an extended version of your FAQ list. Think about it - if you ask an expert (and you are an expert) a question and they say, well the short answer is ...., but if you want to learn more, I've written about it in a blog post, which you can read at {insert link}.
This short exchange does a couple of important things for your credibility:
- Your ability to give a short answer proves you have an answer.
- By having a blog post on the topic already published on your site, you're showing your new acquaintance that you've both anticipated their question and spent time thinking through the answer.
It also gives you a completely sleaze-free way to get this person to check out your website - you're sending them there for some free help, not to pressure them into buying from you!
How do you come up with topics for your blog?
If you're just starting out (or just starting to pay attention to your website/blog), make a habit of keeping a notebook (or digital document) to hand when you're in online meetings so you can write down questions people ask about what you do. Also, get in the habit of taking a little time most days to jot down questions and topics related to what you do that came up either in conversation or on other people's social media posts. This topic bank will help you decide what to write about each month!
You can also use what you know about your ideal reader to help you anticipate her (or his or their) questions. If you need help getting to know your ideal reader, have a look at these two posts:
Blogging works for your website: SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. However, you do not need to be an expert in SEO to make use of it. At the most basic level, all you need to know is that search engines like to "see" new material on your site - which is a huge part of how blogging works for SEO. When you post a new page or blog post, Google, Bing, and other search engines send bots to crawl your page.
I know, that sounds deeply unpleasant (I've always imagined such bots as looking like spiders and I really don't like those!), but what it actually means is that they "read" the page and catalogue it so they know whether or not to include it in search results.
Obviously, you want your website to appear in search results - that's where organic (free) traffic comes from.
Simply posting a blog post each month improves your SEO. But of course, there's more you can do - like making sure you're using keywords that your ideal reader is searching for and placing those key words in prominent places (like the title and subtitles). You can learn these aspects of SEO as you develop as a blogger, but the most important thing is to just begin - write and publish your first (or next) blog post!
Blogging works for you: confidence
Owning a business is hard - on top of all the stuff you need to do, you have to maintain your self-confidence even when, or especially when, things are tough. Having a blog will help you remember both that you are an expert, and also that you are the expert your clients need.
How does it do this? Spending time each month writing an article that helps your current and potential clients serves as a reminder of how much you know and how much you do and can help the people you work with. Looking back at your growing library of posts really drives home that point.
So on the tough days, have a look through your blog and remember why you do what you do!
To return to my original question, does blogging still work? Absolutely! It works for your clients, for you, and for your website - not a bad return for a little of your time each month.
If you need some help starting (or restarting) your blog, sign up for my next taster session - 'Using Questions to Make Writing Fast and Easy'.
[…] when someone asks you a question you don't have time to answer in detail (as I discuss in "Does blogging still work?"), doesn't require any preparation on your part beyond writing and publishing the […]