Blogging keeps you on the edge of things!
By Shelley Widhalm
It seems like everyone should be blogging from business owners to writers to anyone who wants to get their writing to readers, customers and clients.
If writing seems painful, or there isn’t enough time, should you start or continue a blog? Is it authentic to blog just because it’s popular? Are blogs essential to promoting your writing, your project or your business? Or do they keep you away from what you really want to do?
Google favors blogs and other written content for Search Engine Optimization to give businesses, nonprofits and individuals higher online rankings, especially for recent content.
Blogging as Branding
But blogging goes beyond simple SEO. It’s part of branding. It’s an aspect of creating a platform. And it’s a form of marketing.
Consistent, quality blogging creates an image. It demonstrates expertise and authority in a niche. And it gets readers to turn to you, because, over time, they begin to value your knowledge and how you relay that knowledge, your values and what you see as important. Blogs also create relationships and convert readers to customers, resulting in engagement and a following.
Research shows that blogs should be posted once a week on the same day of the week, and not randomly, especially with big gaps of time and a mishmash of topics. Medium-sized blogs generally are 500 to 700 words, while article-type blogs are 1,000 words are more.
Blogs should educate and entertain and not be space fillers vying for that SEO. Content-mill produced blogs are written only to get clicks—what’s created is SEO-stuffed with little meaning and value. They only are about quantity. Think about your target market. Who are you writing to? What voice do you want to use to reach them? What is it you want to say?
Blogs are a way to talk about your business, your newest product or service, your latest book or your artwork. It’s a way to show your process of creation. It’s a way to show what attracts customers specifically to your business. And it shows why you are the best to offer what you offer.
Blogging Advantages
Here are some other advantages of blogging. Blogs can:
- Put you in front of your customers, serving a similar purpose as an ad or marketing materials.
- Bring traffic to your website.
- Nurture and build a relationship with your audience through regular connection.
- Separate you from your competition.
Blogs also can be used to tell your story and to make your business look personal and inviting. They’re not just about what’s for sale.