written by Bonnie Chomica

How Blogging Can Improve Your Business

To succeed with content marketing, blogging is your most powerful tool. Learn how blogging can improve your business with these easy tips on how to go about it.

Blogs are used to show what you know in a way that helps people to find some kind of solution or answer. They can position you as the authority on a topic or in a niche. Blogs can help you grow your business.

Create content that answers people’s questions, or explains how to do something, without specifically promoting your business, and you will build your credibility. They will learn to know, like, and trust you because of the knowledge you freely share.

In the grand scheme of internet marketing, having a blog is important because you own your own content, unlike Facebook, Instagram, or other social platforms.

Post to your website/blog, it’s yours. Post to social sites, it’s theirs.

If Facebook went down tomorrow, or their rules and policies drastically changed, you could lose any content or images you have posted there.

When you post blog content to your own site, it is your intellectual property. You are in control.

Authority Building

Terms like authority marketing and credibility marketing have evolved, but blogging is still at the base of those strategies.

In essence, well-written blog posts can help you stand out from the competition. You look like the authority in your niche, by providing relevant and useful information.

You do that by helping that reader who found your blog post. Help her with her dilemma or achieving her desire. If she likes what she reads, there is a good chance she will read other posts and view other pages on your website.

Here’s an example for a doggy daycare business.

Blog posts on their website are mostly about dog behaviour, why dogs do certain things, how to stop them from certain things, how to create habits with them. Each post touches on a specific problem with helpful tips on how to correct the problem or situation.

1. Let’s say your dog is chewing your new Italian shoes. When you search for how to stop them from doing that, you may stumble upon this doggy day care’s blog post about why your pooch is chewing and how to stop them.
2. You then see their other posts about other dog tips that can help you with your puppy. You get to know them by their content. You like and appreciate their free helpful information. You start to trust them.
3. You see that they actually have a day care and training facility close to where you live, and you reach out to get help with your puppy’s behavioural problems.

The doggy day care’s content marketing strategy paid off. By blogging about useful dog care tips, they attracted you as a customer.

The strategy is long term. Content is written over time. But for the most part, it is always there and always available for someone to find you.

Continually creating content strengthens your brand to the point that people want to seek you out.

While they are there, get them signed up for your email list for an even greater chance of building, and nurturing a relationship. That can also eventually lead to a sale.

That’s how blogging can improve your business.

Personal Brand

Your blog posts can be an extension of your personal brand. It is a chance to show your values, knowledge, and opinions.

When you are writing, don’t use a corporate voice. People are turned off by that. We have become a much more casual society.

Just be yourself. But, maintain a professional demeanor. This is your business, after all.

Be authentic and personable, and even humorous, if applicable to your audience.

The blog is yours, so ideas and thoughts will be reflected as your brand. But because it is yours, you can even be controversial or opinionated if it fits your values and your brand.

To ensure you look professional and not like a hacker, be sure to:

• Research your topic – You don’t want to post misinformation
• Cite or credit resources, images, etc. – e.g. If you are sharing another person’s blog post
• Check your grammar and spelling – Sloppy work will turn people away

What to Post

Because blog writing is not like promotional writing, e.g. brochures, posters, or website copy, you have to get inside your reader’s head and not think in a sales mode.

• What keeps them up at night?
• What issues are they concerned about?
• What desires are they trying to achieve?

Your valuable content should provide helpful information. But how do know what to write about?

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• What questions do you get from clients, or at networking events?
• Ask your Clients or Prospects – surveys, interviews, etc.
• Search for your keywords and see what others (your competition) are writing about
• Look on forums like Quora, Alignable, and Yahoo Questions to see what people are asking.
• Research other blogs in your niche but in another part of the country or continent
  • e.g. If you are a Life Coach in Vancouver, search for a Life Coach in Florida
• Check RSS Feeds like Feedly, ContentGems, to see what topics are trending
• Comments left on your blog or social media accounts may also spur ideas
• Consider your workshops, webinars, or tradeshow participation – what benefits of your service can you write about in a value-added context

These are just a few starter ideas. You’ll begin to collect topic ideas as your blog grows. They will also become more obvious the more you talk to your clients.

Be Active

Blog writing takes commitment. If you want to get fit, you go to the gym. If you want to grow your business with a blog, then you need to commit to the process.

Just like going to the gym, with continued effort you will see results.

Regularly create great content on your blog as part of your content marketing strategy. People will look forward to reading it and sharing it with others. Check my process to make writing easier.

Blogging can help you grow your business. You will become a trustworthy and credible information source and be seen as the go-to-expert in your field.

That will lead to more sales!

Happy blogging.

Bonnie

PS – Make your blogging efforts way easier and more impactful by grabbing Your Essential Blogging Checklist. It’s free!