We’ve all heard that blogging is a great idea when it comes to marketing. But why exactly is that? Why would anybody be interested in what I have to say, and how does that help my business? Let’s see if we can answer a few of those questions and get you started on the road to a great blog.

Why would anybody be interested in what I have to say?

Online, people are both passively and actively looking at new content every day. Social media passively feeds you a list of articles you might like to see, or if you are a go getter you might be looking for the right article using a search engine. Although the events of your day might sometimes seem a little banal (got up, drove to work, sat at my desk, drank coffee) the real gold of writing your own blog is when it contains information that is of use to your reader. Take this article for instance. You are reading this hoping to learn something I already know- why people blog. So the first rule of blogging is say something useful.

How does that help my business?

The benefits of ‘saying something useful’ to your business are three fold.

1. Firstly people are looking at your article on your website. Just a few clicks away are those pages illustrating your products or services. Maybe they will have a look around at your site while they are here. Maybe in the weeks to come they’ll pop back and have another look.  Maybe they’ll click that buy button, or give you a call. None of these things can be a bad result.
2. The second great thing that is happening whilst your reader is sucking up your content is that in their mind you are becoming an expert in your field. Remember back to before you first visited my site or got to know me. Did you think I knew anything about this stuff then? Well with any luck by now you’re thinking of me in a new light – one which makes you much more likely to buy from me or recommend me to your friends.
3. OK, number three – Search Engine Optimisation. The moment I hit publish on this article and promote it around my social media outlets, Google is going to pick up on that event and think – “Hey this guy has added some new content to his website”. That light that goes on at Google means that your Page ranking is going to go up a little bit. Not a lot, but overtime all those new articles you post will all add up to a big increase in your page ranking. Couple that with the interest you can generate on social media and things can really improve for your findability.

So How Do I Start?

Well the good news is that if you already have a website with us you’ve got blogging capability built in. All of our business and trader tier sites come with a blog included, and if you are on a starter package you can simply upgrade to add the functionality. If you are looking for a cheap alternative to get you going, why not try out a free account with wordpress.com? You can always move your content over to us at a later date once you are ready.

Got any questions? Why not leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to get back to you.

J

p.s. if you’re looking for information on how to write your fist blog post – try out this post: Writing Your First Blog Post