I’ve put off writing a blog for the longest time. In my mind, it was a lot of work and a long wait for little reward, if any. Even if you’re writing for someone else, it usually isn’t a long-term gig if the client doesn’t see any lift in their business.
But of course, now I’m here writing a blog against my better judgment. What changed? And why blog now?
I’ve come around because I saw that you shouldn’t be looking at blogging as a new revenue stream or a marketing channel. That used to work before, but with everyone else getting good at blogging, your motivation to stick to your writing schedule will dip if you don’t see any rewards.
Rather than looking at it as a money-maker, look at blogging as a way to improve yourself. Growth in your business will soon follow once you find your own personal growth.
Okay, enough of the pep talk! 😁 Here are three practical reasons why I blog and maybe it’ll convince you to blog, too.
1. Blogging builds your business strategy
Writing a blog requires a lot of thinking. You need to pick a niche, create topics, and think about your readers. As you write post after post and try new things in your blog, you’ll eventually discover a good niche that you both love writing about and people are eager to read.
Having a blog also forces you to stay on top of trends and think about what they mean. After all, you need something to write about. It also opens you to new ideas, since you often need to go and hunt for new topics lest your blog goes stale. It’s a great way to discover hidden opportunities that you would otherwise overlook.
But I think the best part is that you get real data about your readers. The analytics gives you some insight on what your market wants. And if you go beyond blogging by doing polls, creating plugins and apps, and building a community, you get even more actionable information and some potential customers to boot.
2. Blogging builds up your authority
When someone says they’re an authority in something, we often immediately dismiss them. That is unless they show some proof that they are indeed an expert. You can win awards, write papers, or be seen in the media, sure. But you can also build your own authority in your own terms using a blog.
To put it in practical terms, let’s say you’re meeting a client for the first time. You talk about some industry topics and impress them with your well-thought-out opinions, thanks to already writing about them. You get a big confidence boost by being in-the-know and it shows during the meeting. You can even send them a link to your blog.
Yes, it’s a bit of a humblebrag but if I’m trying to buy from someone, I’d rather go with the one that knows what he’s talking about versus the one who’s silent online.
3. Blogging builds relationships
One of the things I personally do after meeting someone interesting is looking up their blog. Sure, a website works if you want to get information about a business. But to know the people behind the business, you need to read their blog. How they write and what they write about gives you a better understanding of their values, vision and ideas.
In the same way, people will discover your site, whether through blogging, searching, or via the referral of others. Add a blog to your site so you can start building a connection with them through your posts.
A blog also helps start conversations with people. You talk about your ideas through your blog, share it with peers and bring it up during discussions. You share links to helpful posts that you made before that can help in someone’s situation. You can even use your blog as a “thank you” to clients by blogging about them.
There are many other ways to build relationships via blogging, from creating media connections to connecting with thought leaders in the industry. Having a blog opens you up to these opportunities that were inaccessible to you before.
There are actually a lot of other reasons to blog but I kept it to these three since these were the ones that mattered to me.
So if you’re still struggling to find a reason to create a business blog for your company or professional practice, I hope these three practical reasons will resonate with you and push you to start publishing online.
