This is a question I am often asked and my answer is usually ‘Yes! it is beneficial to have a blog on your website’. But before jumping in I want to outline the pros & cons so you can determine if it’s the right fit for your online business.
Pros:
Having A Blog Post On Your Website Provides Valuable Content For Your Target Audience
When building your online business you need to allow your viewers to get to know you, like the way you deliver your service & trust that you can give them the outcome they are looking for. Having a blog on your website is one way you can allow your personality to shine through words & provide valuable content to them that will help them on their entrepreneurial journey.
Having A Blog Post On Your Website Provides Engagement
One of the reasons for having a blog on your website is the ability for your readers to leave comments and likes. Leaving comments and likes shows that our readers love what they read. But, in addition, they can be our harshest critics and leave negative criticism to make you want to say, ‘forget this! Why am I even bothering!’. If this happens I urge you to remind yourself that not everyone will love what they read but if you can help just one person by providing this valuable content isn’t it worth it?
Having a comment section at the bottom of your blog post is golden if you want to increase audience engagement. Who knows, the more people that complement your hard work will want to come back drooling for more mind-filling content. Remember, your vibe attracts your tribe!
Having a Blog Can Help Increase Your SEO Ranking
A blog should answer your target audience’s questions. Therefore when they are searching google for answers to your question they can discover your website & services through your blog. By SEO optimising your blogs using keyword research means you are more likely to rank higher on google for your chosen keywords. Who doesn’t want to be besties with google?
A Blog Post on Your Website With A CTA Can Boost Your Sales Funnel
When writing valuable content for your target audience you have the opportunity to incorporate a call to action (CTA) to encourage your readers to proceed through your sales funnel. You can provide a link at the bottom or anywhere on your blog post to lead readers to click on the next step. This can be anything from downloading a free lead magnet to “Check out my services below.”
Once your happy reader clicks on your link, they will get sent through a sales funnel to purchase their product or services. So a blog post can be used as the starting point of your mapped customer journey.
A Blog Post Can Boost Your Visibility Through Social Media
The benefits of having a blog on your website are Social shares! If you are writing valuable content, your readers will likely share your posts on social media. You can curate content on your social media and link your latest blog post that drives traffic back to your website. Once this happens, you are more prone to increase your website views.
You can also repurpose your blog posts on your social media channels to build your exposure and become an authority in your niche.
An important step towards having a successful website is one that has a conversion-focused design. You may be the best Online Service Provider but if you are unable to capture & engage your website viewers they will be clicking off & going to your competitors instead. The design should incorporate elements to build your credibility, brand awareness & funnel the website visitor into becoming a client.
Cons:
Right, so this all sounds fantastic but now I will tell you the disadvantages of blogging (and a few words of encouragement to overcome the struggles).
Investing the Time In Creating A Blog
One of the downsides of having a blog on your website is that you can pour your blood, sweat, and tears into researching, editing, and posting, and you have no page views and traffic.
There are no guarantees that your blog post will make you any money and bring you in any leads. However, the reasons this can happen are:
- You are not marketing your website to the right audience. You need to get in front of your target audience. Not every reader will be interested in what you have to write about, and that’s ok!
- You are creating disengaging and un-relatable content: you want to write your blogs like conversing with a friend. However, your blog helps others relate to what you are saying, which could prompt them to want to establish a client relationship with your business.
It Can Be Challenging To Launch When First Starting
You should also note that you cannot just say that you will start writing a blog; post it on your website, and readers will come flocking to you. Unfortunately, this is not how the business runs in the real world. Writing can be HARD, especially when you are not used to blogging. But give yourself some compassion and remember it is a skill that can be learnt and you can’t expect to be an amazing blogger the moment you start. But with consistency you will improve & feel more comfortable in writing for your audience.
You should work on developing a brand voice and messaging to appeal to other business owners and set your brand apart from others. You should explore the type of tone you want to set for your readers. You can write with humour, vulgarity, or authority. Think about what will resonate with your target audience.
You also need to understand SEO to rank on the first page on Google and use keywords for Pinterest users to find you. If you do not use keywords on your blog post, it may cause a problem for readers to find your blog in the first place.
Lastly, you will need to provide a lot of value and update your content to stay fresh and relevant since changes are always happening in the digital space.
You need to stay Consistent with Blogging to see Results!
Just like most things in life, you can’t expect to see results if you don’t put the effort in. Make a schedule of how often you plan to release a blog, schedule in when you will write it & stick to the plan. You can post a blog at whatever frequency suits your business; however, if you are trying to monetize your blog, it is best to post at least once per week to remain consistent for your readers. Your audience will thank you!
So I hope I have been able to help give you some insight as to if a blog on your website is the right decision for you. If you want a blog but are not sure you have the time to put into it you can always outsource your blogging to a copywriter. If you would like to work with our amazing copywriters that we partner with you can contact us HERE.