Is blogging still a thing? Why yes it is! Although a business blog is an older marketing tactic, it’s still an effective one. In fact, more than 55% of marketers say they’ve gained new customers just by blogging.
But you’ve already got a million things on your to-do list, should blogging be one of them?
If you’ve been wondering whether a business blog is worth your time and effort, then this post is for you!
TIME STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:07] Keeping Your Marketing Minimal
[04:57] What is a Business Blog?
[07:06] Is Blogging Still Effective?
[11:20] Do You Need a Business Blog?
[15:22] Is a Business Blog Worth It Even Though It’s Not a Quick Win?
[18:05] Bloopers
Keeping Your Marketing Minimal
[Meghan] I don’t know about you, but I don’t take adding tasks to my list lightly. At this point in my business, I’m cautious about the marketing tactics I use because there’s no way I’m going to do it all. In fact, I make a conscious effort not to do it all.
Last year, I got tired of the overwhelm, so I paused all of my marketing, left my old business, and re-grouped so that I could assess where I wanted to be and how I wanted to get there.
The reality is that I started to apply minimalism to my life and that affected my perspective on marketing and on business.
[Theresa] I love this so much! It’s really music to my ears, especially since I’m always coaching my clients to pause and plan before moving forward.
Making time and space to think is important. When you take a step back to reflect and contemplate, wonderful new things can emerge. You need to know where you want to go so you can plan. Planning helps you make the right decisions and choose the right tactics and strategies for your type of business.
When you take a step back to reflect and contemplate, wonderful new things can emerge.
[Meghan] I think there’s a good chance that many business owners are like I was. They struggle with managing their work life balance. They’re stuck and overloaded with too much to do. So, they need to reduce the noise.
Like we’ve talked about in previous episodes, you can’t do every marketing tactic. But you don’t need to!
It’s taken me a while to learn that more isn’t better. That’s why I prefer a more minimalist approach to marketing. I impose limits on myself and that reduces overwhelm and helps me avoid being a workaholic.
[Theresa] You and I are on the same page here. I’m all for keeping your marketing minimal to make your workload manageable and effective. But you’re right, there are so many experts telling us to do all the things, and we can’t possibly keep up.
We’re so used to the idea that more is better. But more isn’t better when you’re flying solo in your business or even if you have a small team. The more you do, the less time you have for each task.
So, you end up doing more things poorly rather than doing less really well. Typically, you’ll have better results when you fully commit to a few marketing tactics versus doing them all. Choose one or two to start.
[Meghan] Starting small with marketing is good advice. Listeners are probably thinking, “that’s great but how am I to know which marketing tactic to choose?” Which sort of brings us to our topic today.
Out of all of the marketing tactics available right now, is a business blog a must-have for your business? Is it worth the time, effort, and investment? Blogging has been around for a while, so is it even effective anymore?
[Theresa] I do wonder about these questions. There are a ton of marketing options out there, so is a blog absolutely necessary?
Plus, business blogging is a lot of work. It’s not like it used to be where you could write 300 words and see results. Nowadays, you need good writing skills, SEO knowledge, and a content strategy if you want your blog to get you more leads and sales.
Is a blog a 'must have' for your business? Here are a few things to consider first.Click To TweetWhat is a Business Blog?
[Meghan] Very true! Blogging isn’t as simple as it once was. It’s changed as the online space has evolved and become saturated with tons of content. To get everyone on the same page, let’s discuss what a business blog is.
A business blog is a section of your existing business’ website where you publish in-depth articles about topics related to your industry, niche, and subject matter expertise. These articles are called “blog posts.”
A business blog is a section of your existing business’ website where you publish in-depth articles about topics related to your industry, niche, and subject matter expertise.
Blog posts answer questions for your target market and position you as an expert so that, over time, you build an audience that trusts you and sees you as an authority in whatever it is that you do. This helps with the sales process. That’s why blogging is an effective form of content marketing to generate leads and sales.
[Theresa] Let’s backtrack for a minute. If you don’t know, content marketing is a marketing strategy focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. Its purpose is to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — ultimately, driving profitable customer action.
More simply put, a blog is an awesome way to share information that does not explicitly promote your brand but stimulates interest in your offers and products or services.
[Meghan] Good to point that out, thanks! Different businesses have different blogging goals. Generally speaking, a blog’s main goals are to capture leads and increase visibility so that more people find your business and eventually buy from you.
[Theresa] Now, to clarify, we’re not talking about blogging AS a business.
When you hear people talk about “bloggers,” they usually mean people whose entire business model is running a blog to generate revenue. In other words, a blogger’s business IS their blog.
So, this episode is not about you becoming a blogger. We’re talking about whether or not you should use a blog to grow your existing business. Hopefully you see that distinction.
Is Blogging Still Effective?
[Meghan] Blogging has been around since the 90s. So, you may think that old age makes blogging less effective.
But actually, blogging for your business is still effective. People still do read despite what you hear!
The challenge is that there’s so much competition for people’s attention that it’s harder to get your content noticed. It’s estimated that over two billion blog posts are published every year! So, it’s going to be more work for you since the competition is fierce.
[Theresa] Plus, your blog posts now have to compete with many other content formats and platforms—like video, audio, and social media. So that’s going to impact what you have to do to get your blog content noticed.
You may need to add these other formats to your written blog post or you may need to publish your blog posts in other formats on other platforms if you want the most bang for your effort.
Again, blogging is more work than it used to be, not because it’s less effective but because there is so much competition for your audience’s attention.
[Meghan] Nevertheless, the statistics on blogging are impressive. And the benefits of blogging are still there. Blogging is like a fine wine. It gets better with age!
[Theresa] I like that analogy! Really, any reference to wine works for me!
But seriously, the stats on blogging for business are really good. There are just a few that I’ll highlight for you.
Six out of ten buyers see the value of blog posts at the start of their purchase journey. That means people look at posts before buying!
On average, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month than those without. That means a blog does work to generate leads.
81% of U.S. online consumers say that blogs are trusted sources of information and 61% of them have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
So, even if the popularity of blogging has decreased a little, it’s still effective for marketing.
[Meghan] In addition to driving results, blogging benefits you and your business in many ways. We don’t have time to go into all of the benefits in this episode. But I’m going to name a few.
A business blog is a great strategy to:
- build authority in your industry (so that you’re viewed as an expert);
- improve your rank in search engines (so that people discover you);
- send visitors to your website (and capture their email);
- pixel website visitors so that you can retarget them through ads (to follow up proactively with prospects based on their interests);
- build a community and become a trusted resource (to sell more)!
I hope we’ve opened your eyes about the opportunities made possible from a blog.
Do You Need a Business Blog?
[Meghan] Alright, now that you know more about blogging for business, does YOUR business need one? This is the answer you’ve been waiting for, right?
I believe that nearly all businesses benefit from having a blog. However, that doesn’t mean that all businesses need a blog. A blog is not practical for every business. But in general, I feel that a blog is one of the best marketing tools available to small businesses who want to use the internet to get more customers.
A blog is one of the best marketing tools available to small businesses who want to use the internet to get more customers.
But, like we just discussed, you can’t do everything. A blog may be a nice-to-have rather than a true need at this stage in your business. So, it’s important for you to assess whether blogging makes sense as part of your marketing plan.
Do you agree Theresa?
[Theresa] I do. I think before you implement any new marketing tactic you need to be clear on your reasons for doing so. You should also understand how it fits in with your business goals.
I have a blog. I chose to begin one to help increase my influence and authority in a new industry with a new niche. For me, it’s a need. It’s how I demonstrate my skills, share my knowledge and provide value to my audience.
Blogging is also a marketing tactic that can easily grow with me and my business. As I get more sophisticated, so can it. I understand that a blog is a marathon and not a sprint though, so I’m in it for the long haul.
[Meghan] A blog is a good marketing approach if you can handle a long-term strategy meant to grow your business online. It is not a quick win. A successful blog requires that you publish consistently, and it usually takes six months to start seeing small results. You’ll get better results from your blog after a year or more of consistent publishing.
[Theresa] Not only that, but blogging is also a big time investment, especially if you don’t have a team to manage it for you. There are millions of blogs, so to compete you’ll need high quality posts that cover topics in depth.
Depending on your niche, you may need to write anywhere from 1,200 to 4,500 word posts and include lots of images. Plus, you’ve got to actively promote your blog posts to get eyeballs on your content.
[Meghan] Yep, successful blogging requires a lot of hard work. That said, there’s one big reason why I feel that nearly all businesses need a blog, and that is content.
At this point, digital marketing is really content marketing. Content fuels practically everything you do in the online space. To do business online, you need content for your website, search engine optimization, lead magnets, emails, social media, webinars, eBooks, and more. Right?
So, where are you going to get that content? A blog is an indispensable source of content for everything in your business. You can write an in-depth, high quality blog post and use that content for other platforms and formats. You can repurpose your blog content in multiple ways without starting from scratch each time. That’s how you can keep up with being everywhere. Heck, you can even turn your blog content into digital products!
And that, my friends, is why a blog is a super effective use of your time, money, and marketing.
[Theresa] Ultimately, there are many upsides to blogging for your business. We’ve named some downsides too. Blogging takes a while to work and it’s a big commitment of time and energy.
There’s a lot to consider. It’s not as simple as us telling you to start a blog or not. Your business goals, timeline, resources, and budget will drive your decision.
Is a Business Blog Worth It Even Though It’s Not a Quick Win?
[Meghan] So think of it this way, if you’re looking to build and grow your business online over the long run, a blog is an excellent way to do that. That’s why The Messy Desk Podcast publishes an accompanying blog post each and every week!
Do you need a blog today? You may not. But even if you don’t need content now, you will in the future if you want to use digital marketing to grow your business. And if that’s the case, now’s a good time to start.
A blog is the gift that keeps on giving, and your future self will thank you since an established blog is a valuable asset. Just accept right now that it takes time, consistency, and a lot of work before you see results. That’s my answer and I’m sticking to it!
[Theresa] A blog is the gift that keeps on giving.
If you decide that you’d like to start a blog, my advice is to start with a plan. No surprise there. A simple checklist of action steps will help you stay organized.
Also, I strongly advise that you brainstorm 5-6 content categories. The categories I write about are productivity, time management, organization, goal setting and achievement, outsourcing, and business mindset. Every topic on my blog falls into one of these. It helps me keep my focus on what I want to be known for.
That’s what I’ve got, Meghan.
[Meghan] Thanks Theresa! If you like what you heard today, please subscribe to the podcast and share this post with a friend who may be interested!
And, if you need help planning your blog, check out my Content Profit Plan.
A shout out to the blogs that contributed statistics to this post:
