In this post, we talk about the reasons to start a business blog as a way to improve your content marketing productivity.
If you’re a solopreneur or team of one, don’t miss this one! After all, content marketing isn’t easy and it isn’t fast. But starting a business blog can make supporting your content marketing easier and faster.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[00:54] Introduction
[02:14] Create Optimized Content that Can Be Reused as Outlines and Scripts
[04:19] Messy Desk Podcast as an Example
[05:50] Lower Level of Effort, Less Diverse Skill Set Required
[07:20] Easy to Outsource
[08:15] Invest in Compound Interest
[09:11] Simplify and Save Time Repurposing Content
[11:05] Pay Attention to Content Goals
[12:24] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Content Strategy from Scratch workbook
Introduction
[Meghan] With the average blog post taking 4-6 hours to write, you may be wondering if blogging is a realistic option for a solopreneur. And, that would be a good question.
[Theresa] After all, blogging is one of many ways to generate leads for your business. So, there are other options—and certainly less time consuming ones!
For instance, why use up four hours a week on blogging when you could hop on a live video for 15 minutes? At first glance, that certainly seems effective and efficient.
[Meghan] And, we’re not saying it’s not! But, ultimately, it depends on your goals.
[Theresa] We fully understand that there’s no “one size fits all” approach to marketing. The marketing tactics you choose as a solopreneur are based on your own goals, target market, preferences, and resources. And that will be different for each person.
[Meghan] But—no matter who you are and what you do—there are several compelling reasons to start a business blog. Not only for lead generation but also to maximize your productivity related to content marketing.
[Theresa] That’s right! Blogging has a few advantages over other content marketing tactics.
So, hear us out on this one—especially if you’ve been considering blogging, vlogging, or podcasting.
Blogging as a productivity hack? Here are 5 reasons to start a business blog when you're a solopreneur who is short on time or resources.Click To TweetReason 1: To Create Optimized Content that Can Be Reused as Outlines and Scripts
[Meghan] One of the reasons to start a business blog is to have a repository of content to use as outlines and scripts for videos and audio files.
When you write a blog post, typically you’re optimizing it. You’re making it attractive to consumers and to search engine algorithms. It’s well-formed content with headings and good structure. It has good bones.
[Theresa] Pair that with a conversational tone that speaks directly to your audience, and you’ve got a piece of content that will serve great as an outline for videos, podcasts, and even presentations and webinars.
A business blog’s function extends beyond SEO. It can be an asset that simplifies or reduces the burden of other tasks. And, that’s terrific for productivity.
[Meghan] And, as a team of one, it’s tough to market across multiple platforms and stay competitive with content marketing. Blogging makes omni-channel marketing more achievable for you since you can turn posts into other content formats.
Now, in my experience, a video or podcast transcript doesn’t typically turn into an effective, search engine optimized and consumer-friendly blog post.
Have you ever noticed how many times videos and podcasts sometimes ramble? They are often more off the cuff. Often they don’t make effective blog posts.
[Theresa] True. Video and audio don’t always translate well to the written word. But, video and audio scripts often originate from the written word. So, going from a blog post to other formats is more intuitive and less work. It saves time.
Think about it: you’ll need an outline or script for your podcast or video anyway! So, a blog post makes sense. And that means if you really want to try omni-channel marketing, a business blog will support your productivity in this effort.
Real-Life Example: Messy Desk Podcast
[Meghan] I recently heard an influencer speak negatively about turning blog posts into video. Although I understand the concerns, I disagree. Case in point is this podcast!
[Theresa] Yeah, it’s true. We write our blog posts together, and the posts are also our outlines or scripts. Actually, we speak our blog posts out loud and have banter during the process. And, this is how we can support blogging and podcasting together. Because one begets the other.
[Meghan] We often will do things a little differently in the post versus the audio version. But having the post as the starting off point makes a massive difference in our productivity and time spent.
We did try podcasting without the post. As in, we tried going from an audio version to a written version. And that was a mess.
[Theresa] That’s an understatement! We realized we needed a script or outline to stay on topic. And, blogging at the same time made sense.
Having both a blog and a podcast is still work, though! You will devote more time to two content formats over one. But when you’re already writing hiqh quality content, you may as well take advantage of it in other ways. If not now, then in the future.
Reason 2: Lower Level of Effort, Less Diverse Skill Set Required
[Meghan] The second reason to start a business blog is that it’s a low level of effort and an easier skill set than podcasting or vlogging.
Writing is something you’re taught in school. You write as a part of daily life. However, video and audio skills aren’t part of everyday life for most people. These are skills that less people have.
Blogging is often more obtainable than podcasting and video creation since writing is a common skill.
[Theresa] This isn’t going to be the case across the board. You may be a solopreneur with video and audio editing experience. But if you’re not, and you don’t want to learn these skills or devote time to them, then blogging is easier. It’s also faster to market.
[Meghan] I mean, this is so true. I have audio and video editing experience. But, they aren’t my jam. Trying to even just create 1-2 minute audiograms from our episodes took me 2-3 hours each! It was a massive time suck. And, I didn’t get faster at it as time went on. So, that was not a good use of my time.
It’s much easier to upload the blog post into our WordPress site, create some graphics, and move on. I have a web design background, so that may make me biased about blogging.
[Theresa] Well, I don’t have a web design background, and I still find blogging far easier than video and audio editing!
I don’t have time to become proficient in these skills. And, I definitely don’t have the interest. That’s why we outsource these things to experts in these areas. Which brings us to reason number three.
Reason 3: Easy to Outsource
Blog writing is easy to outsource. You can hand off the blogging 100% to someone else. And there’s no better way to maximize your productivity than outsourcing!
[Meghan] That’s right! You can totally have someone else create your content strategy, write your posts, and publish them on your website. You can also hire someone to promote your content. Blogging can be hands off.
With video and audio, typically you are involved. As a solopreneur, it’s your face on the screen. It’s your voice in the audio. Whereas blogging can be handed off to someone else. And, you don’t have to spend much time on it.
[Theresa] And, remember, you don’t have to start off with outsourcing. You can start blogging now with the idea that you’ll hand it off in the future. And, you can slowly incorporate outsourcing a few parts of the blogging if you have budget concerns. It’s not all or nothing.
Reason 4: It’s an Investment in Compound Interest
[Meghan] Another one of the reasons to start a business blog is something called compound interest. This is about search engine optimization or SEO.
When you publish a blog post, the dividends aren’t quick. But 2-3 years down the road, you’ll reap bigger rewards. Evergreen, high quality, search engine optimized blog posts that generate leads are an asset as time goes on.
And that makes the investment in blogging productive and effective from a marketing perspective. It’s like putting money in a savings account earning interest.
[Theresa] People searching online will still be finding your posts years down the road. Your content will still be generating leads long after it first gets published.
When you consider your time spent on marketing, any tactic that keeps working beyond a few weeks is going to be a better use of time. It’s a smart investment.
Reason 5: To Simplify and Save Time Repurposing Content
[Meghan] Ok, the last way a business blog maximizes your marketing productivity is by simplifying content repurposing.
[Theresa] Repurposing just means turning your content into other formats. Kind of like: create once, use many times.
[Meghan] That’s a good way to describe it. And, we touched on this a little with the first point about re-using a blog post as a script or an outline. But this is a bit different.
You can make your blogging accomplish multiple marketing or lead generation related tasks.
[Theresa] We’ve talked about this before. A blog post can turn into other assets, such as:
- social media posts
- emails
- eBooks
- presentations
- webinars
- lead magnets
- online courses
- workshops
Your blog is an asset that can be repurposed into additional assets. And that’s another time saver.
A blog could be the hub for your other content marketing tasks. Meaning, each marketing asset originates from one or multiple blog posts. This can make your work go faster since you’re not starting from scratch each time.
[Meghan] Now, can you use a vlog or a podcast as your main content asset and as a content hub?
Yes, you can. Videos and audio files can be turned into some of the formats Theresa mentioned.
However, I still believe that in many cases going from a detailed written asset is the fastest, easiest and most effective path to the other content formats and other marketing tactics. Video and audio files don’t have as many quick and easy applications as a blog post does.
Do what’s right for you and what makes sense for your work style.
Your Content Goals are One of the Best Reasons to Start a Business Blog
[Theresa] We are not suggesting that you start a business blog because it’s easy or fast. The point here is that blogging can make accomplishing content marketing work easier and faster.
So, for the four or so hours you invest in writing a blog post, you can get a ton more out of it, as you’ve just heard in this episode.
[Meghan] A business blog isn’t for everyone. Any way you slice it, content marketing is hard work. Blogging takes time.
But, if you’re trying to be multiple places online and you plan to accomplish more than one content marketing tactic, then blogging can really make achieving your marketing goals faster and easier – at least from a productivity standpoint.
Again, it goes back to your goals.
Always consider your who, what and why as the reasons to drive your marketing strategy and decisions.
By the way, if you need help setting content or blogging goals and deciding which content format to use, be sure to download the free Content Strategy from Scratch workbook.
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