Hello to all you brilliant entrepreneurs out there – you are so lucky! Why? Because your website makes it possible to market your business to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Did you realize that your website was that powerful?

But I know that it can all be very overwhelming. First you have to think about Google; should you run ads or opt for Search Engine Optimization? Then you want to use Social Media…but how do you choose which platforms to use? And then, what do you post on them? Oh, and you’re supposed to blog, too? Really? It’s a lot for anyone to manage whose first priority is running a business! Believe me, I feel your pain!

I want to share with you why blogging is the most reliable and cost effective way to use the web to build your business and it answers many of those nagging questions that you have about marketing. So take a moment to run through these four big reasons to blog for your business and let me know if you’re convinced!

Business Blogging Is One Of The Most Powerful Ways To Market Online

1) It Provides Content For Social Media:

When you create helpful, useful, and informative blog posts, you have an endless supply of wonderful content to post on Social Media. Your blogs that don’t have an “expiration date” (in other words, posts that can be relevant over a long period of time, or even forever) are called “evergreen content.” You can share your evergreen content over and over and over again.  Why? Because everyone who follows you on Social Media won’t see what you post when you post it. And often someone wants to click and read your blog post, but he or she didn’t have time to read it at that moment. Also, if you are actively building your community of followers and fans, the new people haven’t been exposed to it at all yet.

2) It Brings More Visitors To Your Website:

When you write helpful, useful, and informative blog posts it will attract new visitors to your website whether they come from Social Media, from people who follow you, from your fans and followers sharing your content, and from your subscribers distributing your content through Social Media, email, etc. And, keep this nugget in mind: Google loves websites that get lots of visitors and research shows that people start with Google when they are searching for just about everything. So more visitors means more Google love, which means more visibility, which means more visits to your website, which means more Google love, etc., etc., etc.! It’s that simple.

3) It Attracts Your Ideal Clients And Customers:

You have a pretty good idea of “who” your ideal client is, right? If you keep that “person” in your head when you are planning your blog posts then the topics you write about will resonate with that ideal client. For example, let’s say you are an architect and your expertise is in large historic home renovations. Your ideal client is a wealthy couple with children, who are actively shopping for older homes in your area. Here are some examples of blog posts that would resonate with them: “5 Signs That An Older Home Is Right For Your Family” or “Does Your Older Home Have Good Bones? How To Tell” These topics speak directly to what your ideal clients are probably be struggling with and will introduce you to them as the architect who understands their needs. See how this works?

4) It Demonstrates Your Credibility:

You’ve invested a lot of time and energy into being an expert in your field, but does your website convey your credibility and your expertise? It’s difficult to tell your story completely on your bio page, it would be too long and probably no one would read it all the way through. But your blog…that’s a different story! If you do it right, every blog post that you create will illustrate the fact that you know what you are doing and that you are the perfect choice to your ideal client. This is so important to convey to people who find you through Social Media or through Google, and especially those who have been referred to you because even word-of-mouth clients will check you out before they contact you. So if your blog posts make them confident they’re in the right place, they’ll be sold on you before you even meet!

Have I convinced you to start your blog? Yes? Here’s how to get more help and tips on blogging for your business:

1. Subscribe to my blog to the right.
2. Ask me a question in the comments.
3. Like my Facebook page on the right.
4. Follow me on Twitter (also on the right!)
5. Check out my Blogging Course here

   Thanks for reading! 

   Betsy

    

If you’re new to blogging for your business, or even if you’ve been blogging for a while, you may be asking yourself what is the ideal length for a blog post? There really isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to this question except for this: Your blog posts should be as long as you need them to be. I’ve always been of the “less is more” school. Partly because I’ve read so many studies over the years that show that people don’t actually “read” on the web, but instead they scan. And, I’ll admit it; I’m also a bit impatient. I like to read online content that gets to the point quickly and succinctly…and that tends to be how I write, too.

Recently, however, I’ve come across a number of articles that indicate that there is actually a correlation between the length of a blog post and how much it is shared. This is in contrast to the school of thought that people don’t “read” on the web. Check out this chart based upon research by a popular online journal:*

This chart clearly shows that the length of the blog post is in direct correlation with how many Social Media shares it gets. And the more a piece of content is shared, the more links go to the blog post, which helps the entire website gain more authority in terms of Search Engines visibility. That’s all good, right?

So, if we use this as our guide, all bloggers should be aiming for every one of their posts to be at least 1,500 words long. And taking this a step further, other research indicates that a blog post should also take seven minutes to read (which translates into approximately 1,600 words). Now the “seven minutes to read a blog post” idea does make sense. The more a reader is engaged in an article, the more likely he or she will be to actually finish reading the entire piece of content. And at the end be even more motivated to share it across the web.

But who wants to sit at a desk all day trying to extend a blog post from 500 words to 1,600 words just to get more shares and links? And what if you just don’t need 1,600 words to get your point across? Tweets and shares are great, but there are other, even more important factors to consider when planning and creating your content.

The purpose of your blog: A journalist covering an election for a political blog will most likely easily churn out 1,600 words or more without even thinking about it. But a blogger who helps single moms become more organized by answering their submitted questions, may not need 1,600 words to get her point across. These two types of blogs have very different purposes and the content should reflect that.

Your writing style: If your style is scholarly and you love using a lot of research and examples, then you’re likely to reach that sweet spot of 1,600 words without a bit of trouble. But if you are the type of writer that likes to give great advice that’s quick and digestible (like the single mom blogger) then you should stick to what you feel comfortable with.

Your readers: Do they want, and expect in-depth content from you, or do you find that they respond best to quick answers and blurbs? After all, your readers are your biggest fans. They follow you for a reason…they love the way you write! Keep them in mind (and actually picture them reading your blog) during the entire process.

The bottom line is this: don’t attempt to extend the length of your blog posts just to get more shares across the web. Stay true to your blog’s purpose, your style, and your readers, and the shares will come.

By the way, this post has 658 words. Works for me! What’s your opinion?

* Chart from QuickSprout

Of all the marketing tactics that I’ve used over the years for my own business and for my clients, blogging has by far proven to be the most effective. But at the beginning, to many of my clients, the mere idea of writing a blog seems like an impossible task. But once I answer the inevitable questions such as “What could I write about?” and “Who would want to read my blog?” it starts making sense.

While doing some research for an online class about blogging recently I discovered some amazing facts. Some of my clients are experiencing staggering numbers of visitors to their websites and they are the clients who blog! The numbers are greater than I ever expected. And, aside from a tiny bit of money invested by someone in promoting their blogs on Facebook, it’s all been absolutely free.

If you haven’t already discovered the power of blogging for your business, here are 4 perfectly great reasons to consider it:

1. If you write your own blog posts, your investment is only your time.
2. Every time someone shares your blog post to his or her community, your content becomes magnified.
3. A highly shared blog post drives lots of traffic to your website.
4. And that popular post has a much better chance of appearing as a result on Google when someone is searching for the information that your post supplies.

Check out some of the numbers that astounded me (especially the last one!). Not one of these businesses spent more than a few bucks, if anything at all, to achieve this level of visits:

So, before you get out your credit card to pay for Google ads, think about blogging first. Remember…Google loves popular websites that get lotsof traffic. Your blog can get you lots of Google love!

Want help with blogging for your business? Check out “Get Your Blog Done!” which is my step-by-step formula to turn your website into a client magnet. Info here.

- Betsy