One huge question: Why should I start a blog? There are so many reasons to start a blog that it's hard to know where to begin.
I can't cover all of the reasons in one article so I'm starting with one really important one: Blogging will dramatically increase your website traffic. Not only this, but it ensures that you're driving the right traffic. And this is the clincher. Who cares how much traffic you're driving if it's the wrong traffic? Surely you'd rather have 1,000 very relevant hits a month than 10,000 less relevant? I thought so. And this is where blogging (among other content marketing techniques) will pay-off.
Why starting a blog is critical for small businesses:
The most powerful marketing strategy you can employ as a small business or solopreneur is to start a blog. "Of course you would say that, you're a blogger who sells blogging services!" I hear you groan. Yes I do, but I am also a solopreneur with a young business and plenty of expertise to share (for free), and I'm also competing with my own 'big guys', so blogging has been (and will continue to be) a big part of my journey so far.
Perhaps this will help to convince you:
44% of my entire website traffic comes via social media channels,
and what is it I promote on social media? My blog posts. As a start-up business this has been vital while I establish organic SEO growth as well.
Don't be scared to start a blog:
By starting a blog, you're putting yourself out their publicly. This can be a scary thought - opening yourself up to criticism and opinion. Someone might not like what you have to say, they might not like you. Who cares? Yes, you might get the odd comment which gives you a virtual punch in the tummy and dents your confidence. But this will only make you a better blogger in the long-run.
You're brave - you run your own business for goodness sake - what's more daunting than that? Take the plunge and wow the world with your expertise and professional opinion. You have value to add, so start shouting about it.
How blogging can double your web traffic:
There are two ways that blogging can have a great impact on your web traffic.
1. Blog promotion over social media
If you promote your blog properly over social networks, you will drive more traffic to your website. How much traffic purely depends on how often you blog and how prolifically you share it over social media. The more blog posts you produce, the more compelling content you have to share over social networks = more traffic.
Sounds great right? But remember, in order for your blog to resonate with your target audience you have make sure that you're posting the content your target audience will find intriguing and helpful. So do your research on your audience's needs before you start. This is really, really important. What's the point of writing content no-one is interested in? Take a look at this blog post to find out the basics of writing to engage.
If you manage to achieve this, not only will you drive more traffic to your site, you will be driving the right traffic to your site; people with a genuine interest in your business or product.
2. Organic traffic through search engine optimisation
I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm an expert in SEO, because I'm not. But I know a fair amount. One thing I know for sure is that publishing quality and relevant content on your website should be a primary consideration.
By providing the content your audience is searching for, you will start to become visible in search rankings, driving more traffic to your website. Again, the great thing about this is that this traffic is the right traffic. You're providing a solution to a question or problem someone has, making them a warm prospect that you can then convert into a customer.
Of course, there is work to be done on each blog post you write and publish in order to make sure it works as hard as possible for you in terms of SEO. I'm not going to touch on the nitty gritty of how to do this right now, but here is a great blog post by Jeff Bullas which goes into loads of detail.
Has your web traffic increased as a result of blogging? Please leave comments below.