It has been a very long time since I last blogged. Too long.
There are over 160,000,000 blogs online at this moment in time. That is
160 MILLION blogs vying for attention in the great web of the
t'internet! So why have I let mine slip? I can only answer that I have
been too busy but is that enough of an excuse? Given the benefits of
blogging, no, it's not.
So what are the benefits of blogging? Here's my top ten:
1) Boosts your search engine ranking.
Want
to get high up in Google results? Then blog. Google and other search
engines love nothing more than dynamic, changing content and a blog
provides just does that. Ensure your blog talks about topics and themes
relevant to your business, place strategic keywords in the content and
if this is what your ideal customer will be searching for; hey presto,
you're there in their search results.
2) Attract new visitors and keep existing ones
In
line with number 1, changing content will keep current visitors coming
back for more as well as attracting new visitors. This in turn will lead
to new client/customers if you play your cards right.
3) Establish yourself as an expert
Writing
blog posts that provide answers to common questions and problems
establishes you as an expert in that field and the "go to" person in
that industry. SO find out what problems your potential customers are
having, solve that problem in a detailed post and let them find you.
4) Gather a community of loyal ambassadors
Once
people start to realise that you provide a timely and useful blog you
will create an army of fans that wait for each edition and are willing
to recommend you to their friends/network.
5) Spotlight a product/service
Use a blog post to detail your new product and service, share it with your network and get them to spread the word.
6) Get immediate feedback
Every
blog should have a comments section. This allows your readers to tell
you what they think of you, your writing, your business and/or your
service/product. This helps you make changes quickly and appropriately.
7) Collect emails
The
comments section is also a great way of collating emails (just warn
people if you are going to use them in this way). You can then add these
to your mailing list and offer further products/services to them.
8) Learn lots
Researching topics for blog posts is a great way of learning more. To write, you must read and to read is to learn.
9) Broaden your network
Asking
for guest posts/bloggers will widen your network. You'll find other
people and businesses that have the same and different interests to you.
How can you collaborate? How does their business compliment yours?
10) Improve your writing
Writing blogs is hard but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Honestly.
So when was the last time you blogged?