7 reasons why YOU should have blogs on your website.

The irony isn’t lost on me that I’m about to preach the benefits of having blogs on your website when this is my first on mine. Can I make excuses about being too busy writing blogs for others? The cobblers always wear the worst shoes and all that. The truth is, you need blogs on your website for several reasons, and before you get scared at the prospect of how much of a commitment it’s going to be, remember it’s your blog, your rules. I’m going to tell you why (while I feel virtuous for finally cracking on with mine) you should get writing, and here’s a teaser; those businesses with blogs produce 67% more leads on average each month than those without a blog.

1 – Be an expert

You know your business inside out and writing blogs on your website about your expertise is another way to shout about your knowledge. You can write blogs that answer customer questions and provide them with further information. If you fancy taking it up a notch, you can mention relevant industry trends and wow with up-to-date statistics that back up your comments. The blog comments section will also allow you to have conversations with readers, answer their questions and show how super smart and fabulous you are.

2 – Challenge your competitors

Although it’s not about showing up your competitors, you and your business need to stand out from the masses, and adding blogs to your website can help you do this. If you write interesting and relevant blogs that help your customer and highlight your expertise, such blogs should increase your credibility and build trust.

3 – Show who you are

Blogs also give you the opportunity to introduce your voice and perspective to your audience and potential customers. You can write about what’s important to your readers so that your unique voice comes across and enhances your brand. The obvious caveat here is that you need to find the balance between remaining professional and being down-to-earth/funny/over-familiar (tick as appropriate). I’ll follow up with a future blog about er, how to write a blog.

4 – Drive traffic

You don’t need to be an SEO expert, but you need to consider it to gain the best results from a blog. Consider making your content as fresh as a daisy and adding relevant keywords. If you keep adding a new blog to your website, it may help it sit higher in search engines, but it needs to be regular, and you need to post valuable information for your readers. Once they come through to your site, you can convert leads with a call to action.

5 – Increase your sales

Now always, but if written well, they could help sales. According to Hubspot, 56% of consumers said they are more likely to buy something from a company after reading their blog. You can link your blog to your sales or service page if there is a natural place to do this, offering a call to action. But don’t make the blog a sales piece just harping on about your products or services. It won’t engage and you’ll look like a show-off.

6 – Gain social media content

Once you’ve written and posted your blog, you can use it to update your social media and gain more visitors through social media sharing. Even better, if your title and content are exciting and different, that can lead to more readers and trips to your website and potential new customers. If you add some sharing buttons, too, it can really hit lift-off.

7 – It’s there to stay

Even after your blog goes live and the excitement around it dies down, it’s going nowhere. That means that it’s ranked in search engines and will continue to attract readers. The more blogs you have, the more likely you are to boost traffic to your site, making all the effort of writing the blogs worth it (says the writer).

There you go. I hope you’re convinced about the importance of having blogs on your website and why it’s worth you getting in on the action. You don’t have to write one every day or every week, but when you decide your frequency try and stick with it. Google will like it. Your customers and potential customers will learn from you, and you may impress a few people.

 

I’m going to keep trying on that one.

 

If you have any questions or would like to chat about your blog plans, give me a shout.