The Small Business Guide to Blogging
When you’re a small business, getting eyes on your website can be an uphill battle.
How do you get people to visit your site if you don’t have a huge ad budget? By making your website a resource for your clients! Having a small business blog is extremely helpful in getting more traffic to your site and transitioning website views into sales.
Every Small Business Needs A Blog
Small business marketing can be a tricky business! You don’t want to invest your time and money into something that isn’t going to work or only works for a few days.
Every time Instagram is “down” and won’t let you post content we’re reminded that you don’t have complete power over your social media presence. Every social media platform that we know and love today could suddenly shut down tomorrow. Many people scoff at this and say there is no way that could happen, but just a few months ago it did for the styling app Polyvore!
You may not “own” Instagram but you do own your website and the content you create for it. A good blog post can be shared over and over again for years! This gives you far more longevity than the average Facebook or Instagram post.
Blogging Is Great For Your Telling Your Story
Blogging drives new and returning users to your website where you can tell your own story in your own words. Each blog post you write gives you the opportunity to pitch your brand, your knowledge, and your expertise to your potential clients.
Writing a blog gives you the opportunity to draw people into the story behind your business. More often than not a small business can’t compete with huge operations based on price, expediency, or reach. But, more so than the big guys, small businesses have a story, a person or a family behind the scenes making it all work. Blogging gives you the opportunity to tell your story and to win new customers with your heart!
Plus, every blog post you write about, you can share on your social media accounts. If you’re stuck and can’t think of a good Facebook post for the day, you can post an older blog post that’s still relevant and helpful for your clients.
What Should I Blog About?
The number one question we get about blogging is “what should I blog about?” Although each industry will be different, there are a few key things you should keep in mind.
- Your blog needs to be related to your business. If you sell stationery but you also love vintage cars, don’t blog about vintage cars on your stationery site, they’re way too different. Keep to the topic of your business and you’ll be golden.
- Don’t be overly self-promotional, the reader needs to get something from your blog or else they won’t read it. If you’re launching a new clothing line, give the details but then explain how to style the different pieces.
- Make sure each blog post has a takeaway for your reader. They should be able to find it useful in some way.
- To get your wheels turning, think of every aspect of your business that your customers may want to learn more about, and think about how that could become a blog post.
How To Promote Your Business With Your Blog
Each blog post is an opportunity to reach new clients, but as we said earlier, you don’t want to be overly promotional. Instead, we like to think of the blog as an appetizer. You’re drawing eyes to your website with a tasty little tidbit on the blog, then at the end of the post, you make it easy for people to get in contact with you about it! Starting the conversation makes it easier to turn prospects into clients.
How To Write A Blog From Start To Finish
If you’re a little out of practice writing, we know that starting a blog can be intimidating! We have a tried and true process for writing blog posts that makes it so much easier.
- First things first, brainstorm and pick your topic.
- Next, do keyword research. This helps you find out if anyone actually interested in what you want to talk about. If not (we’re sorry!) move on to the next idea. Once you have your topic and keyword in place it’s almost time to write!
- Research your blog idea, see what other people have said. Use this time to find credible sources you can use to beef up the post.
- Outline your blog post. What are the top takeaways you want your readers to get from the post? Use this information to split up the blog post into manageable sub-sections as we’ve done here!
- Start writing. If you’re out of practice, that’s okay! The only way to get better is to keep going. Write out each section then make sure they make sense and flow together.
- Make sure to include an introductory paragraph at the beginning and a call to action at the end.
- Have a friend or coworker proofread the blog post.
- Post on your website and share on social media!
Optimize Your Blog With SEO
Writing your blog with SEO in mind adds another task to the to-do list. We love utilizing SEO for small businesses because it allows them to rank higher in search results. This is why it’s so important to be careful choosing your keywords! For a primer on how to write SEO driven content, check out this blog post.
Is adding a blog on your marketing to do list? Let’s chat about it in a free strategy session.