The Purpose of a Blog is Obvious. Or is it?

Let me start by saying, in my opinion, there is no one size fits all, cookie cutter purpose of a blog. In fact each and every blog is unique and that is something that any potential blogger should be looking to create. In this post I am going to discuss the 5 main reasons for having a blog in business and how it can help you.

It gives your site personality

It is seldom the case that you can find a niche market where there is little to no competition. This means that as a small business owner you have to do something to make your small business stand out from the crowd.

By starting a blog you are making a commitment both financially and more importantly an investment of your time to provide valuable insights into your industry or niche. Be ruthless with yourself because if you have nothing interesting to say or no value to add then your blog will soon become a ghost town and will in fact have a negative impact on your site.

It gives people a reason to return

I know of a small business owner who vehemently refuses to update his website and swoons at the thought of including a blog. In his opinion there is only one reason people visit the company website and that is too use a free sample of the company software.

My thought is this: if you only give people one reason to visit then they will see your site for that one purpose and no other. Give your audience that reason to return again and again by creating valuable content that provokes curiosity, inspires and/or educates. By doing this your blog can quickly and easily build a loyal following that can share the name of your business and brand through word of mouth marketing.

It helps search engine rankings

A stand alone website is pretty much an advert in a sea of other adverts. Worse than that, if there is no structure and by that I mean no search engine optimization, then effectively your website is stranded in an ocean without a lifeline.

Adding a blog to your small business website means that you are constantly adding fresh content. When you add fresh content to your blog and promote your blog in the correct manner, the search engines recognise this and if you tell them what your blog content is about by using the correct SEO on page optimization, you will be rewarded by having your content indexed where you most want it to be found, e.g. where ideal customers for your business are likely to be searching. 

With a solid content marketing strategy and patience you can build up a vast resource for your business that can provide solid value for your audience and position your business as a leader in your industry.  

It gives clients the opportunity to converse

The purpose of a blog is to strike up conversation with your audience. This can happen by creating content that helps them, or is in fact controversial (although not so controversial that it will damage your reputation!). For example if you are in the Realtor niche then you may produce a piece of content that says something along the lines of:

Why 85% of home sales fall through?

If you are looking to attract new vendors then this should encourage them to take a look and at the bottom you could leave a compelling call to action that invites the reader to comment “Have you experienced the nightmare of a house sale falling through? Let us know by including your comments below?” It is a simple way to get a conversation going which gives social proof to your site and social proof in turn means more people will engage.

It creates authority

Establish your small business as an authority in your industry by creating highly enriching blog content. If you are able to do this, it is a sure fire way to gain credibility with prospective new business partners. Highly effective people know that the more authority you have, the more likely people will open their ears and listen to you without being overly critical. Having the ability and time to influence these people is by far the most important purpose of a blog that most small business owners and business professionals desire the most.

The purpose of a blog varies from industry recognition to SEO benefit but one thing remains constant and that is you will need to learn how to write blogs effectively and integrate your blogging within your marketing strategy to see success. Blogging is not something to be taken lightly; it is a huge investment of time and money so make sure you are clear as to what you are looking to achieve before penning your first words. 

If you are a blogger why did you start a blog? If you are thinking about starting a blog what would be your main purpose? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

About

James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here Join James Debono on Google+

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