Over the years I’ve had quite a few small business clients ask me to design a website for them, or write some copy for their new site – but shy away from adding a blog.
“Nope, don’t need a blog,” they tell me confidently. “I just need a website that people can visit and see what I do.”
And of course, having a beautiful, well-designed digital footprint is essential – but no blog? That’s not something I’d recommend.
Of course, I get the reluctance to start down the blogging road. Writing a blog, coming up with ideas, promoting the posts – it all takes time and money and you may feel like it’s not going to do much for your business anyway. Better to spend time on the marketing you know works, right?
Wrong. A big fat wrong.
Getting to page 1 of Google – when you don’t blog at all
As a case in point, I want to tell you about a client I’ve worked with for years – and still do. This client agreed reluctantly to the odd blog post when the company’s new site went live, not really believing it would do much. They do merch, promo, warehousing and fulfilment and believe the vast majority of their customers come via word of mouth.
Anyway, I suggested we write a blog post that tied in with the pandemic AND a particularly new pain point of their clients: how to keep customers, clients and staff engaged on those lengthy Zoom meetings we now love to hate (after 2 years of them).
The solution? Beautiful, branded gift packs they could order in bulk and have delivered to their event participants. (Below is an example of Gym + Coffee branded gift pack).
Those events might be online conferences, Christmas parties, Friday night work drinks – you name it. And for everyone attending, there’d be a knock at the door and a goodie bag of bespoke items handed over to keep them happy (and hopefully attentive) in the upcoming Zoom event, whatever it was.
That blog post took off. Within weeks, it was on page 1 of Google.
What happens when you strike content gold
The company started fielding calls from a heap of new customers who wanted to put in orders for virtual gift packs. My client was, to put it mildly, bloody thrilled.
Which is, of course, the power of blogging, leveraging keywords and current trends – and thinking about your customer’s pain points.
Of course, not every post you publish on your website will have this outcome, but blogging regularly is still extremely important for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
It’s like sticking your hand up above the crowd of other hands, all frantically waving, and getting noticed. Every fresh piece of content is a signal to Google that you’re still around, and relevant, and worth keeping an eye on.
Your site, instead of being a static digital footprint, becomes a living thing that’s changing regularly and drawing more of your ideal customers through the door.
Oh, and those new blog posts? Each one gives you a reason to contact your customers, to send a newsletter, to hit up your socials – and bring in more traffic and potentially more business.
Still not sure blogging is right for your business?
Here’s the thing: blogging should be part of the marketing strategy for every small business. Simply because, if you blog regularly, and have a solid SEO strategy to boot, your posts can help bring you better, more targeted leads.
And if you can’t write, aren’t sure what to write about – or need help to isolate your customers’ pain points, a professional writer can do all those things for you. A writer with SEO skills can also help optimise your post for maximum impact and eyeballs.
And who knows? Your next post could be the one that gets the phone ringing off the hook.
Need help with your blogging or content strategy – or looking for a professional writer with SEO skills to help with your content? Let’s chat.