The 5 main benefits of having a business blog

A blog might sound like something you do for a hobby, rather than a tool to grow your business with. If you believe that’s true, then keep on reading - you will be surprised. Let’s see how a business blog can be an effective marketing tool on the basis of, what we believe, are the five main purposes of a business blog.

Attract more visitors to your website with a business blog

When was the last time your website has had an update? Does your website look the same as it did two years ago? A static website will not make prospects come back to your site often - they’ve seen all they are going to see. When the first visit did not lead to a sale, you lost that prospect.

A blog can prevent this from happening. If you create fresh content, content that is topical to your audience, and unique. People will engage with you more often and get to know you better, which is the first step in becoming a customer in the long-run.

Publishing fresh content regularly helps to be better found online. It creates a possibility for new people to visit your website. It is one of the basic principles of Search Engine Optimization, the name given to activities that improve your rankings in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Obtain leads

A blog on your website is a service that you offer free of charge to anyone reading your content. However, you can also use that content to get visitors to leave their contact details with you, most often email addresses. For this to happen create content that is worth giving something in return - your prospect’s email address.

Interesting research done by you or external research you want to share, online course material on a given topic or a “how-to” guide, there are many examples of how to use content to harvest email addresses. As long as you keep in mind the uniqueness of the content, your visitors should not be able to get such content somewhere else or for free - the sky’s the limit.

Once you have gathered email addresses, these people become leads. You can now start sending them targeted content, including personal offerings and promotions.

Gain trust as an expert in your niche

People buy from people, and they buy from people they trust. A blog gives you a place to share your insights where people can acknowledge your expertise in the field. The topics you write about on your blog therefore very much reflect the way your audience perceives you.

It’s not as simple as claiming to be an expert in your niche. Prospects are suspicious and they want proof. Frequently publish high-quality content that is reliable to reach that status. If your audience believes what you write is honest and true, they have more trust in buying your product .

Increase points of sales through your business blog

The other four benefits mentioned here eventually lead to more sales. They should, why else would you want to invest your time or your money (to pay for a copywriter), on something that is not aimed at business growth?

There is even a possibility to generate sales from a blog article directly, instead of heating up website visitors first with different types of content. Blog articles offer a softer way to advertise, you start a discussion on a given topic and offer your product, possibly along with other product alternatives, as a solution to the problem. This form of advertising is very low-cost, it mainly asks for an investment of your time.

Engage with customers through your business blog

Last but not least, you want your current customers to book with you again . New and interesting blog articles are relevant to share with customers and make a point of contact. This can be done through social media updates for instance or showcasing your blog in your newsletter. Also, read our blog to learn how to increase bookings through social media.

In addition, writing a blog demonstrates that you spend time on current events in your industry, maybe in your geographical area, and how this is changing your business. This has a positive effect on customer loyalty as they can see for themselves how you are up to date and relevant . It makes a positive impression with your customers that will make them want to revisit.

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