The 4 Most Important Reasons to Blog for your Business

I'll be honest with you.

I'm not a writer.

In fact there was a time when I loathed the idea of sitting down and writing. I had to take time out of my day, and actually THINK about something to write about. I'm certain I was an undiagnosed ADHD kid, because the thought of sitting down not doing something fun and colorful made my brain spin!! Besides... Why would anyone want to hear what I had to say? I'm not an expert at anything. I'm not curing any diseases... I'll just keep everything in my head and everything will be alright.

I worked in radio for years, as a commercial and promo producer. I lived, ate and breathed commercials... promos... ID's... cool sounding radio bits. My wife wrote. In fact my wife wrote most of the commercials that I got awards for producing. We were a pretty good team. She wrote... I did the fun stuff.

When I got out of radio to try to blaze my own little trail in this online marketing thing (5 years ago now... holy toot!), I started to learn a little more about electronic marketing... About how to get yourself out there (I'm shy as hell in real life, and not a great social networker), and one of the things I learned was the importance of blogging. Not just writing what came off the top of your head... your vacations, what you had for dinner, your not-so-great experience at the Doctor's office. (Those kinds of blogs are ok too, don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for them)... but writing to your colleagues. Your clients. Your Friends. Trying to shed some light on topics that they might find useful, interesting, helpful and enlightening. Letting THEM in on the stuff I was paying good hard-earned money to learn.

And you know what? I'm actually starting to enjoy it!

So the first reason why it's so important to blog for your business:

Reason #1 - It's Cathartic

Write about what you know. What you're good at. Afterall, you have a client list of people who pay you money to do what you do, so why not write to them about the problems they're having? How you can solve them. Writing is good for the soul, and if you're writing about the very things that are paining your clientele (or potential clientele), it could be good for their soul too... and eventually your pocket book. You'll be less stressed; you'll look better. Heck... if it's 2 o'clock in the morning when you're writing, like I am right now... you might even sleep better too! Most importantly, you'll LEARN something. Researching your blogging topics will help you learn a lot of stuff you might not already know about the topic you're writing about. Try it!

Reason #2 - It Will Make You Look like an Expert

...Because you are an expert! Regular blogging (where your competition might not be doing the same thing) positions yourself as not only an expert at what you do, but as a person who is willing to share that knowledge with the rest of the world. Providing helpful tips, tid bits, cool knowledge on a particular topic can only gain you attention.

And it's important not to obsess over what you're writing about. It's more important to just DO it, and then tweak it later before it's published. Heck, it's even ok to go back and edit it later after it's published if there's something not quite right. But don't wait until your blog is letter-perfect and all the words are scientifically proven to WOW your readers. Just write and get it out there. It will get better over time, and much easier to do (Just make sure your spelling and grammar is polished before you publish).

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.
– William Faulkner

Reason #3 - It's great for your SEO

For years Google has been modifying its search engine algorithms to promote 'the better web'. In fact it always comes to pass... as soon as I finally get comfortable with the 'rules' of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), one of the 'big three' search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo) throws a wrench into the equation, and I have to change my tactics. Right now (and for the forseeable future), Google is rewarding websites that have dynamic content... Web pages that change over time. Sites whose content isn't stale or stagnant. If you post a regular blog (and it only has to be one or two a month). Google sees your website as being a part of the engine that drives great content. And by being at the top of your game, people will find you when they're searching for content relating to your blog. Since we (Gaslamp Village Media) started to blog (and write them in a way that the search engines will 'get' the content of your message), we've shot to the top of the rankings for many of the search terms we are targetting.

Reason #4 - Drives Traffic to your Website

If people are searching for the topics you're writing about, then they're going to come to your site and read about it. Right? Makes sense... and when you invite people into your home, store, place of business... they'll probably want to look around; learn a little bit about you. So, why not make them a content offer on the blog page. Show them some MORE great posts to read! Post a Call To Action here or there. Lead them around your site, dazzle them with your expert content, and eventually lead them to that buy now button, or contact us. Maybe even make a sale!

As an online marketing tool, the internet really is your oyster. It's the most prolific marketing tool ever devised by man. It connects you with more people than you could ever fit into your store or office; talks to more people than you could EVER talk to with a radio, newspaper or Television ad; and relates to more people than you could ever possibly hope to relate to in person. Best of all... writing is free. Sure it takes a little time, and if you're of the belief that time is money, then yes... there is a cost. But the benefits will always outweigh the negatives.

I'll leave you with a few stats from Hubspot's website. (Gaslamp Village Media Inc. is a Hubspot partner)

Thanks for taking the time to read MY Blog. If you liked this, please subscribe to ours, and I can't wait to read yours!

• B2B marketers that use blogs receive 67% more leads than those that do not.
• Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI.
• By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a human.
• The only thing blogging costs you: your time.
• Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.
• Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information.

(P.S. If you really want a challenge... write it by hand! Like, with a pen. On paper... remember paper?)