Why do people still do blogging?
They are so 2004 yet they persist. In many ways they are a nice alternative to a messy cms solution for publishing news about your business or relevant articles.
Blogging can take a lot of effort to continually produce and publish compelling information to post on your website, whereas a few news items can make the world of difference to a prospective customer or client. By having them visit your website you have an ideal opportunity to present yourself and your business in the best possible light; furthermore they have actively sought you out and are asking for information.
Is blogging or writing news for your site a worthwhile?
Consider two websites that are identical except one has a blog which is updated regularly and assuming there is an equal chance of both being visited by prospective clients.
Company 1 – No blogging
The prospect finds the site and is interested in being supplied with a product or service. The website tells the prospect the product or service is available, possibly a price and of course some contact details to view or order the product or service. Not too bad, well on the way to a sale.
Company 2 – Website with updated blogging
The prospect finds the site and all the information as above, and by coincidence the pricing is the same. But there is also some blogging on Company 2’s site with some recent client feedback on articles outlining how happy clients have been with Company 2. This blogging also has articles on how the product or service can apply to different aspects of the prospect’s own business.
Making blogging manageable for a busy business
The biggest reason business blogs go quiet is not a lack of ideas, it is a lack of routine. Blogging works best when it is treated like any other regular business task, with a set time in the calendar and a clear owner. Even one short article a month is far better than a burst of five posts followed by a year of silence.
Start by keeping a running list of topics. The questions customers ask on the phone, in emails and in meetings are a ready-made source of material. If one person has asked, others are almost certainly wondering the same thing, and a clear written answer saves time for everyone.
A few simple habits make the job much easier:
- Write in plain language, the same way you would explain the topic to a client across the table.
- Keep each post focused on one question or idea rather than trying to cover everything at once.
- Use clear headings so readers can scan the page and find what they need quickly.
- Finish each post with a simple next step, such as contacting you or viewing a related service.
How blogging supports your search visibility
Beyond building trust with prospects, regular articles give search engines more reasons to show your website. Each post is a new page that can appear in results for the specific questions people type in. Over time, a library of helpful articles can bring in visitors who would never have found your home page directly.
This works best when every article is genuinely useful and written for people first. Choose a clear topic, use the words your customers would naturally search for, and link to the relevant service pages on your own site where it helps the reader. Avoid stuffing posts with keywords, as it makes the writing awkward and does little for your results.
It is also worth revisiting older posts every so often. Updating details that have changed, adding a new example or tidying up the wording keeps your content accurate and shows visitors that the business is active and paying attention.
Which company do you think the prospect would end up choosing?
Let’s return to the question of whether or not it is worth your time adding blogs or news to your site. This article has taken me about 15 minutes to write so far and has not been proofread yet. In that 15 minutes I have presented a reason for you to choose Front Row Media to supply you with a website and a blog and it hasn’t taken too much time out of my day.
