Why write a blog?

And Does Anyone Actually Read Them?

They are good questions. In the last 10 years, blogs have spiralled in numbers and everyone you speak to seems to have a blog, from your dentist to the elderly lady down the road and the teenage girl next door (well, in my street anyway).

If you’ve ever tried to write a regular blog, you’ll also know they can be time-consuming, and getting traffic (AKA readers) can feel like pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks up a steep hill. All of which begs the question: Are they worth all the effort and will anyone even read your beautifully crafted words?

So, are blogs still relevant?

The answer to this is a definite yes, if done well.

Time for some stats

Earlier this year, OptinMonster released some blogging stats. Here are some of the highlights of their research:

  • Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites.
  • Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trustworthy source for gathering online information and 77% of internet users read blogs.
  • Businesses that blog experience twice as much email traffic as businesses who don’t.
  • 57% of marketers say they’ve gained customers specifically through blogging.
  • B2B marketers who have blogs get 67% more leads than those who don’t.

Hold your horses

Before you re-subscribe to WordPress and start tapping away at your laptop, it’s important to bear in mind that if you want even a fraction of the results quoted above, you’ve got to have a blogging strategy and you’ve got to blog consistently and to a high standard. 

Time and commitment

Blogging is a long game. You’re not going to get results overnight or if your blogs are always a thinly veiled (or blatant) sales pitch. Blogging is about building relationships, sharing information, being helpful, and being useful.

Think of your blog as having an interesting conversation with potential clients. Your topics should be about something they want to know about, and you should be sharing useful, interesting or entertaining information…not just yelling BUY NOW!

All of which takes time! Time to plan and research your content, time to write and edit (the average blog post takes 3 ½ hours to write), and time to build those relationships. Once you’ve written and published your blog, you’ll also need to set aside time to share it on social media and respond to any comments.

There aren’t any short cuts, and you’ll need to decide how much time you can commit to your blogging every month and then stick to it consistently.

Blogging strategy

I can’t stress enough the importance of taking time to plan your blogging strategy. And you should start by setting clear objectives and some SMART goals. 

What do you want to achieve with blogging as a whole and by way of each individual post? When do you want to achieve it by? How realistic is that? How will you achieve it – by blogging weekly? Monthly? What social media platforms will you use to promote your blogs? How will you measure success?

Objectives

You may want to use your blog to build and expand your reputation and position yourself as the “go to” person in your industry. Alternatively, you may have a particular product or event you want to promote.

Do you want to use your blog to help build your email list or your number of social followers?  Perhaps you want to use it as a way of increasing the number of visitors to your website?

Action plans

The above are all worthy objectives. Your task is to work out which objectives work for you and then plan how to achieve them. And what about your readers? What’s their appetite for your material? What are they interested in? How much time have they got? When are they most likely to read a blog?

A mother of young children at home might be able to grab 5 minutes every day to read some quick home fitness tips whereas a corporate commuter may enjoy a longer read on the train on the way home on a Friday night. I’m stereotyping of course but your job is to research your people so that you can answer these questions.

With clear objectives and a well thought through action plan, you will plan and write your blogs more efficiently as you keep your eye firmly on the end goal.

Research

As you’ve probably already gathered, there’s a whole host of things that will require a little research. Keyword research is essential so that you can use your keywords (albeit naturally and sparingly) throughout your posts. Target audience research is important, as is blog content. What do people want to read about?

But perhaps the biggest thing you need to do is read around your subject. Your content needs to be accurate, well informed but original. Nobody wants to read you just repeating someone else’s opinion.

Sound like a tough gig? Well, soak up information about and around your subject like a sponge. Read different opinions, decide where you stand, listen to other conversations, do your own surveys or research. Ideas breed ideas and will help you make your content unique and your own.

Quick wins  

I’ve said that there are no short cuts but there are a couple. First up, is updating and reusing your existing content. There’s nothing wrong with updating old posts and according to OptinMonster, 34% of bloggers say that updating content produces strong results. You should also try and develop a certain amount of what’s known as “evergreen content” which is content that doesn’t go out of date. It will be as relevant and interesting in two years’ time as it was today.

Guest posts are another quick win. This should be mutually beneficial to you and your guest writer, giving them additional exposure and allowing you to get some kudos and traction from their name or brand.

Phew

If all this seems like a lot of hard work, it is. And the truth is, I could probably go into each and every area above in much more detail. But the bottom line is, yes, blogging is worth it if done well, yes, people do read them and yes, they can achieve impressive results.

If I’ve left you with a headache or the urge to lie down in a darkened room and forget you ever heard the word blog, why not get in touch. I can sort all of the above for you, or just do those bits that you can’t or don’t want to manage. Which means you could make 2022 the start of a successful new blog.

Please call me on 07988 676219 or email here.