“Should I have a blog? Is blogging still a thing?” The short answer is absolutely YES.

Blogs & Audience Reach

In its hey-day back in 2007, blogs were the go-to platform for inspiration, outfit ideas, and advice for purchasing your next couch. While blogging isn't the type of beast it was then, it is still relevant and something every business and brand should have.

Think about it. Google is a search engine that, according to Internet Live Stats, receives around “5.5 billion Google searches per day or more than 63,000 search queries per second as you’re reading this.”

And as a small business owner, the best way to feed the Google machine is *drumroll please*: BLOG POSTS

Why is this? Well, first, you have to think about why YOU use Google. Is it to solve a problem? Learn something new? Fill a need that you have, like finding the perfect new pair of shoes?

Informative blog posts that fill a need and position yourself as the expert in your industry is KEY for ranking well on Google. If Google finds that the information you cover in a blog post would be helpful to the particular user's search query, then you could appear higher up in the list of posts related to the search!

How Search Engines Impact User Experience

There are actual bots—web crawlers—that scour the internet and rank websites based on how well they perform, site speed, broken links, and categorize the topics on each site in a file system. It's super-advanced stuff!

The reason for this is, Google wants to be the world's GO TO search engine of choice. Their stock prices depend on possessing user's attention for as long as possible. If you boil it down, that's their business model or ultimate goal.

If a user is unsatisfied with their experience on this platform, they're not coming back. For example, let's say someone goes to search for “how to prepare stationery files for print” and only blogs and information focused on where to buy greeting cards come up, they're going to get frustrated and leave! It's not providing them with the information they need.

What does this mean for Business Owners?

Your potential customers are on the internet, looking for information that you could be providing.

The more blog posts you have, the more chances you have to rank higher on Google, the more traffic you have on your site, the more people will be interacting with your brand, which all lead to more sales, more customers and growth.

It's all about tapping into YOUR ideal customer's journey. From a cold audience (aka unaware of your brand) to interacting and warmed up to your content because it's valuable and impacts their life! I mean, is that why you're here reading this post?

3 Tips for Generating Content

1. Listen to Your Audience & Do Keyword Research. Go to Pinterest and Google, start typing questions in the search bar and see what auto-populates. This gives you great insight into what people are searching for.  Also, check out the comments section in your competitor's blog posts and Instagram posts. What kinds of questions are people asking? If you need a deeper understanding and actual tutorials on implementing search engine optimization strategies like keyword research for your site and blog, check out my short (but thorough) course Show Up In Searches!

2. Impact Over Metrics. Maybe only a couple people read your blog at first…and that's okay! It will grow over time. Get a website that you own and that's searchable on Google, and add content consistently:

• • What valuable information is your prospect looking for that could lead them to become a customer?
  • What pain points of theirs could you address that could make them aware of your brand, products, and services?

3. Repurpose Content. Did you post about a topic on Instagram a few months ago that seemed to get a good response? Expand on it and turn it into a blog post!

The topic of this blog post is actually revamped from an article I wrote when I had my stationery business. It's still relevant and so I updated it and turned it into a podcast episode to reach new people!

Also keep in mind that you can talk about a topic more than once. For example, in my episode—3 Tips for Beating the Feast or Famine Cycle—blogging was one of my tips. Does that mean I can't talk about blogging again? Heck no! There's so much to say about blogging in different contexts.

There you have it! Do you feel inspired to start writing a blog? Or if you have a blog, to post more consistently? Remember, start where you are. Rome wasn't built in a day. You've got this and make sure to check out my course on SEO and blogging HERE!

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Links Mentioned

• Show Up in Searches: The SEO Crash Course
• Marketing Calendar Template + Pinterest Keyword Research Guide (expired but here's others you may love!)

Related Episodes

Episode 38: 3 Tips for Beating the Feast or Famine Cycle in Your Business
Episode 34: 10 Killer Website Copywriting Tips
Episode 36: An Overview of Email Marketing
Episode 16: 5 Steps to Create Your Annual Promo Calendar