Business Blog Writing: Essential or Expendable?

Business blog writing should be an integral part of every business’s content marketing strategy. A good blog may seem like a lot of effort, and truth be told, it is. A ‘good’ blog requires time and dedication. Between creating quality content, building a following of readers, driving traffic, monitoring, promoting, and engaging… It can feel like a full-time job. But, you could argue that running your own business also requires a lot of effort and hard work, so why do so many entrepreneurs do it? There’s a simple reason why:

The reward you get from running a small business should be equal to or greater than the effort put in. That reward can be in terms of financial benefit, the flexibility of being your own boss, or whatever it may be that you get out of being a business owner. If the reward was not greater, then there would be no point in doing it – it would be easier to go back to working for someone else.

The same is true of business blog writing. Although time, effort, and perhaps even money must be invested in a blog in order for it to be successful, the benefits that will come from having a well-maintained blog in place will outweigh all the investment.

How can a simple blog bring such considerable benefits to a business?

The short answer is: lead generation. A business would not exist without customers, and customers are born of leads. Blogs can significantly increase lead generation, and therefore provide more customers for the business, helping it to grow and thrive.

Hopefully, as a business owner, you will understand the importance of social media, and you will understand the importance of having a functional, user-friendly website. Having a blog only serves to further mirror and magnify your business’s online presence. Let’s look at exactly how in more detail.

#1 – Traffic. On-site blogs (that is, under the same URL as your site) can increase the amount of traffic your site gets, by up to 55%. The more people that visit your site, the more conversions there will be. This traffic also has a high chance of being relevant to your industry, and potentially interested in your business’s products or services (see #4). Did you know that companies with over 50 articles on their blog gain 77% more leads on average each month than those who don’t?

#2 – Authority. A blog is a great opportunity for your business to show that you know your stuff, and it gives you the chance to leads the way amongst your competitors by keeping up to date with the latest news and trends. A staggering 61% of consumers in the USA have previously made a purchase based on a blog post. Posting informative and informational pieces on industry-relevant topics builds your authority and credibility, which in turn can build trust with consumers.

#3 – SEO and social.

SEO is a key part of virtually everything you do with online content, and a blog is an opportunity to give your site a significant SEO boost. Websites with blogs usually have 97% more inbound links from other sites, compared to those without blogs. These back links are an integral aspect of Google’s ranking algorithm, so a 97% boost in links can be incredibly beneficial for your website. Blog content tends to be shareable in nature, and so also lends itself to social media perfectly. As long as you’re posting on your blog regularly, you shouldn’t have a shortage of posts to share on social media.

#4 – Business focus. The topics that you blog about should always be relevant to your industry and market in some way. Not only does this help to attract the right people to your company’s site, but it solidifies your business’s identity, purpose, and defines your place in the industry. After reading a business’s blog, 60% of customers will feel more positively towards that business. Blogging to create a defined and established and strong brand identity is something that every successful business should do.

#5 – Customer Access. Blogs function as a channel in which you can easily access and communicate with your customers. Like social media, it is often more informal than traditional methods of communication, and can be used to establish a friendly rapport. Through commenting features, potential customers can begin a conversation and deliver feedback or questions directly. You can find out what they want, meets their needs, generate new ideas, and ultimately, build loyalty for your brand and business.

Are you convinced yet?

Hopefully you’re beginning to see the wealth of benefits that can come from business blog writing. Many, many businesses have enhanced their online presence by maintaining up-to-date and relevant blogs, and there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.

As mentioned before, a blog will take time and effort to start and manage thereafter, but, the reward will be worth it. Always remember that it’s only really worth investing this time and effort into a business blog if you are willing to do it ‘properly’. By this, I mean there’s not much point putting in a half-hearted effort, because the benefits will not be big enough to make it worthwhile.

Follow these tips on how to build a business blog that will deliver results, and watch your blog become an invaluable part of your business’s content marketing strategy.

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All statistics are taken from this brilliant little infographic on quicksprout.com. Thanks to them for putting it together.

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Hannah Corbett is an online content producer and marketer for Make It Cheaper: the business saving experts. For the latest on content creation and marketing, you can contact her on Twitter or on G+.

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