As a small business owner, influencer, or entrepreneur, you have expertise in your industry. Whether you are an expert career coach or have recently taken on candle making, you have knowledge that someone is looking for. 

By sharing your expertise, you’re bringing more eyes to your business and showing everyone that you know what you’re talking about. There is no better way to show off your knowledge and skills to potential customers than by teaching them. 

With blogging, you are not only teaching others about your interests and expertise, but you’re driving traffic to your website. Sounds like a win-win to me!

You don’t need to be a field expert or professional writer to create a blog. Someone out there wants to learn about your passion, and they want to read about it in your words.

In this article, I’ll teach you: 

• Why blogging is important to your digital marketing strategy
• What blogging will do for your brand
• How to create a blog for your business

A blog is an excellent way to engage with your potential audience and attract more business. Let’s get started!

Why is blogging important for businesses?

Blogging is a fun way to collect your thoughts on a subject that you are passionate about. You can ferociously type away about your passion in a document, edit and fine tune it, then share it with everyone. Blogging is also an incredible digital marketing tool that can really take your business’s strategic plan to the next level. 

The first major benefit of a blog is that it will attract potential customers who otherwise may not know about your business. When you have a blog included on your website, customers are more likely to stumble onto your content. 

If you optimize your blog content to be search-engine friendly, it will pop up in related Google searches. Your article is the attraction that will bring more readers to your site. 

Another major benefit of blogging is that it provides a channel for you to show off what you know. Whether a potential customer was debating using your services or they stumbled upon your website through a search engine, they are now convinced that you have the knowledge to help them solve a problem. 

Give your readers content they can learn from, not a sales pitch. Demonstrate the value of your knowledge and services through blogging. When you create a blog, you’ll build trust in your audience and a loyal following.

How should you get started?

Answering these questions will help you get your blog running:

1. What expertise do I have?

Expertise can be anything from a passion to a career. You don’t need to know everything about the topics you cover, but you should have some knowledge or experience. 

Share with your readers what you’ve learned in your business, or the importance of your industry. Tell them something that you found along the way that could potentially help them, or a mistake that they should avoid based on your experiences. 

Try catering your blog topics to something related to your industry. Create something that makes your reader say “wow, I never realized how much I needed this service” or “this person really knows what they are talking about”.

2. Who needs my knowledge?

Before you start writing, you should think about your target audience. Like your social media marketing strategy, your blog strategy will vary depending on who you are trying to reach. 

If you are looking to target business leaders, you may use a more polished tone and discuss  professional advancements within your industry. If your target consumer is a traveler, on the other hand, you may use a more conversational tone and share your list of top travel destinations. 

Think about your blog from your consumer’s point of view. What would your potential customer search Bing for? What do they have in common with your business? Why should they look at your landing page over your competitor’s?

3. Where should I host my blog?

There are a few places someone can host a blog. A blog can be hosted on a free platform where the writer posts onto a domain that they do not own, like Blogger.com or WordPress.com. This is a great option for recreational writers, but for the sake of this article I will focus on self-hosted blogging. 

A self-hosted blog is one you post directly onto your website. Because you are looking to direct traffic to your website and your business, this is your best option. This option allows you to have all your content listed on your website, so your customers don’t need to go anywhere to find the products and services you are offering. 

Before you start writing, be sure that your hosting platform is capable of hosting a blog. You should also add SEO plug-ins to help you optimize your content, if possible. 

4. How will I produce consistent content?

Your content should be consistent. If your readers show up to your website every Tuesday afternoon to read your latest post, don’t let them down. Inconsistently posting content is an easy way to lose the audience you worked so hard to gain. 

Don’t let fear of creating consistent content keep you from starting your blog. I recommend creating 1 month’s worth of content before even starting your blog, then consistently creating 1 piece of content each week. You will always have 4-5 articles to fall back on if you have a busy week or take a vacation. 

If you have the content but have trouble remembering to post it, try scheduling your posts. Nearly anything online can be scheduled, even your digital content. Your articles can literally be published while you are on a plane to the Bahamas. Technology! 

5. When should I start?

If you’ve made it this far, you are seriously considering adding blogging to your online marketing strategy. Take some time to brainstorm your what, who, where, and how. You should be confident in what you are writing about, and who you are writing to. You should also reflect your brand’s story throughout your tone and content. 

If you are still feeling uneasy, just sit down and write. Spit everything out on the page and sift through afterward. Your readers want to hear what you have to say, so don’t be shy!

A blog should show off your passions, but you should also be strategic in your content. Have fun creating a blog while also reaping the benefits of connecting to your audience.