I don’t need to tell you what blogging is.
I don’t need to tell you that it should be on a self hosted WordPress site built with the proper tools.
If you’ve been reading my stuff, you already know it.
If you’ve never blogged, don’t have a site, or just slacked off for a while and it’s now been ___ months since you last saw your /wp-admin/ – this post might be for you. Ready?
REASON #1: You have an opinion. Whatever the topic is, you already have an opinion. Like a tree falling in the forest, if your opinion isn’t ‘out there’ does anyone hear it? Granted, some opinions are better left unsaid.
There are two camps out there when it comes to online opinions. There are those (like me) who use their site for business, because of that you won’t see much in the way here about Race, Politics, Sex or Religion. None of that has much to do with web development. I certainly wouldn’t want to offend a future client because of my opinion on any number of hot topics.
The other side of the coin falls into my #2 (below)
REASON #2: It’s a fact. We choose to work with those people we like. Would you recommend your Dentist? Do you like your Dentist? I would, and yes, I do like him! He has a fabulous rapport with his patients. Matter of fact I’m seeing him later today (just a cleaning – phew!). Think about all the other people you choose to work with. How many would you recommend and do you notice that nearly all of them are people you actually like? Blogging allows people to see more about you. It allows readers to form valuable insights as to the person you are.
No matter what the product, service or business – you can ask any long term blogger and they’ll have a story where a potential client contacts them, they start their sales pitch, and the client says something like, “I’ve been reading your stuff for a while, you don’t need to sell me, I’m ready – let’s go!” That happens for websites I build and it happens for people selling million dollar homes. Blogging builds rapport with people you haven’t met yet.
Now as to Reason #1 above and hot topic opinions. The other side of the coin is that if you do voice your opinion on those topics you’ll push away those with differing opinions and for those that might agree with you – you just created another (and possibly stronger) touch point!
REASON #3: Demonstrate your expertise. Your ‘About” Page may list all sorts of wonderful things you say you can do. It might list awards and recognitions. Just saying that you are an expert doesn’t convince people that you are.
Instead, try writing a blog post (or two) about something you know, SHOWING your expertise. Let the readers formulate their own opinions. If you are in real estate that could be something about how to read a HUD-1.
REASON #4: Write, and you’ll get smarter. Strange but true. I can’t tell you how many times I started writing something only to realize that I didn’t fully understand something. Stop the post, research that particular part of the topic and then back to the post, better informed. While I think I know a lot, I learn something new each and every day.
As a bonus, by taking the time to organize your thoughts on a subject you’ll also be able to convey those same thoughts much better face to face. Next time you see me, ask me why you should try blogging. 😉
REASON #5: Having a library to reference. If you start purposefully blogging, in a very short time you’ll have assembled a catalogue of articles that you can send to potential clients when they have a question. Sometimes a clients question is all I need to generate a blog post. What’s that you say? “How do you hide a video on YouTube?” That’s a good question, I wrote about that HERE. Write blog posts that answer questions and you’ll be answering the questions of not only your clients today, but your future clients tomorrow!
REASON #6: See what happens when you read to the bottom of the post, you get a bonus!
Reason #6 is because you want to crush your competition. Google loves sites that have fresh content. They don’t just love the fresh stuff – that video post I mentioned above? It’s almost a year old yet it’s my #1 referred post this month. All of that traffic came from Google.
By writing a single blog post, just once a week do you know what you’ll have?
FIFTY TWO more entries in Google than that other guy!
Apply a quality SEO plan to those 52 posts and you’ll really set yourself apart.
So, what’s stopping you? Need a blog? [maxbutton id=”11″]
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, bought a cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and now,a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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