I’m one of the ever growing army of women working from home online and any of you more avid readers may recall me over the past few months, discussing the importance of video marketing, webinars, keyword research and other topics. And what is the best method to disseminate this information I hear you ask? Well, I’d have to say through the use of a blog. Never underestimate the importance of a blog as they have to deliver valuable information that will help others gain a better understanding of what it is you are writing about.
I think of my blog as the main hub of my activity on the Internet. Facebook and Twitter among others are great for spreading ‘bites’ of information, but my blog is where it all happens, it’s the root of my network.
Before we start…
So what is blogging? Good question. Blogging has been around for a while online, and many people treat it as their diary, although without the same privacy one might expect from a closed book. Blogs allow people to express their opinions, their thoughts, interact with others, but increasingly now – to express their ideas, which is why people such as myself have caught on to the idea.
Entrepreneurs across the world use their blogs to promote their businesses, raise awareness, show commitment to their customers and to boost their potential. A blog is a very powerful tool.
Here’s how a blog can make a difference to you, whoever you are.
Improving your brand
Forgive me for continually bringing this up, but the fact that I do shows just what the Internet can do for you. Any presence online, as long as it is clearly interlinked (think colour schemes, writing styles etc) will build your brand and increase how noticeable you are. In an increasingly ‘busy’ online space the more active you are the better.
A chance to write more
Many of the other services in a marketer’s toolbox are about getting messages across as quickly and succinctly as possible, whether you’re using tweets, videos, short posts or more. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it, but blogs give marketers significantly more leeway to really go into a topic, demonstrating their knowledge and to give readers a comprehensive insight into that niche.
Gain authority
Some of the ‘bigger’ bloggers are revered widely for really knowing their stuff, and this is because they are using their blogs to their full effect. We’ve all come across these incredible blog posts which always seem to hit the mark, and this makes us set new trust in the blogger, even if, as in most cases, we’ve never met them. Competition is difficult here, but the more you post and the more impressive that content is (we need quality and quantity) then the more of this authority you will find yourself earning.
Be accessible to all
The beauty of blogs is that no particular credentials are needed to view them. This is all about spreading to the masses, and you don’t get a lot more open than a blog. Almost anyone, anywhere in the world can read blogs without the need to sign up to a service, and even if they want to comment on a post, then increasingly there are linkages with services such as Facebook where crucially, readers already have accounts so they can get involved with what’s being written without the need for a cumbersome sign-up process.
Interacting with your readers
Nothing makes you feel so good inside as a positive comment below your latest blog post from a new reader. It’s incredibly rewarding to hear people benefiting from your hard work, and it’s so easy to actually strike up a conversation or even a debate with people below a post. This is the beauty of the Internet today and in many respects, it’s focused on the user and the ability to get involved and interact with content, so blogs are a perfect way to tap into this.
Search Engines
For all of us working online, much of our time is spent trying to adhere to SEO guidelines – search engine optimisation. Think about it. The more blog posts you have across a broad range of subjects within your niche, the more likely you are to get higher up those hallowed search results pages, or ‘rankings’ as they are called, and therefore the more hits you might get on your site as a result.
Competition
Even the least competitive among us are still, in the back of our minds, thinking about how they might just get a few more posts or subscribers than the next person. It’s only natural, and blogging encourages this healthy competition. Competition keeps us on our toes and means that we put more effort into producing quality content, which can surely only be a bonus.
Then how do I do it? It’s not as much of a hardship as you might think. Often, deciding what you want to write about can be the hardest part, but once you’ve settled down in the right mindset, have perhaps done a little research or reading around the topic area, this usually gets you going and before you know it, you’ve written a few paragraphs without too much trouble. Don’t worry too much if you think you have what’s commonly known as writer’s block, it happens to us all. You just need to go away for a while, do something different and start again fresh.
In practical terms, try to get into your own pattern of work. If you’re the kind of person who benefits most from setting aside a certain portion of your day to get the creative juices flowing, then go for that, but if you find you prefer to write on the spur of the moment as ideas come to you, then that’s fine too.
There’s no correct method here, and at the end of the day it’s up to you to think about what will work best for your set of circumstances. A quiet or at least reasonably distraction-free environment will probably help you, so I would suggest putting your mobile phone on silent for a while and turning off all your social media too. In my case, the needs of my family often have to take priority, but once they are sorted and happy, I’m ready to go.
I can’t emphasise enough how great blogging is. Finally, just think about how you are when you’re on the Internet. If you’re anything like me, then you read one article or similar, and then you click on the related links on the side. Before you know it, you’ve been sitting there reading for twenty minutes, and that time had just disappeared in a flash.
People are inquisitive by nature, and with blogs this can only work to your advantage. If like me, you’re amongst the ever-growing army of women working from home these days, hook readers and they’ll be sure to come back for more. Even though blogs are longer than your regular Facebook post, they’re still palatable for short reads, and you can’t ask for more than that really.
If you’ve found my post useful, I’d love it if you’d share it with your friends. Thanks.
Is branding for businesses necessary? Yes, no question, it is absolutely necessary. ANY kind of Internet business whether it’s an Internet marketing business or any of the millions of other types of Internet businesses, and the same applies for offline businesses – they all need branding. Period.
