
If you've been considering whether your business needs a blog but you're not sure if it's worth the time and effort, then let me start off by saying IT IS! IT IS! IT IS!
And if my CAPS and exclamation marks aren't enough to convince you, then here are some cold, hard facts - five of them to be exact. Prepare to be evangelised ('blog-angelised'?)...
1) Your clients will love you for it
Blogging helps you to provide potential clients with added value without them having to commit to anything. This in turn will make them rate you more highly as a business, return more to your site and view your sales pitches more favourably.
This reason alone should be enough to convince you. If your clients love you, then your business is definitely going to be in a good place! Whatever service you may sell, your potential clients aren't going to buy if they don't feel that your business is worth their custom.
People read blogs either because they want to learn something, or they want to be entertained or sometimes just because their curiosity has been peaked by a snappy headline. Wouldn't it be great if you could teach your clients something, entertain them or peak their curiosity? Even better, what if you could do all three? Sounds like some pretty positive vibes to me!
I'll tell you what else builds positive vibes, and that's a thriving community. Letting your clients and potential clients have a two-way conversation with you is a great way to build relationships with them, to increase trust and to find out what they're thinking. Once you understand what your clients are thinking it makes it sooo much easier to help them. Hey, do you know what can create and nurture a thriving community where your clients can share their thoughts and discuss their problems? I think you do...yep; a blog for your business.
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2) It's cheap marketing
One of the biggest perceived blockers to successful marketing is cost. Luckily, one of the great things about blogging is that it's low cost but shows impressive ROI (Return on Investment). The pay-off may take longer than other forms of marketing but you can bet that the impact will be deeper and longer-lasting.
Imagine that you're just launching a new service. Sure, you could take out an ad to tell people all about it but wouldn't it be way more effective if you've been blogging about it - calling out the problem that your service will solve, getting into the minds of people who have that problem and then showing them through informative, well written content that you and your business have the exact solution that they need?
For a client, making that final decision to part with their money can be a tricky one. After all, why should they spend it on your business rather than putting it towards another priority - or even spending it with one of your competitors? Perhaps your competitor has taken out a full page ad that's full of great reasons why they should pick them.
Who are they more likely to choose - the company with the flashy ad or the business whose blog they've been reading and enjoying for the past few months?
3) It will strengthen your brand
A blog is basically the engine room of your whole content marketing strategy. It's where you get to share your visions, your passions, your opinions and your personality. It's also where you can inform and educate your customers. It gives you content to post about on social media, to add value to your email marketing and to build your thought leadership like nothing else.
A blog is your chance to let customers know all about you, explain to them why you're so passionate about what you do and why you stand out from your competitors.
If potential customers don't know who you are or what you stand for then why would they entrust their well earned cash to you?
Why your business needs a blog
4) It grows your audience

According to HubSpot, companies who blog receive 97% more links to their site than those who don't. Links drive SEO and in turn allow your customers to find you more easily - no brainer, right?
On top of that, if you've written some really useful and high value content on your blog then your readers will want to share that content with their audiences and so your tribe continues to grow.
5) Its impact is longterm
When you write a great blog post there's nothing like the excitement of hitting that 'publish' button and then proudly promoting it and watching the views roll in. The great thing about blogging is that the fun doesn't stop there! That post will gradually become more and more valuable to you. As it gains views, it may gain the odd link where your readers share it on their websites or social media. As the links increase so does the page's authority and in turn, its rankings in search.
Way after you've written and published the post, it will continue to bring people to your site and introduce them to your business. Not too shabby, eh?
Don't just take my word for it...
I really hope that I've convinced you. You can't see me right now but I'm waving my arms wildly and shouting 'YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A BLOG!!!' Go on, give it a try. You can thank me later... Don't take my word for it though - here's more food for thought.
4 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Blog - Lisa Furison/Bplan
Why Blog? The Benefits of Blogging for Business and Marketing - Corey Wainwright/HubSpot
Why Your Business Website Needs a Blog and How to Get Started - Brendon Schenecker/Forbes
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Know anyone else who needs a blog for their business? Please do share this post with them and share your thoughts in the comments below!
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