In fact, I just did a podcast last week where I covered the topic of blogging for local small businesses. My guest, Justin Johnson of AfterZeroMedia talked about why blogging is so important for small business owners, as well as how to get started.
You see, the barriers to entry for blogging are so low that they are practically non-existent. Although it is best to have a self-hosted blog-site, you can easily get started with hosted solutions such as Blogger, which is owned by Google and therefore can give you a little bit more Google juice, or WordPress.com, which I recommend because it will help you be prepared for when you get WordPress installed on your website.
“But how does business blogging work?” I hear you say.
Although blogging started out as an online form of personal expression, it is easily adaptable as a marketing tool. Because blogs are updated regularly (in theory), they are indexed by search engines much more quickly. So you can use the blogging platform to publish mini “infomercials” about your business and what you have to offer.
For example, this blog provides a wealth of information on how to build a business you love. I don’t provide this information solely because I’m an altruistic and giving soul. I do it because by publishing this information, I can attract prospects who are looking for someone with my expertise. I do it because creating a library of articles on my website supports my claim of expertise. I do it because it is a way to build rapport with people I’ve never met in person, but who might wish to hire me to help them develop and implement at strategic plan for building a business they truly love.
In other words, I am using the blogging platform … a software tool, so to speak … to more easily produce and deliver my marketing messages. And you can do it too!
The key is to publish posts that are informative, interesting and related to what you have to offer. And, as a small business owner or entrepreneur, you are uniquely situated to take advantage of blogging because you can act more quickly than a larger company.
Also, because blogging has become so common, you can easily hire a virtual assistant to help you implement your blogging plan, especially if you go with the WordPress platform.
Do you struggle to move forward in your business because of niggling little questions that you just can’t find the answers for? Do you wish you could hire a coach to help you through specific challenges without the commitment to a long-term program? Do you need help developing a strategic plan you can actually implement? I offer a la carte sessions, as well as flexible and structured coaching packages.
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