7 Proven Benefits of a Blog for Your Business

Introduction

If you’re a business owner, then you know how hard it is to get your message out to your target audience and see real growth. 

Every day, you put out countless metaphorical fires AND continue to lead your team on the winding path towards growth.

There are few things more frustrating than putting in 100% of your effort day after day, only to come up short of the results you’re looking for. 

Sometimes you can even feel like you’re stuck in quicksand sinking deeper by the minute. 

No matter how hard you try to break free, you’re pulled farther and farther down.

“Why can’t I attract more clients?”

Well, a likely reason is simply that not enough people are aware of your product/service. 

Perhaps you’re showing up too low on Google ranking for critical keywords.

Or maybe you’re not producing enough exciting content that will help you stand out in the endless noise on the Internet.

Whatever it might be, there are plenty of ways for you to escape the abyss and get back on the right path. 

The best way to see real growth in 2022 is with a targeted blog strategy. 

With the right blog strategy, you can skyrocket your Google rankings, connect with your audience in ways that you’ve never been able to before, and convert hesitant prospects to eager customers.

In this post, I’ll discuss 7 proven benefits of writing consistent blog posts, and I’ll also outline what makes a blog successful so you’ll have a template to get started. 

Onward!

Benefit #1: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The first benefit of a blog strategy is search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of appearing higher in search engine results (like Google) for specific keyword searches.

There’s a joke in business circles that goes as follows: “Where’s the best place to hide a dead body?”

The answer: The second page of Google. 

It turns out that the first page of any particular Google search result captures AT LEAST 75% of search traffic clicks, whereas page 2 and beyond capture the small sliver that is left.

The lesson here?

You MUST invest in SEO. 

SEO helps you get FREE organic traffic to your website. And the best part is that people who type searches into Google are already warm leads.

They’re searching for certain keywords because they have an urgent problem that needs to be fixed. So they’re much closer to buying than, say, someone who scrolls past your ad on Facebook. 

How do blogs play a role in SEO?

Well first, including keywords (phrases you want people to search for in Google to find you) throughout your blog posts helps you rank higher in the long run.

For example, let’s say you’re a gym and you want to show up for “fitness training in New York” you might include that keyword throughout blog posts (in your copy, metadescriptions, or headings) to tell Google what your site is all about.

PLUS, while no one really knows the actual algorithms behind SEO rankings (in part because they change daily), what we do know is that Google rewards sites that users find HELPFUL & RELEVANT.

Blog posts are a great way to do that because you can help relieve your prospects’ pain points in your blog posts. 

For example, if you’re a mental health counselor specializing in anxiety treatment, you might consider writing a blog post titled: “13 Ways to Decrease Anxiety Symptoms During the Holidays.” 

Your ideal prospect who searches Google for anxiety treatment/symptoms will come across a ton of different options.

BUT your website stands out with blog posts because it helps them solve their problem much more than another website that simply has a “Home,” “About,” and “Contact” page. 

Because of this, more people will read through your posts/website and the higher engagement will tell Google to rank you higher for keywords related to “anxiety treatment/symptoms.”

Wondering how to optimize your blogs for higher search engine results? This infographic is a good place to start!

Benefit #2: Blogs Nurture Your Audience

Consider the following statistics:

• 62% of buyers rely on content to research their buying decisions, and prefer content that educates rather than sells

• 47% of prospects view between 3-5 pieces of content before buying

What does this tell us? First, that CONTENT MARKETING is a key part of business growth in 2022.

No one wants to feel like they’re being sold to, but most of us like being educated (unless we’re learning about vectors in multivariable calculus–but I digress).

Producing a lot of helpful, exciting content that educates and doesn’t feel “sales-y” helps you build meaningful & lasting relationships with your audience. 

Also, because the Internet is saturated with content and our attention spans are at an all-time low, it’s going to be VERY difficult to stand out from the crowd with no posts or only sporadic content.

Repeat exposure through consistent blog posts helps you nurture your audience so they remember your brand & your voice.

PLUS, blogs open up two-way channels of communication. Readers can comment on posts with questions, thoughts, etc. and you can engage in direct conversation with them, too. 

By doing all of this with your blogs, you recognize that marketing is a LONG TERM game now.

We’re all reluctant to trust people on the Internet so putting in the work to form meaningful relationships with your audience is key. 

And over time, this strategy pays off because your ideal clients/customers will come to know, like, and trust you.

But only if you show up for them repeatedly and help them solve their problems.

Benefit #3:  Blogs Promote CTAs & Grow Your Email List 

One of the best ways to elevate your posts from simply content writing to copywriting is by including calls to action throughout (CTAs). 

Calls to action are exactly that. They ask your readers to take a specific action. There are literally hundreds of actions you could ask them to take, such as:

• Follow us on social media

• Sign up for a 15-minute call to discuss your goals

• Register for a tour of our facility

• Donate to our cause

• Start a free trial

• Click here to download our FREE guide (collect their email addresses)

These are just a few examples, but calls of action are ALWAYS great because they keep your readers moving to the next step, increase conversions, and prompt immediate action. 

One of the most serious roadblocks in marketing is buyer confusion. If the next step/action of your funnel isn’t clear, your readers will simply click out of your site. 

The last point here is that “free guides” are great CTAs because you can collect EMAIL ADDRESSES. 

This helps you build an email list so you can target them again later with more specific sales campaigns. 

Once again, all about the long game! 

Benefit #4: Blogs Give Your Brand A Voice

What is marketing? Well to put it simply, Marketing is Messaging. 

Steve Jobs pointed this out when he introduced Apple’s infamous “Think Different campaign” (which you can view here if you’re interested). 

Steve Jobs was a master marketer, and the “Think Different” campaign offers countless lessons for modern business owners.

In the video, he talks about the fact that marketing is about sharing your core values. Every campaign you run should be infused with your unique brand voice & values. 

For Apple, their core value was that people with passion change the world. This remains a big part of their identity, but it was particularly important to their “Think Different” campaign. 

Once they identified this as their core value, they were able to create an ad that celebrated revolutionary figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Einstein (and many others)--all people who used their passion to change the world. 

By doing this, Apple was able to get its target audience to associate these inspiring figures with their brand, while also emphasizing their core company value.

While you might not have billions of dollars to spend on an ad campaign like this, blogs are a cheap and effective way for you to identify your own core values and create your unique voice around them. 

For example, if one of your values is that life is meant to be enjoyed, you might write blog posts with a lighthearted, fun tone so that your readers get to know what your brand is all about. 

There are countless examples of brand voice, and one of the greatest (and most important) marketing challenges is to identify your core values and build a strategy around them. 

Benefit #5: Blogs Are Infinitely Shareable

I first heard the word “omnichannel” in a presentation a few months ago, and I must admit that I was flabbergasted. I remember thinking: “surely that’s not a real word. No way that ever worked its way onto the SAT.”

Turns out I was wrong. It IS a word and now I can’t stop using it (especially in conversations at the pub!). But more than being a gnarly word, it also describes the future of marketing.

Because there is SO much content out there, you can’t really engage with your audience on only one platform.

Now, people are on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, SnapChat, TikTok, and MORE!

You simply can’t win if you’re only marketing through one channel. 

What if that app declines in popularity? What if it stops working for an extended period of time? (like we saw with Instagram & Facebook last year). 

The solution? Get on as many different channels as possible. 

While this can seem daunting, the good news is that you can repurpose a lot of your content across different platforms. 

Blogs are especially shareable. For example, you can create a cover photo for each blog post and share that photo on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. with a link driving traffic to your website. 

This way, you’re engaging your followers across various social channels while also moving them along to your website.

From there, you can direct them to the next call to action (example: “Book a 15 minute call with us today!”)

Benefit #6: Blogs Establish You as An Expert

People want to know that they’re dealing with the best. Plain and simple. 

While fancy degrees and qualifications can help you establish credibility, oftentimes that’s not enough.

Because there are countless people in your niche with impressive stories, backgrounds, passions, and qualifications. 

So how do you stand from the competition?

PROVE your expertise by writing informative, helpful, and engaging blog posts. 

While listing the year you got your Masters Degree only takes up one line on your website, well-written blog posts situate you as the expert you are.

So don’t just rest on your laurels. Get bloggin’!

Benefit #7: Blogs Age Like Fine Wine (let me explain…)

Okay, I don’t mean that blogs taste las good as a nice glass of Chateau Canon (maybe in the Metaverse…)

But they age just as well. You can keep your blog posts up on your website forever and readers will still engage with them. They’ll also help you capture keywords for SEO.

PLUS, if you’re ever struggling to write content, you can simply update an older blog post. 

For example, let’s say that 2 years from now, I can’t think of anything else to write about. 

Well, I don’t have to worry. I can simply come back to this post, add 4 more benefits of blogs based on the most recent trends, and repost it. 

While you always want your content to be fresh and exciting, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

Conclusion

By now, I hope you’re convinced that a solid blog strategy is a great way to grow your business in 2022

Drop a comment below with your favorite benefit (or additional benefits you’ve found if you already run a blog)!

With over 570 million blogs in existence already, the Internet will only get more saturated with content. And our attention spans will probably continue to get shorter. 

Some businesses worry that they’ll never be able to stand out online because there’s too much content out there. “So why even try?” they ask.

Well, first because there’s virtually NO chance of you ever growing without a content marketing strategy. So giving up is not a good option. 

Second (and more importantly), mass marketing is a thing of the past. With so many products and services in existence, your goal shouldn’t be to try to market to everyone. 

Instead, tighten your niche/focus and market to a very specific group of people. You don’t need a massive community to be successful. You just need to find your tribe who will stick with you through thick and thin.

This takes time, of course.  

BUT the only way to do this is by putting yourself and your content out there.  

If you do that, the right prospects WILL flock to you. 

That’s all we have for today—hope everyone’s New Year is off to a fantastic start!

Also, if you want me and my team to help you with your digital marketing strategy, click here to book a 15-minute discovery call. 

During the call, we’ll discuss your goals and current situation, and I’ll make a few suggestions to get you started.

No commitment is necessary beyond that, unless we both think we’d make a good team!

Until next time, cheers!