You stare at your computer screen. Brain-dead. The text limit for social media infuriates you because you have a lot more to share. So you are left unsure of where to begin.
Your thoughts seem to be running around in your mind because now you have to summarize.
Most businesses market themselves through social media and stop there. Social media used properly can be a fantastic marketing tool. But it is not the only marketing tool you can use.
How can you expand your business reach online?
Social media is excellent for a lot of reasons. I don't think a business should do without it. But, unfortunately, some companies never update the content on their website. Maintaining fresh and updated content on your website will naturally bring you more customers without needing to pay for advertising.
Most people don't go on social media to read long posts, and character limits make your words short and to the point. But what if you have more to say? Every business has a story. So share your values and expertise with a blog!
Blogging needs to be a well-thought-out process. The author needs to begin with the end in mind when starting to write. Know what they are doing and the purpose behind the blog.
More online traffic is achievable with blogging
Most people will never look past the first ten spots on google. Think about the last time you clicked on page 2 of Google. What about page 3? It doesn't happen often! Unfortunately, this means by not ranking higher on Google, you are losing out on business.
With a blog, you can take full advantage of not having a character limit. Your blog needs at least 300 words to compete for specific keywords on google. But, to avoid Google labeling your content as "thin content," aim for 800-1,500 words. A higher word count tells search engines that the content is reliable and likely to answer a searcher's question.
Before you start typing filler words in your blogs like you did in high school to reach the word count, hear me out. It is not all about the word length. Your blog must have quality content in addition to length. As a result, you compete better in search engines with meaningful and relevant content.
Reach out to your ideal audience without outbound marketing.
Blogs are the perfect way to start and build relationships. For example, someone googling a question can naturally stumble upon your website if the keywords you use in your blog answer their question.
Googling "how to start a blog" or "why start a blog" might have been how you found me. I'm telling you, it works like magic!
Buyers have more access than ever to the things and people they like. The competition is real! Businesses need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Blogging is not spitting out words onto a Google Doc. Blogs without meaningful information will not be beneficial to a business. Successful blogs have Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that helps get your business into the hands of consumers who might not even be searching for you.
How many blogs should you have to increase web traffic?
To make your blogging effort worth it, you must be consistent. You need to have about 4-5 SEO blogs a month to drive clients to your blog. In addition, maintaining a consistent blog will increase your authority and authenticity from Google's perspective.
These are the 3 things your blog needs to increase traffic
Keywords
Without good SEO, your content is less valuable. Do some keyword research that is relatable to the content you plan to write about and insert it into your blog logically. Skimmers love keywords because it gets them exactly where they want to be on your blog without needing to read the blog in its entirety.
Storytelling strategies
Show, don't tell when you write. Forget about what you learned in writing class. Instead, disrupt the norm and write with a strategy to hook your page viewer to feel compelled to finish reading (or skimming).
Meta description
The meta description is a summary of your content in shared links or search engine results. Having a quality Meta description can help increase your click rates.
There are more benefits to blogging than just SEO
A business can establish its personality and beliefs with a blog. In addition, blogs entertain your current audience and help reach new clients that look forward to your postings.
Blogs give your audience something to read or scroll through while they explore your website. Every second a prospective client is on your webpage is a moment to make a connection to build a relationship.
Is your time spent writing a blog worth it?
Blogging takes more time than writing a social media post. It takes even longer if you are doing it right.
Having an optimized blog on your website increases your site traffic by 434% compared to businesses that do not have a blog with the help of inbound links.
60% of people who read your blog are more likely to buy from you, and the longer a prospective client is on your website, the more likely they are to remember you.
Like working out or eating well, you won't see your blogging efforts pay off until about six months of consistency. Blogging, my friends, is a long game. But it is the best game. Blogs help get eyes onto your website without paying for advertising. It allows your website traffic to grow naturally with reliable and relevant content.
A quality blog helps answer questions that future readers are searching for. If your blog can answer someone's question, your blog will appear in the search engine results.
Before you lose sleep, here are 3 Things to NEVER Do when writing a blog
Don't duplicate blogs.
Google becomes alerted when a blog becomes duplicated, and this will affect your SEO.
Don't spend time perfecting.
A piece of writing can always have more. You will never be done with your writing if you wait for it to be perfect. Trust me.
Have a guideline, do your SEO research, write, revise, and just publish it!
Don't write for yourself.
As you start your blog, think about these two things:
Who is your audience?
What is your call to action?
A mistake new bloggers make is writing for their enjoyment. If you are writing SEO blogs to serve your target audience, you need to think about the people on the other side of the screen reading your work. The blog should suit their opinions and lifestyle, not yours.
Which industry works best for blogs?
Fitness instructors, photographers, real estate agents, creative business owners, you name it- can all start a blog.
Marketing has become increasingly personal. We all belong to a community of like-minded buyers and like to hear from the people and things we want.
Expand your business reach and enjoy the benefits of blogging
When entrepreneurs and business owners begin blogging, they extend their reach further than where social media and advertising can take them.
Ditch the overwhelm caused by social media and start blogging today!
Read over your favorite blogs and find the writing style that you enjoy reading the most.
Rewrite your favorite articles with pen and paper. The point of this exercise is to get you thinking about the grammar and structure of writing blogs.
Writing a blog is nothing like the style of writing we were taught in school. So please stay away from the fluff that we used in school to fill a page.
Research outlines to follow, so your writing follows a clear road map.
Expressing yourself in long form can be intimidating or empowering
I get it. Expressing yourself for a published piece of writing is intimidating.
Writing a blog might take you 5 hours or even five days to complete, but it will get easier the more you practice. Trust me!
You will develop an efficient method of writing with more practice. I challenge you to set a goal to complete one blog article a month and then challenge yourself to write more as you gain experience.
Start writing blogs today for frequent attention from your dream audience, and stop paying for ads today!