Many business owners believe that blogging is a waste of time. Not too long ago, I felt the same way. Let’s face it: Blogging can become a time consuming monster! But done right, it’s an effective, yet subtle way to market your business.
I’ve seen a direct correlation between the amount of time I spend blogging and product sales on my Hawkeye’s Hobbies Web site. Sure, I blog about subjects that relate to the use of my products, but not blatantly. Subtle suggestions and recommendations work better than shouting, “Here it is; use this!”
Many people emulate what they see. They’ll follow along and do exactly what you show them to do, step-by-step, using the products you use in your demonstration or discussion. If it worked for you then it will definitely work for them!
A good example of this is cooking shows … Rachel Ray comes to mind. She provides a list of ingredients before each episode so viewers who want to follow along can acquire the necessary items before the next day’s show. Her viewers purchase exactly what she recommends because they want their recipe to turn out as good as hers.
In my case, I blog about building scale models, which is something I enjoy as a hobby. I enjoy sharing my hobby with others who are of the same mindset, and write for both the beginner and the advanced scale modeler. My blog details how I use my products, and how to use other products useful in the construction of a model. I explain the how, why, where and why of each.
This not only helps me, but also promotes the hobby industry. This industry is relatively small, with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers highly interdependent on each other. I make paint, but without models to apply the paint to, or airbrushes to apply it with, there would be no need for my products. It’s the old adage, “giver’s gain.” There’s no downside to helping someone get started with their first model, or helping the experienced modeler learn a new technique.
Likewise, as a business owner, you’re also interdependent on your customers, suppliers, contractors and employees. If you can increase sales and help others by blogging about things of interest to your market, why not do so? It can be a very cost-effective way to speak directly to your core customer base.
In future articles, we’ll talk about ways to manage your blogging activities, so that your business blog doesn’t become a time-consuming monster.
Not only is blogging great for your business, it’s phenomenal for web traffic! A couple years ago when I was launching the Viva Visibility brand, I wanted to have my web presence be a blog site. My webmaster adamantly vetoed the idea making it sound like I’d come across as less professional.
Two years later and the traffic my blog gets compared to my website is so much greater. I’m now in the process of moving everything over to the blog site and letting go of the html website.
Blogs are where it’s at!
Thanks for your comment, Nancy. I’m no longer suggesting static websites to our clients for that reason. There’s really nothing that a properly set up WordPress blog can’t do. I love the versatility and the speed with which they can be set up. And you’re right, there’s just no comparison in terms of web traffic.