I don’t think blogging can help you live a better life.
I know it can.
But the real question is, do you?
Seriously, why should you blog?
Well, let’s find out. When you blog, you get to…
Be The Star Of Your Own Show
Remember the good ol’ Price Is Right days? Fans would wait in the audience craving their 15 minutes of fame to play the game and be seen on TV. Real TV!
Few would get the chance.
Well, that’s over. Now you can be the star of your own show.
A show, I thought this was about blogging?
It is. But your blog isn’t a just a blog. It’s a 24 hour media channel –a way of creating and curating content that potential customers love, so you attract people who believe in what you do, and how you do it, and convert them into customers over time.
You have 100% control. Over how you present yourself. Your brand. Your message. Thoughts on your industry and where it’s going. Even best practises.
This was unheard of 20 years ago. Even 10 years ago – before there was Facebook and Twitter – it was unlikely that the average small business owner could create a blog that attracted a strong following, and convert that following into clients. The technology and consumer habits just weren’t there yet.
But they are now.
I strongly believe now is the time to be in business for yourself. You have access to channels that can reach more customers than you can ever dream of servicing, for next to nothing. Blogging puts you in charge – and gives you power to attract as many customers as you can serve.
How’s that for improving things?
Be The Annoying Guy…Without Being Annoying
You’ve met this person before.
The one who talks your ear off about their business at a networking event. Or on the bus. Or even waiting in line at the coffee shop.
Don’t be that guy.
Blogging lets you obsess about what you do, why you do it and what’s happening in your industry – as much as you want -without being that annoying person, or worse, wasting time “being annoying” on someone who will never be a customer.
And blogging lets you do it at scale.
So, you maximize your time. Instead of talking one on one, you’re talking one to many. Plus, you’re attracting people who are actually interested in what you do, which means you’re more likely to convert clients than if you rattle off about the latest inventions in denture repair at your next family gathering.
p.s. While it’s important to showcase your brand and personality on your blog, when you use social media to build a following, make sure you share content your readers are interested in (since interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people follow you). And let’s be honest, that means it won’t all be about you.
The golden rule is for every 10 posts you share on Twitter or [insert your favourite network here], talk about yourself once.
Do It From The Beach
Who doesn’t fantasize about working from the beach?
The best thing I love about blogging is that you can do it anywhere.
Forget about changing your schedule or missing family events because you’re trying to drum up business at a local MeetUp Group. Instead, go on holiday. Or to the beach. Or a park bench. You get the idea. Blogging lets you take your work with you, so you never have to miss anything important. Like serial entrepreneur Neil Patel, who writes most of his posts while flying so he can spend more of his time on the ground meeting clients and working with his team.
Run a seasonal business?
Blogging is a good way to smooth out your workload. You can write extra posts in the low season and schedule them for the high season, and when you’re too busy to think, you’ll take comfort knowing you’re attracting more business for those rainy days – without doing more work.
p.s. Great ideas will pop into your head, often out of nowhere, and will leave the same way if you don’t commit them to paper or keystrokes.
Always capture your ideas. Even if you don’t have a computer when they pop into your head – make a note on a scrap of paper or napkin, then add it to one document where you keep all of your ideas. Trust me. This is one way to NEVER run out of ideas again.
Portent’s Content Idea Generator is another.
Make Money While You Sleep
Who doesn’t dream of this?
While you may provide a service that’s only available during the day, blogging allows you to build a readership 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can rest peacefully knowing your business is working while you sleep.
And the more you blog, the better it gets. Small businesses that have 21-50 posts generate 45% more website traffic than those with 11-20. And since you’ll probably set up automated emails to convert your readers into customers (or at the very least send email updates about your newest post), you can get customers while you’re busy doing something else.
As a small business owner, this is crucial – for most of us, finding new clients is our biggest challenge. So, anything that makes this process more effective gives you more time, either to spend with additional clients you’re getting from marketing your business online, or relaxing with your friends and family.
p.s. Want to get more customers on the social web, but not sure where to start? Check out our 12 Step Guide To Getting More Customers Online, and if you have any questions, leave a comment below.
Make Mistakes In A Safe Place
We all make mistakes.
Especially when starting something new.
The best part about blogging is the costs of mistakes are low. The worst thing (other than negative PR, which we’ll get to in a minute), is you’ll write a post that no one reads, comments or shares. So your mistake is isolated. Maybe it was a bad topic, or too overly promotional? Either way, you learn a lesson and move on.
Compared to the costs of advertising in a newspaper, magazine, infomercial or even paid online advertising, this is a gift to small business owners.
The only time that isn’t true is if you write something that gets flagged and drives negative press. This can happen even with the best intentions. If you’ve had a post that went south, or want to know what to do if that happens, check out this post from Entrepreneur Magazine on how to manage negative pr.
p.s. If your post flops, that’s okay. We’ve all been there. Check out this article so you can make sure the next one is a home run!
Make and Shape History
We add more content to the world every 2 days than the entire amount of information we produced as a society before 2003.
Every 2 days.
As a small business owner, you have the chance to shape what that is through your blog, giving you the opportunity to make and shape history. So, create something remarkable and worth sharing.
p.s. Curious how to create remarkable content? Check out the Content Marketing Manifesto below.
Conclusion: Why Should You Blog?
Blogging can help you live a better life.
But it won’t happen without you.
If you need a kick in the pants to get started, or a plan of action to keep going, check out our Practical Guide To Creating A Blogging Strategy That Actually Works.
Best of luck!
p.s. How has your blogging journey been? Are you having success? Just getting started? What was the biggest lesson you learned so far? Share your thoughts below, I’m dying to find out.
p.p.s. You’ve probably picked up on the trend –we’re including our favourite 2 or 3 comments from Twitter on each new post we publish. So, if you leave a remarkable comment about this post on Twitter, you could become a permanent piece of our blogging history.