We meet a lot of different people in our line of work, who run a variety of businesses and organizations. But one question almost all of them have asked us is: “Do we really need a blog?”
In my opinion, yes.
Having a blog provides a lot of benefits for your business. In fact, if you’re just starting out, a blog can be a great way to generate interest in what you have to offer while you’re busy getting ready. And once you’re up and running, adding new content to your blog is a great way to encourage people to come back and visit your website over and over again.
But the best thing a blog can do for you (besides improve your writing skills!) is position you as a leader and an expert in your field. Don’t feel like an expert just yet? No worries! Just by devoting your time and energy into your chosen subject, you can at least be assured that you know more about that subject than the average reader. And it’s likely that your perspective can bring something new to the table, and even start up a good conversation.
Which brings me to a bit of a side topic: allow comments or no?
Give your shiny new blog about five minutes and you’re sure to see comments appear. Great, right? Sometimes. Unfortunately, there are tons of spam bots out there just waiting to pollute your comments section with links to pharmaceutical products and designer handbags and all manner of junk. But that shouldn’t mean you have to cut off the conversation entirely. With many content management systems, including WordPress, there are blog settings that allow you to block comments with one or more links, blacklist certain words when they appear in comments, and even block entire IP addresses. There are also a host of plugins that do a lot of spam filtering for you. So you might consider leaving that comment box open and seeing what happens. You can always change your mind later.
One other benefit of keeping a blog that you might not have thought of is how it helps your SEO rankings. When you increase the amount of content on your website that includes popular keywords, that helps people find your website when they search for those keywords. In addition, content that is written with proper spelling and grammar gets an extra boost, as search engines give higher rankings to well-written content.
Convinced yet?
One of the best things about websites is that they are dynamic. Unlike printed pieces, you can change a website every day if you want! So if you’ve been on the fence about starting a blog for your website, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try.
