I have been blogging for business for almost 7 years and I can tell you it has many advantages.
At first I really didn't want to start to start blogging. Blogging was very new back in 2005 but I knew that it would be important for my business, but I wasn’t sure if it was would be worth time and effort. I decided to give blogging a three month trial period. I planned on blogging for once a week for 3 months, then and the end of 3 months I would decide if I would continue.
I obviously decided that I was going to continue blogging. At this point I have been blogging for a long time, and in that time that I have seen these benefits:
Increased traffic – My website traffic has increased due to links to my articles and search engine searches.
Gives you credibility – People will know that you or your company is an expert in your field.
Learn more about your field – If there is something new to you in your field that you are learning, it helps to write it up in a blog post. This keeps you on top of the latest news/technology/information on your industry as well as cements the information in your head.
Keeps your business moving through slow times – There are going to be slow times for your business, especially when you are just starting out. A blog keeps your momentum going when you don’t have any work to do.
Document things for yourself – For tasks that you repeat, it could help to make an article and post it online. This way all of your information is in one place and it is easy to look up each time you need it.
Helping other people – It feels good to know that you are putting useful information out there for anyone to read.
Advertise your company – Blogs are cheaper than print and other forms of advertising and they last forever online.
Connect with your customers – If there is a subject that I am always getting questions from clients on, I write an informative article and direct my clients to it. (For example, Make an Email Account with your Domain Name)
Set yourself apart – There may be 842 million blogs out there, but most of your competition doesn’t have one.
It’s fun – Once you get past that writing part…
I’m sure that there are more long term advantages to blogging for business, and I’ll write about them as I continue to learn more.
