7 Reasons to Blog… and 3 Reasons Not To

So you’re wondering if you should blog…

Perhaps your ultimate goal is to grow your business and make more sales… Will writing a blog get you there?

Is blogging even a thing these days? Or has blogging died a death so slow we haven’t even noticed?

These are great questions! Let’s get right to it.

First: Blogging is not dead! Every time you type a query into Google, a significant portion of your results are from blogs. So never fear, blogging is alive and well… and an interesting answer if you want to grow your business.

Let’s start with reasons to blog… and then we’ll get into a few reasons not to - because there are absolutely circumstances where maybe this isn’t your best answer. 

7 REASONS YOU SHOULD BLOG

1. You consider yourself “a writer.”
   If content comes out of you through the written word first, blogging could be a natural fit for how you operate. Though, if this isn’t the case, don’t let it stop you. I do better if I speak rather than write, and I blog!
2. Your audience prefers to read.
   If your audience is more inclined to read than they are to watch a video or listen to a podcast, then absolutely start blogging! This is about giving your audience what they ask for and meeting them where they are.
3. You want to drive traffic to your website.
   If you’re looking to get more eyes on your website, blogging is the perfect vehicle for drawing an audience. Whenever you blog, you add content onto the internet that your audience can find by searching on the keywords you’ve included. You drive search engine optimization (SEO) by adding new content to your website, which invites search engines like Google to index your site. And when you share your blog to social media, you invite people to click through and read your blog. Yes, this is absolutely one of the best reasons to blog!
4. You want to get more out of the content you create.
   Publishing your article is not where the blog process ends but rather, where it begins. Once you hit publish, you can then repurpose small bits of your article to social media, email, and any other outlets at your disposal. Include a link and you’re bringing your audience back to your content. If you’re thinking about blogging in this way, you’re thinking about efficiency and systems. OMG yes, absolutely blog.
5. You want to create content that has longevity.
   One of the biggest downsides of social media is the short life span of our posts. So much work… so little time.   On the flip side, your blog articles can have a very long life, especially if you write it so that it’s evergreen.   Do this by making sure your content is not time-dependent so that it’s useful and applicable no matter when your audience reads it.
6. You want to build an audience.
   Blogging isn’t just about getting people onto your website; it’s also about getting them onto your email list! You can use your blog to offer your reader a “content upgrade” or opt in that they get in exchange for their email address - and boom! They’re on your email list. Well done!
7. You want to talk about your business and not feel bad about doing so.
   In other spaces online - think social media - we have to balance how we talk about our business with making sure we’re giving tons of value and serving our audience. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable or even wrong about talking about our business. (We shouldn’t feel this way… but that’s a conversation for another time.) But on your own blog, on your own website, you absolutely can and should talk about your business. It’s your space, it’s your business… this is your opportunity to talk about what you do!

BONUS! Here's one more reason to create long-form content via your own blog: It gives your audience insight into your authority on your topic. When you write regularly about it and come at it from many different angles, it enhances your credibility, which encourages your audience to trust you. That trust will support their buying from you in the future.