Why Blogging is Surprisingly Effective in Attracting Customers

If you were to visit Amazon right now and look for books on losing weight, or improving your health, you'd likely find tens of thousands of different titles.

And yet, if you go see your family doctor and explained that you like to enjoy a firmer, fitter body, there's a good bet you'd hear some advice that revolves around doing things like getting more exercise and taking in a few more vegetables. In fact, that's probably the same advice you could get at almost any doctor's office.

Why would we bring this up on a blog about online marketing?

Because, when clients come to us looking to grow their search engine presence, position themselves as experts in the market, and find new customers, one of the best pieces of advice we can give them is to launch a business blog and share their content in social media. And just as predictably, a lot of them resist the idea.

We understand. For a lot of business owners and managers, sitting down to work on a business blog feels like going back to school and having to cram to finish book reports. Still, there's nothing like fresh, interesting content to give your online marketing plan a shot in the arm, especially when it comes to a well-written blog.

That's because a good blog can be used to share customer stories and testimonials, spread product info and customer service tips, announce specials, provide content to social media profiles, and even pass along marketing messages. Add into that the fact that Google and the other major search engines love blogs, and you have lots of good reasons to start coming up with new articles.

Five things you can do to make the process of writing your business blog faster and easier.

1. Set a schedule. Don't think about writing a whole blog. Instead, make a regular schedule (like one post per week) and concentrate on a single entry at a time.
2. Work from a topic list. Writer's block usually comes from not having enough outlined topics. When inspiration strikes, jot your ideas down so you can use them later when you need them.
3. Solicit feedback. A lot of times, the best part of a business blog isn't the articles that are on it, but the comments that come from customers and colleagues. Invite feedback, and you'll make your blog more lively and valuable.
4. Go easy on the marketing. Obviously, your business blog should have a marketing message, but don't lay it on too thick – you want people to feel like they're reading informative material, not a sales pitch.
5. Be patient. As with all good things in life, business blogging takes a little bit of time to show bottom-line results. Be patient and keep at it, and we promise good things will happen.

Blogging might feel like eating steamed vegetables at first, but it's just as healthy for your business website. Give it a try, and you might be surprised at how much you enjoy both the writing and the results.