If you’ve read my first blog, then you know that I started my business to be a more affordable resource to small businesses in my community and surrounding areas.

The main service I could provide, at a much lower cost than most of my competitors, was…you got it! Web Design! I knew how to design and build websites; I knew I had many other additional services I could also offer. But what else were freelance web designers supposed to be able to do? Before I launched Farmer Girl Web Design, I did a little research. On nearly every freelance web designer’s site I came across, was a blog.

"I have to BLOG too?!" I thought. I mean – I always enjoyed writing in school. I felt like I was pretty good at it, too. A stickler for punctuation and grammar – always aiming for a good rhythm and interesting story line, but in addition to all the other many things I had to keep myself busy…blogging?! I wasn’t sure why that was so important? I wasn’t certain how that was going to help my business?

I started to educate myself on all things “BLOGGING.”

So - if you’re feeling the same way or are just interested in learning more about the benefits of blogging, here are some reasons that you should be blogging in business.

MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN

In order to start building a customer base, you need to let your voice be heard! (Or read, as this case may be.) Blogging helps your customers get a feel for your brand through your writing and the content you are writing about. The goal with each blog that you write, is to convert those readers into consumers, or followers, or supporters – whichever type your particular business requires to be successful.

DEVELOP YOUR AUTHORITY

When you discuss different topics in each blog, you are establishing an authority with your customer base. By providing them with information that is reliable and advice that you can back up with a source, you are also demonstrating to potential clients that you are not only knowledgeable on the particular subject in your blog, but you have also done your research to prove it.

LINKING

There are lots of “links,” but the two I’m going to talk about are hyperlinks and internal links. What do these have to do with blogging, you ask? We just went over developing your authority - using hyperlinks in your blog to other authoritative sources actually increases your search engine optimization (SEO). Internal linking is another great way to boost your SEO! An internal link is one that goes from one page of your website to another page on that same website. Search engines use links to help find content on a site. These links also help your users to navigate throughout your site and for you to be able to introduce them to other pages, products or services you can provide. (Maybe you can count mine.)

FREE PROMOTION FOR YOU!

You can use your blogs as a way to let your customers in on the daily operations of your business and provide insight on how your business is run. Now remember, this is a blog, not a novel – it’s important to find something that will resonate with your customer base and keep them engaged. Look at it from your customer’s perspective…what could you tell them that is beneficial to both of you? Maybe answer frequently asked questions over a series of blogs, perhaps you can tell them how you source materials, etc.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Your blogs become content that can be used across your social media platforms! Make the most of the time you took to write each blog by using the entire blog as a Facebook Story or a snippet of a blog as an Instagram post. Either of these uses encourages followers to visit your website and read more! (Then those internal links can have them hopping to other parts of your site, to keep your visitors learning even more about the services YOUR business has to offer!) 😊