Why Should You Blog?
It’s a simple enough question. We ask ourselves the ‘why’ in many things in life, don’t we? But this isn’t a ‘gravity weight-save the world’ topic. It’s simply determining if blogging is really necessary for your online goals.
So I will get right to the point: If you plan to engage in any type business/commerce/writing on the internet, it’s not only a good idea that you blog but in my opinion it is a MUST.
‘Why should I blog? I sell stuff online.’
A coaching client of mine said one day, “I don’t need a blog…I have an ecommerce site. I sell stuff. No one wants to hear me talk.”
Actually, they do. And actually, they don’t WANT to hear you talk about your products, they NEED to hear you talk about your products. They need to hear you talk to them about your products!
I know it’s ‘about the customer’ but this goes a bit deeper. A blog attached to your ecommerce site gives your online business a more ‘conversational’ tone where discussion and interaction can take place between you and the customer.
Do NOT underestimate the power of this! There’s no bigger example of this in action than Amazon.com. They employ many blogs throughout their site. If you ‘sell stuff’, you should too.
Why Should You Blog? I Have a Facebook (or other social network related) Page
There’s no denying the power in Facebook and how big it has become. It is nothing short of phenomenal. Add in the fact that they are still growing at an astounding rate and it’s a no-brainer that we should all have a presence there if we’re serious about our online pursuits.
The problem lies simply in that you DO NOT OWN YOUR CONTENT. Think about it. If Facebook decides they don’t like your page or are just plain in a bad mood they can shut you down.
That’s called renting, not owning.
Owners are successful on the web, not renters. I cover this topic in a bit more depth here.
It’s ok (and even recommended) that you have a Facebook page but you should always house your content first on your own blog. And with all the tools in place now, you can hook up your blog with your FB page and harness the power in both.
[A quick tip regarding your blog and Facebook: When you first publish your content, make sure the content from your blog gets indexed in the search engines first before letting the same content appear on Facebook.]
Why Do A Blog When I Have A Free One Already On Google’s Blogspot?
‘Why blog when I have a free one already?’ I actually get asked this a lot. You can basically refer to the last point above. Again, these services own your content. They decide to shut your account down? Bye bye blog posts. You are also VERY limited to what you can do design-wise.
And if your griping because you don’t want to invest any money in starting your own blog, then I guess we can conclude that you’re not very serious about your online presence.
That’s ok. Just don’t expect to build a thriving business out of the ‘free renter model’.
Blogging Helps Your Search Engine Rankings
Blogs are loved by the search engines. Good blogging platforms (WordPress.org being the best hands down) are structured so they are indexed quicker (usually) than a static site and have ‘ping’ mechanisms so they notify the SE’s when a new post is published.
And if you have a ‘regular’ site such as a product-centered ecommerce site then you’ll want to link your blog to that site. The updated content from your blog will help the rankings on your ecommerce site.
I think now you can see the benefits when you ask ‘Why Blog’? Now you know the ‘why’.
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Category: Blogging, Online Marketing, Wordpress
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