For a lot of people diving into WordPress, making the decision to blog is huge. In the early days everyone felt they needed a blog. Then came a time when people started predicting the end of blogging. With video and podcasts coming on the scene more strongly over the last few years, the doomsayers suddenly said blogging was out
Well, now blogging is in again, kind of.
The fact is, a blog is and will continue to be a great tool for your business. But there are so many things to consider. In fact, if you are doing your site for your business, you will hear those consultants out there yelling, You need to create content. Start a blog. Do video. Spin up a podcast.
That only stresses you out more.
Your Could Have a Blog
If you are getting primarily into WordPress to have start a blog, well, then it’s the obvious choice. Now in a perfect world every business would have a blog. In a perfect world, we would have all the resources to run our businesses optimally.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. And no, not every business needs a blog.
The advantage of using WordPress is that the option for a blog is always there. But you don’t have to use it. In fact, you can use the way a blog works to develop other valuable content on your site. I will talk about this more a little later in this lesson.
Another point to remember is this: a blog is just another tool. Like everything else you use in marketing your business, you choose a blog if, and only if, it works for you.
But a blog can be a very powerful tool.
If it fits your goals, having a blog on your business site can put you at an advantage in your field or industry. It can:
Increase Traffic
A blog allows you to keep your site updated with fresh content. Google likes that and so do your fans and customers. It’s what keeps bringing them back to your site. When you bundle your blog with your website, that’s even better. Because every time someone visits your blog, they end up on your site. And chances are, if you have useful content, those new readers just might dig deeper into what you have to offer as a business, hobbyist or simply a blogger.
Builds Your Brand
Between delivering fresh, regular content and getting your readers to share that content, what better way to get your message out there? You can focus on who you are and what you offer.
For businesses that brand building can even go further when you start mixing other media into your blog. Don’t think just text. You can share images, videos and audio as well. And all of it is focused on you and your brand’s voice.
Makes You the Expert or Influencer
Blogging is a natural way to share what you know. Educating. Engaging. Entertaining. Once you start, you will be surprised at how much you know that is new information for your readers.
If you are just a hobbyist or starting your cooking blog, yes, you can grow into an expert or influencer. As a blogger for your business, obviously, the more you share of your expertise, the wider the audience of potential clients and customers who will look to you as the expert. Over time, your blog becomes the go-to place for information. And who doesn’t want to hire someone who really knows their stuff?
Authenticity
Every blogger needs to figure out that gray area of how open they want to be with their clients and readers, the degree of their authenticity. But typically, as you write your post, you should inject some of your personality your voice—into it. People like feeling that they know the person behind the business.
But be careful. You don’t want to hear that comment, “Whoa that was more than I needed to know.”
You Can Have a Blog, But Not Blog
As I mentioned earlier, you can take advantage of the blogging functionality in WordPress without having a blog. There is a couple of ways to understand this.
Posts are Flexible
Posts are simply content that you can use to keep your site alive with fresh information for your readers.
Instead of a blog, it can be a collection or series or articles, white papers, recipes or reviews. Maybe you use them for testimonials or product specs. Or for events of workshops. My point here is get creative and find a way that you can use the power of posts and the ability to organize them in a way that works for you.
Custom Post Types
When you use certain plugins or themes, they will create what is called a Custom Post Types. A few examples of this:
An event calendar plugin will have a special post type for events that you create.
A fundraising plugin will have a special post type of donations.
A plugin that allows you to offer downloads will have a custom post type for downloads.
Although you are likely not adding content using the same strategy as a blog, these types are still posts and will help build your SEO.
In Conclusion
Obviously you will need to make the final decision, to blog or not to blog. You will need to decide “does a blog really work with my business?”
This is not limited to just business related blog, but news type site, online stores or even a hobbyist site. It’s all about using the power of WordPress while being a bit creative.