Whether you’ve already started a small business or are simply in the “thinking stages”, one of the first things you will want to explore is how you will market your new enterprise. Marketing of course is a broad subject and certainly, when it comes to marketing, one size does fit all. How you develop marketing strategies and plans will depend greatly on the type of enterprise you are starting as well as what you can afford for your budget. But, one thing is certain. No matter what type of business you are currently engaged in or are planning to open, that business can benefit enormously if you are supporting your social media and other marketing efforts with a quality informative blog. No matter what type of enterprise you are involved in, here’s 8 reasons why you should start a professional blog now.
ESTABLISH YOUR EXPERTISE: Blogging dramatically enhances your professional image and helps to establish you as an expert in your field. Everyone knows the benefits of authoring but getting articles accepted in publications can be difficult and time consuming. Publishing you informative stories and articles for clients and prospects to read in you own blog can be accomplished at the touch of a button.
BUILDING A BUSINESS WEBSITE SUPPORT SYSTEM: No matter what type of business you are in, one of your most important tasks is to drive visitors to your business website where they can subscribe to offers and provide you with leads. Blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to entrepreneurs when it comes to lead generation and by writing informative visitor-attracting articles that reference and link to products on business website, you can soon find the benefits of blogging to be immeasurable. Over 50% of business marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority.
MAKE MONEY BY MONETIZING: As your blog develops readers and followers, you will have the opportunity to “monetize” it and in reality, nothing could be more simple. There are thousands of quality, high paying affiliate programs available bloggers that will allow you to create multiple streams of passive income with absolutely no additional work other than writing your posts and articles.
EXCEPTIONALLY LOW COST HOME BUSINESS: Of the various types of home businesses available to entrepreneurs, few can provide the “bang for the buck” that blogging can provide. With thousands of FREE WordPress themes available and hosting typically less than $10 per month, anyone can launch a blogging-based business on a shoestring budget. Post your articles, add your affiliates links and use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to drive visitors to read you latest posts then let your affiliate links do the work.
BLOGGING GIVES YOU AN UNCENSORED VOICE: We all have something to say and few can watch today’s news and events without wanting to share their opinions. Blogs give you the perfect platform completely free from censorship and spying. Professional bloggers can freely post their views with no concerns regarding the data breaches, violations of personal privacy and cover ups that have now made Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus infamous.
AN ANYTIME / ANYWHERE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Though many start blogs to support other businesses, blogging in it’s own right is an exceptional business opportunity and one that can be operated at any hour of the day and from virtually any location. For example, those publishing travel blogs and sharing their opinions on their latest exotic locations live a life of total freedom and flexibility, posting informative articles from locations all around the world and making money through ads, affiliate links, and even selling their own booklets and guides for download.
BLOGGING MAKES YOU MORE INTERESTING TO OTHERS: Though many of your blog posts and articles will reference your own opinions, you will likely do a great deal of online research as you develop them. You will research articles of others both like minded and of opposite views. Without question, blogging will help to make you a much more well-rounded individual as well as a better communicator. Your “personal stock” will soar as those you meet will become more engaged after reading your informative articles.
BLOGGING PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR ENDORSEMENTS: Most blogs will be started with a key focus or passion and there are all types of blogs ranging from food blogs, car blogs, political blogs and on and on. No matter what your blog’s primary focus, blogging also provides the perfect platform for reviews and endorsements. For example, you can have a categories on book recommendations, reviews of local restaurants, reviews of electronics products you’ve purchased, etc. Salting your blog bit with reviews and endorsements is also a sure way of attracting readers who will then find out more about your primary business.
DOMAIN: Your URL of address on the internet. For those already in business, creating a URL for your blog is relatively easy. For example, if you are an Atlanta cash flow consultant with a business domain of atlantanotes.com, you can simply get a domain for blog of atlantanotesblog.com or atlantanotes.blog.
WORDPRESS INSTALLATION: Most hosting companies will have a “one click” option for WordPress installation through an app installer such as Softaculous. This makes the installation of WordPress installation in your domain a snap.
Anyone (and we do mean anyone) can install, chose a theme, and set up a WordPress blog. Although it may take you a few hours to find your way around the WordPress Dashboard, you can typically be writing your first posts within a few hours of installation when congratulations will be in order. The number of bloggers is expected to reach over 31 million by 2020. Why not be one of them?