What’s Blog Marketing?

Everyone knows what a blog is, but in case there are any time travellers among us who’ve only just arrived in 2019; ‘blog’ is derived from the combination of the words ‘Web’ and ‘Log’, and originally started as way for people to create easily updateable webpages that functioned like diaries. ‘Weblog’ was ultimately shortened to ‘blog’ and they’re now hugely popular!

Blog marketing is where a business reaches out to its target market through the use of a blog. Today, it’s easily possible to integrate your blog into your main website, making it easier to manage and easier for users to access. Blogging itself has become a business for many; take food blogs for example, like Yamu. They’re businesses in and of themselves.

So, basically, whatever product you’re selling, you’ll then be updating your blog with content relevant to that business or in some way related. These posts will then come up in web searches and can lead your target audience to your product. People are also more receptive to content marketing through blogs as it’s less invasive and less obvious than more direct methods. This is also why SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is essential to get the most out of your blog. Using the correct keyword is key to appearing near the top in search results; best part about SEO and traffic from organic search results is, it’s free! Woohoo!

The Pros of Blog Marketing

Cheap – Blogs are cheap to start and run. You can start one for free right now! Platforms like WordPress even let you create highly professional websites based around your blog. With your own domain you’ll have a professional blog marketing presence. And you don’t need any special tech skills.

Easy – Most platforms are super easy to use and it’s just like using a word processor; cut, copy, paste and all that. Just don’t do it too obviously

Return Traffic – Consistently updating your blog and offering tips and new content gives people incentive to return to your website or business, which in turn means more opportunities for you to sell, sell, sell!

Better Search Rankings for Your Whole Site – Include a blog on your site and do your SEO properly and search engines like Google will love you. Many businesses today sometimes use blogs on their sites, just for the SEO benefits!

Connect With Consumers – Most businesses use social media to connect and interact with their audiences, but blogs can give you an opportunity to provide excellent content, honest support and in doing so build trust with customers and provide them with a way to give you feedback.

Show Off, Modestly – With a blog, you can show what an expert you are and provide helpful tips and other valuable information relevant to your product. Why is this good? It makes consumers feel good about spending money, which means they’ll spend more money on your stuff!

Additional Revenue Stream – When you have enough traffic to your blog, you can accept advertising, promote affiliate products and get sponsors and they all mean more revenue for you $$$

The Cons

Time-Consuming – Updating your blog and creating new content can become very time consuming, not to mention responding to interactions. If it does take off, you may ultimately need to hire a writer or a bot!

You Can Get Blocked – No, not on a platform or anything, but simply for ideas. Maintaining a steady stream of new and creative ideas is not easy and can be very draining. It’s a major challenge bloggers face.

Marketing – Your blog needs to be marketed too. This means sharing wherever possible and even spending money on ads to push your blog. You’ll need to find your target market and entice them to your blog.

It Takes Time – Not just time to keep it up and running but success for a blog can take a long time. Most of the very successful ones have been around for a long time and just pushed through. It can be a grind, but it can be worth it.

Tips for Good Blogging

Plan – What are you going to post? How often will you post? You need to have these things worked out beforehand. Random, inconsistent posts will get you nowhere. Consistent, themed, quality content can take you a long way.

Which Platform – Choose your platform wisely and spend all the time necessary to set it up and calibrate everything properly. If your blog will be separate from your website, ensure that it has the same logos etc… If you are using a free platform, which isn’t recommended for businesses, at least consider getting a catchy domain name that can be used to point to your blog. Nothing says dodgy like ‘something.something.something23.com’.

Market It – Integrating blogs into social media is very simple. Then, posts go out to your followers as you post them. Include a link to your blog on your marketing material too and also your email signature.

Reply to Comments – Blogs are social platforms and people will comment, ask questions and provide feedback. Make sure you reply quickly. This will make them more likely to return. Also, you should delete spam posts in your comments section as soon as possible.

What are your thoughts? Have we missed anything? Do you have a blog? Do you enjoy reading blogs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!