There are plenty of misconceptions about business blogging floating around out there. You have to write a million words to make it work. You won’t get anywhere if you’re not writing three posts a day. You need an expert blogger, the eye of a newt, a drop of water from the fountain of youth and a sprinkle of fairy dust to make a success of it.
Trust us, we’ve heard them all!
And while business blogging isn’t always the easiest online marketing technique to master, it isn’t as scary as it seems – honest!
Hopefully, the busted myths below will give you an idea of just how brilliant business blogging can be, and how to make it work for your business.
6 Common Misconceptions about Business Blogging
Blogging doesn’t Work
We hear this one a lot. Blogging? Why are you bothering? Surely that doesn’t actually work?
Well, that depends on who you’re asking.
Blogging as in just uploading one 500-word blog post once every three months is unlikely to make waves in the online world. You may see a few extra users filter through here and there, but they probably won’t amount to much in terms of leads for your business.
Similarly, if you’re aiming your blog content at an audience you don’t have or the wrong group of people entirely then you’re right, blogging probably won’t work.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t work.
In fact, studies show that ‘companies and B2B marketers that blog regularly get 67% more leads and twice as much traffic as businesses that don’t.’
If you’re posting frequent, valuable content on your business blog that targets a niche audience interested in your business and what you have to say, blogging can become an incredibly lucrative tactic when it comes to online marketing.
Not only does it help with website exposure and bringing in those all-important clicks, but it also sets you apart as an expert in your industry. We’re not sure about you, but we’d 100% rather buy from someone who can prove they know what they’re talking about than someone who doesn’t bother to show their expertise.
Blogging doesn’t work for everyone, but it can work wonders for your business if you employ the right quantity of commitment and quality.
Customers don’t Read Blogs
You know that cookie recipe you looked up the other day? That was a blog. The review you read on that book on your reading list? Probably a blog. That article on gentle parenting? Blog.
Blogs come in so many shapes and sizes that we often don’t realise we’re even reading them. With this misconception, we find that people tend to have a fixed idea of what a blog looks like in their minds. It’s a piece of travel writing by a digital nomad filled with pictures of exotic places, or musings from a yummy mummy.
In actual fact, blogs are everywhere and we all use them frequently in our quest to gain more information. What the information is on is irrelevant – the long and short of it is that blogs are consumed millions of times each day, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not.
The idea of blogging isn’t to get everyone to subscribe to your blog and read every single thing you write. It’s simply to get the information you can provide in front of the right people.
If you’re a cleaning business, for example, it’s unlikely that your customers will be googling ‘really good blog about cleaning’. They might, however, Google ‘Is Zoflora safe for pets?’. If you’ve written a blog about pet-friendly cleaning products, you’ve hit the jackpot.
Your potential customer will get the information they need, and you’ll have successfully directed a potential customer to your website. The first stage of the marketing funnel is complete.
Blogging is a Massive Commitment
Okay, there is a slight sliver of truth to this misconception, but it’s not as bad as you think!
Any marketing tactic requires commitment. You can’t just set up an Instagram page and leave it to do its thing. You can’t have an email list that you never reach out to. You can’t set up a website and put nothing on it.
Marketing your business in general takes a lot of time and effort if you want to see results. The misconception with business blogging here is that it has to be all-consuming.
Yes, blogging takes time, but not enough to take away from other aspects of your business.
What lots of businesses that blog regularly tend to do is set aside one day a month to write their blog posts. If a fortnightly posting schedule is something you think is achievable, then this means writing two blogs in one day.
They’ll be some research involved, of course, and you’ll need to market your content effectively but actually, the bulk of the work can be completed in just a few hours. You can then utilise those two blog posts for the month. You can turn them into emails, social media posts, short videos, podcasts – anything that takes your fancy.
They can be rewritten and reused, updated and republished as many times as you like. And, most importantly, you’ll build up a bank of valuable resources for your customers to use without having to move the earth to do it.
Blogging is a Quick Money Maker
If you’re looking for a quick money maker, business blogging ain’t your guy!
While business blogging can be incredibly lucrative if you put the right amount of time and effort into it, it’s not going to sky rocket your business accounts overnight.
Business blogging is what we like to refer to as the slow burner of the marketing world. It takes time to build up a valuable bank of content. It takes time for that content to show up and start ranking on Google. It takes time for people to find that content and for you to start cultivating a group of regular readers. It takes time for those readers to explore your blogs, your website, your social media and what you have to offer. There’s nothing quick about it!
But biding your time is the key. Patience and consistency with your business blog will ensure you’re not setting your money-making expectations too high right from the get-go, but that you’ll reap the rewards in due course.
You have to be an Expert Writer to have a Successful Business Blog
While having some basic knowledge of getting your point across effectively through the written word is helpful, expert-level copywriting is not on the criteria list for successful business blogging!
In fact, when it comes to business blogging, the more natural and authentic you can be with your writing, the better.
Take this, for example. You’re looking for some information on a medical condition you have. Would you rather read an article filled to the brim with medical jargon? Or a relatable piece written by someone with the same condition? We know what we’d choose!
When it comes to successful business blogs, quality and value will be the key focus, rather than the writing itself. So, if you’ve popped a comma in the wrong place or used one too many short sentences, don’t worry, no one is looking.
You have to do it all Yourself
It’s true that you know your business better than anyone. And that might mean you feel you can’t hand your business blog over to a third party. How will they be able to convey the message as well as you can? It’s a fair concern to have, but when you’re also short on time, it can inhibit the potential of your business blog massively.
Believe it or not, though, there are people out there whose job it is to understand your business as well as you do.
Enter, copywriters!
Copywriters who specialise in business blogging will immerse themselves in your business entirely.
They’ll take the time to learn the ins and outs of your products or services. They’ll spend time with you to gauge your personality and the way you want to come across in your blogs. They’ll study your audience to determine the kind of content they’ll find most valuable. And then they’ll tie all that information up with a bow and present you with a ready-to-publish blog post.
Blogging for your business requires time and effort, but that time and effort doesn’t always have to be yours.
If you want to make a go of your business blog and would like the support of a copywriter, please do not hesitate to get in touch.