It’s safe to say that a large portion of business owners and entrepreneurs have not yet utilized blogging with WordPress.org as a marketing tool, or have not considered blogging at all. For the vast majority, blogging is still thought of as a fad and sometimes even a joke. In a recent car commercial, prospective buyers quoted some facts they found online to a car salesman. The car salesman responded, “Anyone can have a blog these days.”
The truth is: Blogging is a powerful, effective and inexpensive way to market products or services. WordPress.org is the platform of choice for most serious bloggers because of its flexibility, ease of use and design features. Below are 5 facts many business owners and entrepreneurs don’t know about the effectiveness of blogging with WordPress.
1. It’s Easier than You Think
Although there is certainly a learning curve when it comes to using any online platform, once your WordPress site is set up and configured correctly, it’s fairly simple to add posts and make simple changes. I’m saying this as a Baby Boomer who learned how to blog on my own. If I can do it, you can too. If you are technically challenged, it may be well worth your while to have someone else set up your blog for you. If you hire someone to do this service for you, make sure they set it up to be user friendly.
Unfortunately sometimes designers are more interested in design than functionality. I would recommend using a premium theme that has a simple and clean layout. Premium themes are generally easier to use and are kept updated.
2. If You Stick with It, You Will Get Traffic
As in any method you choose to market your business, sticking with it will eventually get you results. A blog does not become successful overnight, even though Internet marketers will tell you they do. However, if you are consistent with posting on a regular basis, you will begin to attract traffic. This does not mean you have to write every day. Set a schedule to write a post on a regular basis. I would suggest writing one post per week at a minimum to get started.
3. 30 Minutes of Writing = Permanent SEO
Saying you don’t have time to write a 300-700 word article is like saying you don’t want more customers. You can spend hours each week at in-person networking events with very few significant results. An article you post on your blog that gets indexed by Google may bring you customers you have never met before – even while you’re sleeping.
It generally takes about 30 minutes to write a post (unless you are very anal) that will stay online as long as your site is on the Internet. On the other hand, your 30 second elevator speech is usually forgotten almost as soon as it leaves your lips at a networking event. This is not to say forego in-person networking. Networking is extremely important for most small businesses. However, when your prospects are looking for products and services, they generally start by searching on the Internet. If your online presence is non-existent or not dynamic, you will be losing future customers and sales.
4. WordPress Provides Additional Income Streams
Blogging with WordPress gives you a way to add additional income streams to your business and will help automate some portions of it. This will give you more time and freedom to enjoy other facets of your life. For example: If you’re working solely by appointment, and are not able to continue doing those appointments, your income will stop. If you have created passive income streams, such as the sales of EBooks, online courses or affiliate product promotions, your income will continue even if you choose to go on vacation.
5. There Are Thousands of Themes & Plugins
WordPress.org has thousands of themes and plugins that allow business owners to build their sites to be as interactive and functional as possible without coding. This includes videos, podcasts, photo galleries, etc.
Business owners and entrepreneurs who blog get 55% more traffic to their websites than those who don’t, according to Hubspot.com. Doesn’t it make sense to take blogging with WordPress, as a way to market your business, more seriously?
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