Even though blogging has become extremely popular, many freelancers still regard it as more of a nuisance, rather than a benefit or a valuable asset.
In this article, I’m going to attempt to demonstrate why your blog isn’t a nuisance – in fact, it can be an extremely valuable asset for your freelancing business.
One of the biggest complaints that freelancers have when it comes to blogging is that it can be quite time-consuming, especially considering it’s best to update your blog regularly and be as consistent as possible. And while, sure, that can be a nuisance when there are so many other things to do, the benefits of blogging far outweigh the drawbacks:
Blogging helps improve your search engine ranking
One of the biggest draws of blogging is that it can massively improve and diversify your search engine rankings. This happens because your website then has more pages for search engines to crawl and index, which leads to a better ranking.
In fact, studies show that websites that have a blog generally have 434% more indexed pages, 97% more indexed links, and just as many inbound links.
The better your search engine ranking is, the more likely it is that you will be getting more traffic, and even better, more targeted traffic.
Blogging helps with lead generation and lead nurturing
Content marketing has been one of the driving forces behind lead generation in the past few years. Why? Simple, because it helps you provide more value to your audiences. Blogging is a big part of a content marketing strategy and something that can help you generate more leads, as well as nurture your existing ones.
It’s estimated that B2B companies that have a blog generate as many as 67% more leads than those that don’t have one.
As an example, one of the ways that you can generate more leads with blogging is by including content downloads, such as PDF versions of your guides or a checklist. These are highly targeted, as you are offering them to people reading very similar content, which means you will be able to get a huge boost in conversions and get more leads.
Use blogging to get more traffic to your website
We’ve already talked about the benefits of using blogging for SEO and how that can lead to more traffic, but that’s not the only way that you can use it to drive more traffic.
For example, blogging and social media go hand in hand in driving traffic. By promoting your blog posts on social media, you are not only driving more traffic to your website than you would by posting sales-y updates with links to your website, but you can also help yourself get more engagement, more shares, and increased brand awareness.
You can also promote your blog in blogging tribes and communities, which can help drive more traffic to your website.
Blogging helps build your authority and influence
Another big benefit to blogging is that it can help you build up the authority and influence you have in your niche, especially if you buy a domain name that is memorable enough.
Many B2B companies, in particular, have achieved great success this way. By posting quality, informative content on a regular basis, they are showing that they know what they’re talking about and that they are experts in their niche, which has helped them grow their online profile.
In my case, as well, it wasn’t just social media that helped achieve social influencer status, but also my different blogs. They’ve allowed me to show my expertise, and they have helped me become a go-to person for questions regarding social media and digital marketing.
Blogging helps build trust among your audience
Blogging also has the advantage of helping you build trust with your audience.
One of the reasons this happens is that by blogging, especially when you add some personal touches here and there, you are humanising your brand and your freelancing business.
Another way to build trust is simply by posting great content that offers value to your readers, consistently. The more you do this, the more your readers will trust you not only as a blogger but also as a business.
Trust is not something to be taken lightly – it’s something that is very difficult to gain and yet, very easy to lose. That’s why, whenever you have the possibility to build trust, you should grab onto it and make the best of it. This is particularly important for freelance businesses, as that is how they get more clients and more leads and, ultimately, that is how they make more sales.
How to optimise your blogging to save time and get results
One of the biggest issues with blogging for business is that there simply isn’t enough time to manage it and always add content to it to keep it up to date. This is why so many freelancers and entrepreneurs find it more of a nuisance than a valuable tool.
But even if your blog is a nuisance, when done right, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Fortunately, though, there are ways that you can make your blogging a bit easier and, most of all, more effective and productive.
Ideally, you should strategize your blog by planning all of your content in advance. Create a content calendar, and use the opportunity to think of multiple blog post ideas, based on your target audiences’ interests and preferences.
Preferably, you should try to create as many guides, how-to’s and lists as possible. These types of content tend to drive more shares, traffic, and engagement. They are also better for generating leads, as they not only show that you have the knowledge and skills needed to help others, but they also allow you to create content downloads, which is what ultimately generates the most leads.
You should also try to create a system for content amplification, so as to save time and maximise your results. Promoting your blog the right way can be even more time-consuming than creating the content for it, so in order to save time, you need to find a way to make this process shorter and more efficient.
You can do this by using automation to re-publish your content on social media and by keeping a list of relevant blogging communities and tribes handy to make re-posting it easier.
Conclusion
Don’t look at your blog as a nuisance – rather, look at it as the valuable asset that it can be and try to make the most out of it.
Content marketing and blogging are some of the most successful marketing techniques of the past few years, and all signs point towards this remaining true in the future. Do you look at your blog as a nuisance? Or is it an asset? How are you simplifying the blogging process and still getting results?
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay