There seems to be a few schools of thoughts on the merits of maintaining a blog on your business site. Some writers maintain that if you aren't getting paid to blog then why bother? Others believe that keeping a blog on your business site is unnecessary and a waste of time that could be spent pursuing paying projects. Still others think it is a great idea but they just haven't found the time to get started.
Well, to those writers I say "Hogwash!" Okay, I was going to be a little more extreme in my language usage but I'm trying to maintain a professional tone in this post, so hogwash will have to suffice. Writers who believe it's a waste of time because they aren't being paid are being incredibly short-sighted. Keeping a blog on your business site does a wealth of things for your career.
Blogging on your business site draws visitors
Yes, it is true. I analyze the stats of this website on a weekly basis and one thing has proven true every week: on days I post a blog entry there is a spike in visits to my site. When I create a new post I share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and my LinkedIn profile. Many times other writers then share my link on their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds and when that happens, my site traffic is increased dramatically. And let's face it, anything that drives visitors to your business site can only be good for business. Which leads me to point number two:
You will likely get business based on your blog posts
I think there is a twofold reason for this phenomena. I believe that of course, the increased traffic to your site is bound to contain some people in the PR or marketing world who are looking to hire fresh talent. Secondly, your blog posts are a great advertisement for the nuances of your writing on a regular basis. Your posts showcase your current ability much better than old clips do, or at least I've found this to be true. I have gotten some business clients as a result of my blog posts, and their reasons for hiring me have been because they got a great current example of my writing style.
You have a great opportunity to help other writers with your blog posts
I'm all about paying it forward in the writing world. I had some great mentors who really helped me out when I first started, and one of the greatest resources I found online were some of the wonderful blogs that other writers maintain, giving advice to their fellow writers. Two that I especially love, mainly because the women that write the posts are two of my freelance heroines, are www.dollarsanddeadlines.blogspot.com, the great blog and website of author and freelance writer Kelly James-Enger. (If you haven't read her incredible book Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success you are truly missing out on some incredibly valuable information!) The second is www.therenegadewriter.com, author and freelance guru Linda Formichelli's amazing site. There is a wealth of information on her site, and she posts guest blogs by other writers as well. You certainly have to check these two sites out to see what a mentor blog should look like.
So as you can probably see, I am pretty heavily pro-blog on business sites. I really want to stress the fact that anything that brings visitors to your site and keeps them coming back can only be beneficial to your bottom line. Write posts that you feel good about, that are full of the type of advice you would have loved to have gotten when you were just starting out. Make sure the writing is high-quality and watch for spelling and grammatical errors. Keep the content interesting and watch your site visits increase.
Well, to those writers I say "Hogwash!" Okay, I was going to be a little more extreme in my language usage but I'm trying to maintain a professional tone in this post, so hogwash will have to suffice. Writers who believe it's a waste of time because they aren't being paid are being incredibly short-sighted. Keeping a blog on your business site does a wealth of things for your career.
Blogging on your business site draws visitors
Yes, it is true. I analyze the stats of this website on a weekly basis and one thing has proven true every week: on days I post a blog entry there is a spike in visits to my site. When I create a new post I share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and my LinkedIn profile. Many times other writers then share my link on their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds and when that happens, my site traffic is increased dramatically. And let's face it, anything that drives visitors to your business site can only be good for business. Which leads me to point number two:
You will likely get business based on your blog posts
I think there is a twofold reason for this phenomena. I believe that of course, the increased traffic to your site is bound to contain some people in the PR or marketing world who are looking to hire fresh talent. Secondly, your blog posts are a great advertisement for the nuances of your writing on a regular basis. Your posts showcase your current ability much better than old clips do, or at least I've found this to be true. I have gotten some business clients as a result of my blog posts, and their reasons for hiring me have been because they got a great current example of my writing style.
You have a great opportunity to help other writers with your blog posts
I'm all about paying it forward in the writing world. I had some great mentors who really helped me out when I first started, and one of the greatest resources I found online were some of the wonderful blogs that other writers maintain, giving advice to their fellow writers. Two that I especially love, mainly because the women that write the posts are two of my freelance heroines, are www.dollarsanddeadlines.blogspot.com, the great blog and website of author and freelance writer Kelly James-Enger. (If you haven't read her incredible book Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success you are truly missing out on some incredibly valuable information!) The second is www.therenegadewriter.com, author and freelance guru Linda Formichelli's amazing site. There is a wealth of information on her site, and she posts guest blogs by other writers as well. You certainly have to check these two sites out to see what a mentor blog should look like.
So as you can probably see, I am pretty heavily pro-blog on business sites. I really want to stress the fact that anything that brings visitors to your site and keeps them coming back can only be beneficial to your bottom line. Write posts that you feel good about, that are full of the type of advice you would have loved to have gotten when you were just starting out. Make sure the writing is high-quality and watch for spelling and grammatical errors. Keep the content interesting and watch your site visits increase.
