In this post we’ll discuss blogging as a way of marketing your business at no direct cost.
This is Part 3 of our series “Zero Cost Marketing”, where we suggest ways you can promote your business with little to no budget. If you want to start at the beginning read Zero Cost Marketing Part 1 – Discounts & Samples.
Since every business has different attributes and needs, the suggestions are presented in no order of preference. Some will be more relevant to your business than others. We’ll leave it to you to decide.
With no further ado, our third suggestion to promote your business at zero cost is:
3. Write a Blog
Blogging is a great way to market your business for free. It is certainly more subtle than an advert or email campaign shouting “Special Offer!” or “Buy from us, we’re the best!”. Nevertheless blogging is effective in a different way by engaging your readers and offering something of value or interest without the up-front sales pitch. And that can be a lot more persuasive than an off-putting hard-sell.
The term “blog” comes from “weblog”, first used by Jorn Barger in 1997 to describe his daily posts on his website Robot Wisdom. This was split into “we blog” by Peter Merholz on his website Peterme.com in 1999.
Why Blog?
A blog can serve your business in a variety of ways. For instance:
- It shows that you are active. The Web is full of outdated static websites and abandoned social media accounts. By contrast, recent posts on your blog will show that you are very much a going concern.
- It shows that you are up to date. By addressing current issues you can demonstrate that you aware of recent industry changes and trends.
- It enables you to present a human side of your business. Website pages are practical, informative… and sometimes rather dry. They may not convey much about your company culture. Whereas in a blog, you can express your personality through your writing style and give your individual point of view. This can really make you stand out from the crowd. Personally, I am a big fan of a particular business blog because the humorous posts, while remaining informative, make me laugh out loud.
- It generates traffic to your website. Search engines like change as it indicates that you are posting fresh, relevant content, which feeds into website quality. By comparison, static websites without regular updates are effectively an online brochure and they are likely to slide downwards in search rankings.
- It gives visitors a reason to return to your website. Visitors who enjoyed one of your posts are likely to return to see what new posts you have made.
- It creates new ways for visitors to find you. Say, for instance, you write a blog post about natural back care products in your local town. The next time a local searches “natural back care products near me” your post is likely to appear in the search results.
- It is a good source of content for your social media platforms. Your blog provides a rich source from which you can create social media posts, expanding your visibility and driving traffic to your website.
Related: Zero Cost Marketing Part 1 – Discounts & Samples
What Makes A Good Blog?
There are no concrete rules when creating a blog. While some blogs give lengthy technical information, others are short and humorous, and many are somewhere inbetween. However, there are some clear guidelines on what your blog should achieve:
It should:
- Engage your audience. This is probably the most important goal, because whatever your blog’s format, that’s what it’s there for.
By creating blog content which is engaging, relevant, and valuable, you can gather an audience who will be keen to return to view your following posts.
- Provide relevant and interesting information. Readers will be attracted by subjects which are of current interest to them. Be sure to consider the needs and pain points of your target customers and create posts which address them.
- Reflect your company personality. Introducing a little bit of “you” into your posts will separate them from the wealth of dry information which appears online and can help you attract an audience who enjoy not only the content itself, but also your writing style.
- Be updated regularly. Regular updates will show that you are active and will boost your SEO.
Don’t forget to get the most from your blog posts by posting a link to your social media channels.
Related: Zero Cost Marketing Part 2 – Web Content
And What About AI-Generated Blog Content?
Well, at ACD, we have mixed feelings about that. Yes, it is easy to produce, with minimal time and effort and at zero cost. And that means that many businesses are leaping on it enthusiastically to generate their blog posts. But in our view it is less than ideal.
Firstly, AI can produce information which sounds entirely factual but is incorrect. Various measures are being taken to try to stop this but I came across an AI hallucination in an alarmingly short time during testing for my post ChatGPT – A Good Or A Bad Thing? The bot confidently made a statement which, when challenged, it immediately backtracked upon. At a minimum you will need to know your topic well and carefully proof-read to catch any errors before they are published and affect your business’s credibility.
In addition, we believe that the ability to express your business personality through your blog is important. It’s what separates you from the rest of the crowd, but that, and your ability to put forward your individual point of view will be lost if your content is simply cut and pasted from AI.
Furthermore, AI output can be dry and formulaic. So we feel that AI generated content would probably need a rewrite. And since rewriting is sometimes more difficult and time-consuming than creating original output, you might find it easier to create your own content in the first place.
Final Thoughts
A blog is a great way to market your business at zero direct cost. It can demonstrate your expertise and industry knowledge, giving helpful relevant information to your readers and raising you in search engine rankings. Furthermore, by keeping it updated you are showing that you are an active business, and are staying up to date with trends.
As with web content, it will take time, effort and creativity to create worthwhile posts. But it’s a good way to show a personal side of your business and engage readers by directly addressing their issues and interacting with them via comments. That, in turn, can boost enquiries and lead to new business.
We hope you enjoyed this post. If you found it useful, please feel free to share it or leave a comment. Or take a look at our other posts.
If there’s anything you’d like to discuss with us don’t hesitate to get in touch. An initial chat is free and without obligation.