Why you should have a blog for your business

A year ago, I published my first blog post for my business. I’d blogged before, sure. For clients, for myself as a wide-eyed, baggy-trousered backpacker. But this felt scary. Writing stuff that represented my business. Writing stuff that would convince clients I’m a great hire. Writing stuff…gulp…other writers would read? Holy crap. My inner perfectionist and I were quaking in our slippers. (This was July 2020, the year of nightwear as daywear.)

But here I am, a year later. Approximately 24 blog posts under my belt. Older, wider (cheers, pandemic) and wiser.

I realise that compared to some of my favourite writers and bloggers, this is still a tiny baby. I’m not trying to be one of those celebs that writes an autobiography aged 19. But here are a few things I’ve learned so far about why blogging for your business is so great.

Enjoy creative control

Running a blog is a chance to have the conversations you want to have. It’s an outlet for your creativity and passions, which is surely what freelancing is all about. Back when I wrote an article about using your monthly cycle to your advantage as a freelancer, I couldn’t believe I was about to write the word ‘period’ on LinkedIn. But, to date, the article has received 572 views. That might be small fry to many, but I’m buzzing.

We all have clients who amend, disfigure or take down our work before we can add it to our portfolios. Running a blog means having a decent body of work that will be available, unedited, for as long as you want.

Learn from your mistakes

Lots of us blog for clients, but few of us are lucky enough to hear how those posts perform and react accordingly. With your own blog, you have a playground to experiment, monitor and react. It makes you a better marketer.

My post about climbing Mount Kinabalu received just 29 views to date. What I hoped would be nice escapism at the height of the pandemic didn’t land. Fair enough. Having a blog allows you to trip over, pick yourself up and crack on with what is working.

Learn not to let the metrics control your mood

That said, I learned to expand my definition of what ‘working’ means. Likes and clicks aren’t everything. If you believe in an idea and just one person finds it interesting or useful, then you’ve nailed it. The goal is for your posts to stand together as a body of work that demonstrates your writing skills (if you’re a writer), your views and your personality. With that in mind, it doesn’t matter about the success or failure of individual posts.

Stay sharp

When you’re constantly looking for things to write about or ideas to share, you stay interested, you keep learning. I’m always picking up a new course, book or article and seeing what I can milk for ideas, angles and takes.

Gain confidence

As the old saying goes, “start before you’re ready”. I did. And sharing your knowledge and writing interesting, useful content, you’ll realise how much you know. Blogging gave me the confidence to start a newsletter, something I never would have considered a year ago. Stepping out of your comfort zone expands it. Sometimes beyond recognition.

Become a better writer

I set myself a target of publishing twice a month. So that means I spend around two days a month writing for me. In my voice. This gives you discipline. But it also gives you the chance to flex that writing muscle on the regular, no matter what your client roster looks like. Guaranteed it will make you a better writer. 

Improve your client work

As a more confident and accomplished writer and marketer, you will deliver better work to your clients. You can advise on blog strategies. You can write better, faster. And you have the confidence to stand by your ideas. Added to that, because the blog satisfies your personal desire to create, you approach client projects with more enthusiasm.

Manage your perfectionism

When you’re whacking out posts every week or so, you can’t afford to wait around for perfection to arrive. Over time, I realised that typos won’t get me expelled from the copywriting kingdom. The eagle-eyed reader who spots them will hopefully feel less bad about the typo they did last week. And I’m happy about that.

Grow your network

Whether it’s chatting to freelancers about why and how they plant trees for their business or interviewing people working to save a patch of our planet, I’ve met and got to know inspiring, kind, generous and brilliant people thanks to the blog.

Win more clients (probably)

Some clients just need to read your homepage and they’re ready to go. Others are more cautious. They might lurk – follow you for a while, read your work, get an idea of what you’re like before they take the plunge. Without a blog, how can a client find out more about you? They can read your website, check your social handles. But to give a well-rounded view of you as a writer and as a person, your blog is a great place to start.

Equally, for clients who aren’t ready to book you, a blog is a great way to keep yourself top of mind on a regular basis. Did I win clients from blogging? Not directly, that I know of. But it’s impossible to measure the impact of growing my network, getting my point of view across and developing my writing skills.

For help getting off the starting block with your business blog, drop me an email.