Hi there!

A small business blog is a marketing tool.  You probably think of marketing and sales as synonyms, interchangeable in definition and in purpose. They're not. Sales is the process of getting a customer to buy; marketing is how you position your product, find your customers, and decide how you’re going to reach them.

Therefore, you shouldn’t start a blog simply to try to generate sales. It’s a place where you find your customers, feed them information, and position your value.

 

With so many marketing platforms out there on the internet, WHY should you start blogging?

It all starts with a simple concept called branding and attraction marketing. he goal for any marketer is to become an authority in the marketplace.

This builds your brand and attracts your best prospects to YOU!

 

Most certainly the fastest way to become an authority in your marketplace is to teach.

We look to those that teach as authorities simply because the teachers have the info and knowledge that you need.

Blogging happens to be one of the easiest ways to teach online. It’s the perfect platform in fact.

Unfortunately most people hold back from blogging... especially in the beginning... because they don't feel as though they have a resume that's impressive enough to teach something.

 

Ever thought to yourself "Who Am I to Teach?"

If you are dedicated to your business, then you should be constantly studying & learning. There are paid training courses, live events, webinars, and even free trainings that teach tons of things in your marketing niche.

What most people don’t realize is that when you invest in information to grow your business... you immediately have something to teach.

Put simply, you shouldn’t start a blog simply to try to generate sales. It’s a place where you find your customers, feed them information, and position your value what you've just learned. 

Tip:  Invest | Learn | Teach

What Should YOU Blog About?

It can be intimidating sitting down, staring in panic at the blinking cursor on the blank screen – ever heard of the term ‘writer’s block’! 

You can't just blog to everybody! Blogging to everybody is blogging to nobody. You must first decide exactly who YOUR target market is.

For instance, as a Business Growth Consultant, my blog is dedicated to helping small business owners with tips and strategies to grow their business online & offline and find balance in their entrepreneurial journey.

 

7 Top tips to find content:

1 - Pay Attention to Magazines
The magazine industry is an absolute GOLD MINE for content topics and blog post ideas!

 

2 - Put Together a Series Post
One easy way to start being consistent and have a plan of action is to put together different series for your blog posts.

This can be something like a daily theme (Motivation Monday, Inspiration Tuesday, Social Media Saturday, etc). The blog topic for each day or week would centre around that theme making it simple to streamline your marketing efforts across multiple platforms.

 

3 - Subscribe to industry leader blog
There are so many incredible blogs out there in just about any niche.

Focus on subscribing to blogs that are updated frequently and consistently with great engagement and high-quality content. Take notes, engage, apply what you learn, and blog about your own experiences on a similar topic.

 

4 - Repurpose Your Old Blog Posts and Content
Often times you can go through your old content and you’ll notice that you have A LOT more to share on a topic now than you did when you first created the original blog post. (Tip: Apply this to your social media posts too).

 

5 - Browse around on Pinterest for Blog Post Ideas
Pinterest is seriously a search goldmine now! Add in the visual aspect and it is a really powerful way to absorb great information and come up with new ideas for your blog. Type in a broad keyword in the search bar related to your niche (business & lifestyle life balance, online marketing, social media, etc).

 

6 - Attend Virtual Live Streams, Webinars & Hangout
Live streams, hangouts, and webinars are an awesome way to find out exactly what people are wanting to learn. Remember, your blog post ideas should cater to your target market. What are their needs, concerns, questions, etc.

A unique spin is to also pay attention to the viewer’s comments and questions.

 

7 - ASK! Simply Talk to People in Your Target Market
Your conversations with others can be your greatest source of content inspiration. The more you get to know people and talk to them about their fears, desires, pain points, and dreams, the more you will uncover how you can best serve them, and specifically how you can do that through your blog content topics so that your blog helps even more people.

 

Tips to blogging for YOUR small business

Sit down with a clean sheet of paper in front of you and brainstorm what problems or solutions your product or service is offering.  Write YOUR SERVICE (or product) in the centre of the page and draw ‘thought bubbles’ outlining a solution to support your target market’s typical fears, concerns, and how to best serve them.

Now you have an outline of topics on how specifically you can do that through your blog content topics so that your blog helps even more people.

To your success…