Contrary to popular belief, blogging isn’t dead. Anyone who knows SEO knows how valuable blogging for your business can be!

Personally, I love writing, but I don’t enjoy wasting time, so I need my content to be purposeful.

If you’re a new kid on the blogging block or your current posts aren’t gaining you any traction, there are a few things you should know. Let’s breakdown some bad blogging behaviors you didn’t realize you were guilty of and create some structure for your biz moving forward.

What Does Blogging Do for Your Business?

How much time do you have? Just kidding. There are just so many ways that blogging can help you grow your business… Here are a few:

• It positions you as a trustworthy source for the person visiting your site.
  • If you can show you know your stuff and provide value, they’ll be more likely to stick around or consider you for the service you offer.

• It boosts your SEO, which I’ll deeper into in a minute.

• Your potential for exposure increases big time!
  • Having helpful content on your site (instead of just info on how to work with you) acts as a low-pressure invitation to visit your site. The irony is that it will also get more curious eyes on your services.
  • It also allows you to build community through sharing work (such as styled shoots) where you link back to other vendors, making them want to share your post, expanding your audience.

• And lastly, if you serve your audience well, it will build your reputation with them to the point where they feel comfortable working with you (or referring you to friends).
  • For example, let’s say you’re a wedding photographer. If you can walk a newly engaged couple through the first five wedding tasks they need to cross off their planning list, they’ll be more likely to remember you as a trusted person when they’re ready to find a photographer.
  • Or, let’s say you’re a B2B service provider, such as a graphic designer. Teach your reader quick branding tips that will help them see results and grow their business. Once they have more money and are ready to go all-in on branding, they’ll likely think of you!

Long story short, blogging builds credibility before people even inquire.

How Often Should You Blog for Your Business?

By far one of the most popular blogging questions I get is, “how many times a week should I post on my blog?” And while it’s a valid question, it’s so different for everyone.

The most important thing to consider is what is sustainable for you and your business! If writing six blog posts per week is easy and manageable for you, bless you! However, if you can only handle publishing one every two weeks, that’s great too!

Overall, I encourage you to focus on quality over quantity! The only thing worse that not having that extra blog for your ideal client is writing one that wastes their time. That’s one surefire way to ruin your reputation and lose their trust.

Now, there’s a more technical part of this question… how often should you blog for SEO purposes? And in that regard, I think weekly or bi-weekly is a great sweet-spot.

Google loves to see new content on sites because it shows that you’re an active participant. After all, Google care about their reputation too! Their goal is to provide the best user experience possible, which means sending people to sites that are relevant, current, and responsive.

But, busy entrepreneur, please hear me… If you are already drowning in to-dos, blogging is likely not your first priority.

Tips for Creating a Blog

Blogging as a business is much different than blogging your personal life. And while you can certainly do both to build relationships and relatability, your primary focus should be serving your ideal client.

I’m not going to dive into the technical side of literally creating your blog, so feel free to chat with your site provider about that. (Personally, I use Showit, which integrates with WordPress and makes things super easy, but your host may be different.)

That said, let’s dive into some content tips so you can write blogs that actually get read and help your business thrive:

• Before you write each post, know what your focus is and stick to it.
  • What do you want it to do for your audience?
  • Are you giving tangible tips, encouragement, or something else?

• Be intentional about how it relates to your business.
  • This is where MANY entrepreneurs miss the boat.
  • While it’s completely acceptable to write about unrelated topics (such as your faith or travels), the majority of your business blogs should tie back to one of your offers.
  • For example, I can write about my favorite candles all day long, but if it has nothing to do with my ideal client and I’m not an affiliate, it’s kind of a waste of time for both of us.

• Don’t just guess what your audience wants to hear.
  • Ask them! Open up polls on your IG stories. (That is precisely how I got the idea for this blog.)
  • Look at popular searches on Pinterest and Google to find topics people are seeking information about. You can do this by typing in general ideas related to your business and seeing what auto-populates in the search.

• Don’t just post photos with a title.
  • This is where a lot of photographers miss the mark. Aim for at least 1000 words to give some context to what you’re sharing.
  • Tell us more about the vendors, venues, and what made the day so magical. Again, this will encourage those vendors to share your post, expanding your reach.
  • You can even share great tips you learned from something clever your bride did to give her props. These details will encourage the couple’s family and friends to share your post because it’s different than just the gallery!
  • This shows you care about your couples / their story and proves you’re an incredible resource.

Bottom line? Don’t just blog to blog. Have a plan, intention, and strategy for how it serves your business (and clients) as a whole.

Where to Promote Blog Posts After Publishing

Do not skip this step. (Well, you can skip it if you just want your mom and best friend reading the posts, but everyone else, read on…)

Why is sharing important? Because it serves as gasoline for the SEO fire you’re building. If you can get people to your blog and actually reading it, it shows Google you have created something valuable enough to stick around for.

So, where can you share your blog? Totally depends on your marketing strategies and where your ideal clients spend time, but here are a few ideas:

• Share to all your social sites (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).
  • And don’t just do it once. Use multiple formats (such as reels, posts, and stories) to increase exposure.

• Create multiple pin designs for your blog on Pinterest and optimize the title and description to help your ideal clients find you.
  • If you want more info on this, my Pinterest marketing course for creatives can help you see more traffic to your site in less than an hour a week.

• Share the post with your email list if you have one.
  • If you don’t have one, no stress. If you’re looking to start one, I love Flodesk for easy navigation.

Start Blogging for Your Creative Business

Like I said, blogging isn’t dead. And it certainly doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming. Just follow these steps to start blogging for your creative business and you’ll reap the SEO and sales benefits soon enough!

Something still holding you back? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Some links in this blog post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through them, you’ll receive a discount and I’ll receive a small commission. Win-win for both of us! 🙂