5 Reasons to Start Blogging (Even If You Hate to Write)

I’m not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, one of the main reasons I studied engineering in college was because there were no writing assignments. And on the rare occasion I did have to write a paper for school I would always double space with Courier New font. :)

Yet, last year I published at least 2 articles per week on this blog (over 100 articles in 2014!) that were between 400 – 1,000 words each. And this year I plan to increase my writing workload even further via guest blogging and contributing columns on other relevant websites.

Why? Is it because I enjoy torturing myself week after week? Am I out to prove to my grade school English teachers that I really do have what it takes to be a writer?

No… Although I’m sure my English teachers would be very happy to see how far I’ve come!

I write because it is one of the most effective marketing tactics. If you don’t believe me, then I’ll give you 5 good reasons you should either start writing or write more in 2015.

Search Engine Optimization

I’ll start with the obvious reason, which is for search engine optimization (SEO). I’m sure you’ve heard that blogging helps SEO, but how exactly?

First of all, blogging gives you more opportunities to rank in Google. As I mentioned earlier, in 2014 I published over 100 articles, which means there are 100 webpages that have a chance of ranking when prospective customers search in Google. At the end of 2015, we’ll have at least 100 more. Clearly, this gives us an advantage over other websites that have only a handful of webpages that could rank in Google.

Secondly, blogging gives you more opportunities to get links from other websites. If you’re publishing high quality information, then other bloggers will tend to cite your articles via a hyperlink. Over time these links from other relevant websites help to increase your search rankings.

Increase Sales Conversions

This is my favorite reason and it’s primarily why I force myself to write so much. When done right, blogging will increase your sales conversion rates. I say “when done right” because you absolutely have to create high quality articles. If you publish crap, then you’ll have the reverse affect on our sales.

You’re probably wondering how the heck can blogging increase your sales conversions?

That’s a great question and I was highly skeptical at first as well. Publishing high quality articles will accomplish two very important sales goals:

Readers will be pre-sold on your product or service. This is huge, especially if you don’t have a strong sales team or if you don’t particularly love selling. When prospects read your articles, they’ll naturally view you and your business as an expert in your industry. This leads to more prospects contacting you and less time explaining why they should do business with you versus your competition.
Frequently publishing articles gives you an excuse to follow up via email and social media. You already know the importance of follow up in the sales process, but the problem is you don’t want to badger prospects. If you’re publishing relevant and interesting articles, then you now have a way to consistently follow up (and increase sales).

Stay Cutting Edge

This next reason is not so obvious, but it’s a great side benefit to writing. The only way to consistently write high quality, interesting and engaging articles is to stay cutting edge in your industry. Nobody wants to read old news and outdated information.

Therefore, writing will force you to stay up-to-date so you don’t lag behind your competitors. In turn, this will lead to even more sales as prospects view your business as being in-tune with the latest trends and best practices.

Build Stronger Relationships

Finally, writing will help you build stronger relationships. As mentioned already, prospects will be more likely to contact you and convert to customers after reading your articles because they’ll feel like they know, like and can trust you.

Customers will be more likely to buy again, and refer you and your business. But that’s not all! :)

Writing will also lead to more strategic partnerships. Just like with prospects, potential partners will be pre-sold after reading your articles and those relationships will build over time as you continue to follow up.

And finally, let’s not forget your employees. By writing and positioning yourself as a thought leader, you can also help attract and keep top talent on your team. As Verne Harnish writes in his new book Scaling Up, “A book written by the CEO; a regular column in the local biz journal; a popular blog; and/or regular LinkedIn influencer posts are great recruiting (and marketing) tools and ways to grab attention in an industry. ”

Convinced, But Don’t Have The Time?

I hope you’re convinced at this point that publishing articles consistently in 2015 is one of the best marketing tactics you can use to grow your business. But how will you find all that extra time to write?

Hey, I know first-hand how much time this takes and remember, this is coming from someone who hates writing!

If you’re just getting started, then my recommendation is to commit to just one article per month. Everyone can find time to write one article a month. Then once you’re in a rhythm and you start to see the results, gradually increase your frequency.

Or if you refuse to write and prefer to hand this off to somebody else, then consider hiring an agency like ours. We can put together a content marketing calendar for you and write your articles for you.