In my latest series of posts, I’ve been focused on blogging. Why? Because it can be one of the most important marketing strategies you can use to grow your business. Check out the 3 Reasons to Commit to Blogging and 3 Blogging Guidelines if you are in any doubt about the value of blogging.
Blogging adds value to your business if you reach out and tell the world about your blog. Click here to learn about the 5 Ways to Promote Your Blog. Be sure to read the comments, as readers have shared some great tips.
How else can you make your blog work for you? Since you’ve been promoting your blog, you now have readers. That great! The trick is to make you blog work for you, so here are 5 ways to do that:
1) Test Out an Idea
If you have an idea for a new product or service, you can use your blog to gauge the interest before you start developing and selling it. For example, I was just reading a blog from a company that specializes in refinishing furniture; they are looking at introducing a new product, a sofa table. She posted the image to see if people like it and the response was amazing. Not only did people love it, but she now has at least 10 or 15 solid leads.
2) Survey Your Audience
One of the best marketing tools is a survey. Done right, you can ask your audience to provide information like what they want and/ what are their biggest issues. Not only do you get great feedback, but the feedback is in their words. Those words are like “gold” for writing your content and marketing messages.
3) Make Announcements
Your blog is a great place to make announcements to your readers. For example, if you or a colleague is hosting a free webinar, you can post about the webinar and invite people to attend. Another example might be that you are excited about a new win in your business and you want to share the experience. This can be a great way to highlight what your business does and type of clients you work with.
4) Leverage Affiliate Links
If you love a product and/or service and they offer an affiliate program, your blog is a great way to help your readers discover the product/service and generate revenue. You can put your affiliate links in your sidebar (see my sidebar with AWeber) or directly in the blog.
5) Highlight Products and Services
Last, but not definitely not least, you can highlight your products and services in your blog posts and on the blog page. A good blog should be focused on providing solid, free content – absolutely. But the reality is your blog is there to generate customers. So you have to let your readers know what you are selling. This can be done through links to product and service pages on the navigation bar, the sidebar and in the text when it makes sense.
Now it is your turn.
I know there are other ways to make a blog work for a business. I’d love to hear what ways you use and what you have been thinking of using but haven’t yet put in to practice. Please share below.
I love to see entrepreneurs follow their passions, serve more people and create the lifestyle of their dreams.
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So many opportunities to grab. Affiliates I know I will look into at one point down the lane, for sure. You’ve listed many great ways to make your blog work here, Heather. Great job!
Norma – Affiliates are a great addition to your website and your revenues. If you love a product and are recommending it why not leverage it? It is easy to do and think about how much income you are missing by not doing it as I know you recommend products through your site and your coaching.
Solid advice as usual Heather!
And any one or several of the five tips you shared, can be developed into perpetual income generstors. Given the proper testing and time.
And your tips are extremely practical and truth told, can be extemely helpful to your target audience as well!
Thanks so much for sharing them!
Mark – Thank you for contributing to this post. You’ve capture a key component of getting your website to work for you – testing and time. This isn’t going to happened over night, it take work and time. You have to test what is working and what isn’t and adapt accordingly.
I have come to understand how blogging can be one of the most effective marketing tools. I have also learned the importance of finding a need and addressing it. What better way to do this than through blogging. I love how this group has held me accountable to being consistent and creative with my weekly blogs. Thank you for these tips on Making our blogs work!!
Sharise – so well but “I have come to understand how blogging can be one of the most effective marketing tools.” That is the first step and so many business owners have resistance to blogging and yet it works.
Thanks adding your voice to this discussion.
Such great points! I really love blogging for the conversation and relationship building it is producing. I love reading the different perspectives or experiences folks share. It’s great!
A. Lynn – Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to add you voice to how valuable blogging can be.
Such awesome tips Heather that anyone can implement on their own blog! I really have been enjoying this series of posts on blogging that you have done 🙂 Tons of valuable tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Joan – thank you, I’m glad the tips are valuable and helpful.
Blogging does take up alot of time and commitment- especially when it comes to coming up with content that can attract readers. Great tips in your post! I do like the idea of having your blog make some revenue with affiliate links.
Hazel – Blog does take time and commitment and so does running a business. I often see business owners who forget that or who are putting their time into activities that keep them business but they lack a strategy. A blog is another part of a business’ market strategy, done right it can be one of the most cost effective ways to grow your business.
Mainly a blog can be a vehicle for SEO, social media marketing, and a good sales tool, but it has the added value of getting ideas organized in categories and out there for your audience to benefit from, and value to your inner concepts. My blog keeps me active and inspired with my business. The entire creative process is fun and thrilling!
Renee – I like the way you’ve said that. There are so many benefits that a business can achieve from blogging and still there is a lot of resistance to doing it.
I love blogging and as your blog suggests Heather, there are huge benefits that can certainly make it worthwhile. One of the things I enjoy about blogging is that my audience gets to know me. Because I’m passionate about what I do, I hope this shines through in my work and so my readers get a feel of who I am as a real person. I think that’s important in building trust. I’m still quite new to blogging and will definitely incorporate some of your suggestions, like using surveys which is great for customer engagement. Thank you for your list which I can re-visit to make sure I stay in track!
Michelle – You are most welcome, great to see that this is something that you can revisit to see how your blog is expanding.
Spot on! These are exactly the ways I leverage my blog to work for me and my brand. Monetizing it with relevant affiliate links has created a significant alternative income stream. Blogs are also a perfect vehicle to demonstrate expertise.
Niquenya – It is great to hear your experience with monetizing affiliate links. It is a great way to create an alternative income and it is helpful for people to see how other people are doing it.
Heather, these are all wonderful tips on how to make our blog work. I’ve dedicated more time to mine this year. I used to write every so often but now, I concentrate on blogging at least twice a week. Content is very important and it’s not always about pitching. I prefer to share informative posts and give the reader the option of going further.
Alexandra – That is true “Content is very important and it’s not always about pitching. I prefer to share informative posts and give the reader the option of going further.” – so many blogs forget that last part, which is showing the readers what options are available for them.
Thanks for pointing out the power of the blog – these are great examples of how a blog can and does move our businesses forward.
Deb, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
For me, as a writer, wherever my posts can be featured in the online space, is my way of both sharing with the world and also attracting new readers who might enjoy my writing. As a long time researcher, I find people feel my pieces offer them new perspectives and they often say they learn something new, which is really what sharing via writing is all about for me. My goal this year is to figure out a way to monetize my talent and interest to help others who aren’t strong writers, to also be able to powerfully share their message with the world. My first step was creating a new page on my website “Work With Me”. It is a start and now the next step is getting the word out that I am available for hire. 🙂
Beverley – I think your ideas are great. You are such a beautiful writer and spirit you’d be a gift to work with. That is a great way to get your blog working for you.
I decided at the start of 2015 to focus on my weekly blog, add more content to it and have been accomplishing this. Certainly takes much more time to research, create product and product images, etc. Recently, my blogs have been more collaborative with my daughter partner. Now that it is where I want it to be, my focus is to have more readers. I read your other blog and am doing these things.
Roslyn – Your blog is wonderful now, Have you thought of looking for guest blogging opportunities? Your designs are amazing, the trick is attracting people and having them come back again and again until they can’t help but buy from you.