For small business owners, blogging is an essential tool for a number of reasons, and doing it well may have a substantial impact on your company’s overall growth and success.

Here are the key reasons why:

An invisibility cloak is handy for a young wizard, but as business owners, we do NOT strive to be invisible on or off the web.  So improve your SEO – your “findability” – by blogging regularly. Search engines look for sites with fresh and relevant content, helping you increase your visibility with your target audience. If your website is layered with virtual dust from a lack of fresh content, consider consistent blogging as your magic wand.

On the other end of the spectrum, creating brand new content relentlessly for years is exhausting and unnecessary. You’ll want to mix up your topics between the newest tips and trends, with information that is as valuable today as it was years ago. ‘Evergreen content’ is important information that never goes extinct. Make sure your annual editorial calendar has at least 1/3 evergreen content so that you can refresh and recycle these blog posts from year to year. Again, you cannot assume or hope that if your audience reads it once, they will retain that information. Great evergreen content can be easily republished, with small updates, every 2 or 3 years.

You want to be known for all the right reasons, and as a business owner, you clearly want to position yourself as an authority or expert in your field. After all, your prospects are asking the question – “why should I choose you?” Publishing valuable and insightful content with monthly blogs will help build trust with your audience and install confidence in prospective clients.

Make sure your tips and trends are written in the language your ideal client wants to hear. Being an expert doesn’t mean trying to sound scholarly–express your knowledge in a natural way.

Earn a reputation as that expert that is always generously sharing knowledge. “I want to work with the most obscure and mysterious person” said no one, ever. When you become known as the business owner who openly answers common questions and clarifies widespread confusion, you become the natural choice in a crowd of experts. This will establish your business as a go-to source for information.

Are you confident in the strength of your brand? Blogging allows you to showcase your company’s personality and unique value. Developing your brand is not restricted to mega corporations. Even a solo entrepreneur or micro business deserves to showcase the best they have to offer–is it your professional style? Your process?  Your values and character? Consistent blogging builds brand awareness and helps you develop a strong, organic following.

Most importantly, once you identify your ideal target audience, blogging done right will become a direct line of communication between your clients and your business. You don’t need to sound amazing to the masses – only to those businesses or people you really want to work with. Writing and copying generic information or topics misses a huge opportunity to directly speak to your next great client. A smart blogging strategy allows you to meet potential customers at various stages of their buying journey, providing the information they need with the brand personality that feels right.

The old saying goes that you need to reach your target audience with a minimum of 7 touchpoints before they even remember you; and in today’s world of overcommunication, it’s even more critical that you don’t whisper your message just once and hope that everyone heard it.

Enter: the Blog – the Repurposing Powerhouse.

• One impactful blog post can be converted into 3 to 4 social media posts.
• 3 related blogs can be molded together into an e-guide.
• A link to your latest blog post is the star of your email campaign.

Repurpose your high-quality content into as many forms of marketing as possible, this wealth of additional content will help your audience “hear” your message.

Some blogging is better than none, but blogging done right will reap many rewards. Set aside time to plan your year’s blogging strategy and topics. Or if you feel that’s not where your zone of genius lies, outsource this to a writer who takes the time to “get you” and who understands the ins and outs of blogging.