More than 50% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing strategy. Why? Because there are tried-and-true advantages of blogging for long-term business success.

 

In this article, I’ll share 10 benefits of blogging and how you can use blogs to meet your business goals for years to come.
I’ve helped over a hundred brands grow their business with a blog marketing strategy, and I’ve seen just how effective it can be.
One of my clients prioritized blogging and got 190,000 website clicks in one year from organic search traffic alone. This doesn’t include the number of website visits they also received from other traffic sources.

What are the advantages of blogging?

Blogging can help you grow your business for long-term success, especially if you want to reach more people.
Here’s a quick rundown of blog advantages. Keep reading for more details.
Increase brand awareness
Boost your website SEO
Reach new potential customers or clients
Stand apart from your competition
Develop trust with your target audience
Grow your email list
Increase conversions
Create content for other platforms
Share business news and helpful information
Build a sustainable business
Increase brand awareness
Companies that blog get more than 50% more website traffic than those that don’t. This naturally results in more brand awareness for those who have a blog and get traffic to their website.

Think of it this way – two brands sell skincare products. One brand has a blog and gets website traffic. The other brand doesn’t have a blog, so they don’t get many people on their website.
Which of these brands will likely be more popular with consumers? The one people know about because their website shows up in search results.
I have personal experience with this too. When I started my business, I Googled marketing topics a lot. Neil Patel, an online marketing expert, came up often. That’s because he has a well-optimized blog. Now I know his brand anytime it shows up on Google or social media, so I trust him, his resources, and his products.

Do you have a company like this you trust because of how aware you are of them and their expertise?

When companies blog, show up for their audience, and offer value, they naturally build brand awareness.
Boost your website SEO
Website SEO (search engine optimization) is how you show up on Google and reach your target market. Endless studies show just how critical website SEO is for business success, and you need a blog to optimize for SEO.

 

The stats don’t lie:

68% of online experiences start with a search engine like Google.
More than 50% of website traffic comes from organic search.
Search engine optimization drives over 1,000% more traffic than organic social media.
Reach new potential customers or clients
If you spend most or all of your marketing efforts on social media, you’re not alone. Many businesses do.
But did you know there are 3 billion more Google users than Instagram?
When you have a blog, you can reach people on Google that might not be on social media.
This isn’t to say don’t use social media marketing, but having a blog lets you reach a wider audience.

Stand apart from your competition

 

Think of a few of your competitors. There’s a good chance one or more of them don’t have a blog.
If you have a blog, it’s the perfect opportunity to stand apart and show up for your target market.
One of the easiest ways to stand out and build trust is by creating content that fosters connections and offers value – aka blogging.

 

Develop trust with your target audience

Business blogs are one of the best ways to show up for your target audience.
When people land on your website and discover your blog, it’s the perfect opportunity to show your expertise and develop trust. Unfortunately, many brands miss the mark because they don’t blog effectively or at all.

Here’s how you can write blogs in a way that builds trust:

Write a strong introduction that hooks your readers and tells them what the article will cover.
Share valuable content. If it doesn’t help your reader, don’t include it.
Back up facts with specific examples and statistics.
Be relatable by sharing personal experiences.
Engage the reader by speaking directly to them.
Be authentic. People connect with authenticity.

Note: Using AI-generated content for your blog can create distrust, as AI pulls from already-existing content, isn’t personal to your audience, and can’t replicate human touch.

Grow your email list
Growing an email list is easily one of my favorite advantages of blogging. In fact, about 80% of marketers say email is among their top 3 most effective marketing channels.
An email is incredibly valuable for long-term business success because you can
Reach your audience without fighting algorithms
Personalize your content by segmenting your email list
Nurture existing clients or customers
Stay in touch with your audience for years to come
To grow your email list with your blog, create a freebie that your readers can opt in to.
A freebie is a resource that helps your target market. It should offer value so your audience has a reason to share their email to access the resource. For example, I have several free guides that help business owners and bloggers with their website SEO strategies.

Here are some tips for creating your freebie to grow your email list:

Determine a problem your audience might encounter and create a freebie that helps solve the problem
Make your freebie using Canva, or keep it simple with a Google doc
Create an opt-in form for your freebie using an email marketing platform – I love Flodesk for this because it’s easy and affordable
Add your opt-in form to your blog articles and other website pages where they make sense.

Increase conversions

Many brands use social media for marketing and think that’s enough to reach their target market and convert leads. Adding blogging into the mix is an easy way to increase your conversions.
Not only can you grow your audience with a blog, but people who read blogs are in a buyers mindset, whereas social media users usually aren’t. Instead, they’re looking for entertainment.
In fact, 60% of consumers say blog posts are valuable in the early stages of the buying process. Blogs also have 3x the conversion rate of paid ads.

Tip: Convert blog readers into customers or clients by sharing a call to action in the article to join your email newsletter or purchase a product or service.

Create content for other platforms

While blogging is a long game that’s well worth it, a quick win with blogs is that you can create a lot of content for other platforms.
For example, you can create multiple social media, a YouTube video, a podcast episode, or an email newsletter from one blog article.

Share business news and helpful information

When you think of blogging for small businesses, you probably focus on sharing helpful information with your audience. In fact, addressing your target audience’s pain points in blog content is the best way to capture and maintain their attention.
But you can also use blogs to share business news, like a new product or service, a special event, or a rebranding update. Blogging lets you write long-form content about important business news to keep your audience in the loop.
You might create short-form content through social media and email with a CTA (call to action) to read the article to learn more.

Build a sustainable business

All of these advantages of a blog lead to creating a sustainable business. Many of the most successful companies that have been around for decades, including Disney, Walmart, and IKEA, have blogs.

Why?

Because blogs are one of the very few spaces on the internet you own.
Most places on the internet are similar to renting. This feels convenient and often works for some time, but it isn’t long-term.
Your website, where your blog lives, is all yours. This space or the work you put into it can’t be taken away, so it continues to grow and help you build your brand for years to come.