Can a Blog Really Boost your Sales in 2024? Yes! Here’s why your blog is the low-cost, long-term part of your marketing strategy you can’t afford to skip…
When you’re trying to increase your sales, you probably want to reach first for the paid routes – social media, online promotions, and even print marketing. Somehow it feels like if you’ve paid for it, it’s going to be more effective. But don’t forget about your blog, because it’s one of the most powerful tools you’ve got for reaching new people and turning them into buyers – and it’s one of the most cost-effective methods you have too.
How do I know this? Because I know that the blog is the third-most visited page in the average UK website – and that’s after the Home and About Us pages at 1 and 2. That’s because people want to gather as much information as possible about you before deciding to buy – they want to know what you know, how you write about it, and what you’re sharing. And they may not consciously know it, but they are looking for the person behind the business – they want to know if you’re the sort of person they want for the job they’ve got in mind, whatever that is.
It’s a fact that customers do a lot more research into small businesses than big ones when deciding to buy, and they will gather that information wherever they can – on your social media accounts, and on your website. So give them as much to go on as you can. Here’s how your blog can boost your sales in 2024…
Establishing Your Authority
In a crowded digital marketplace, showcase your expertise, share your insights, and address common pain points your readers may have. Deliver consistently valuable content, and you’ll position yourself as a trusted source, which builds your credibility with customers and with Google as well – especially if you can include mutual links with other credible websites. That’s SEO gold.
Connecting with Your Reader
Building meaningful connections with your audience is fundamental to successful sales. Share more about your story with your background, behind-the-scenes glimpses, anecdotes and what matters to you. This helps your readers to relate to you and your business and is often what seals the deal for them when deciding to contact you.
Boosting your Google Visibility
You don’t need me to tell you how important it is to maximise your position in the Google search results, for your main keywords and the content you put on your blog – it’s essential for your credibility and for being found by new people. Your blog can do so, so much for you on this front. When deciding where to show you in the list, Google looks at a number of different factors – and all of these boxes can be ticked by posting regularly to your blog:
- Is this website updated regularly? Yes, with new posts
- Does this website get regular visitors? Yes – because with a blog, you’ve got a supply of new reasons to send people there
- Do any pages match the keywords people are looking for? Yes: you’ve got an infinite number of different keywords you can use on a blog, because you’re not limited to the ones on your main pages
- Do other websites link to this one? Yes – if you collaborate with other businesses and set up mutual ‘backlinks’ between your sites
Read more in my post: How to get your website to rise up the Google Search rankings
Working in the Background
And your posts will work for you over time, just by being there and pulling in the visitors. The more regular visitors, the higher up in the results your posts will come, so you get more visitors and move higher still. And when that’s happening for a single post, it will boost your results for the rest of your site and keyword searches too. Find out how a surprise post of mine has given me amazing Google search results – it’s a blog post that accounts for a huge number of visitors for me each year, and it happened quite by accident: Jack Frost, Wikipedia and Google Page 1
Creating Shareable Content
The shareability of your blog posts is a powerful asset. When readers enjoy or find value in your posts, they are more likely to share them with their networks on social media, expanding your organic reach. This drives more traffic to your website, and exposes you to more social media views as well.
Showcasing Your Products or Services
Your blog is a great place to showcase your products or services in more detail, or in a creative way. talk them through how to use something step by step, list the benefits, or have a customer explain how much they’ve gained from buying from you. This also broadens your keyword and keyphrase options for searching what you’ve got on offer.
Long-Term Benefits
Paid-for marketing strategies offer immediate but short-lived results – but the benefits of your blog build for you over time. As you add to your archive of valuable content, your website gains authority, and brownie points with Google – and each new post contributes to a lasting impact on your search engine ranking.
Getting Started…
There’s so much more a blog can do for you – from setting your monthly themes, to writing a load of content you can recycle over and over. And while the effort required to start and maintain your blog may seem daunting at first, the long-term benefits far outweigh the investment you need to put in – and I’m here to help. My free Blog Challenge gets you up and running with a 12-month blog plan, in just five easy tasks – and the next one starts on 15 January 2024. Find out more here and book your place: About the Blog Challenge
Your business really does deserve all the opportunities you can give it to shine – and the blog is the ideal place to do just that. Embrace the opportunity to showcase your expertise, tell your story, and connect with your audience on a deeper level. So can a blog really boost your sales? Yes, and so much more – it can bring you even more customer loyalty, and sustained success in 2024. I’d love to help you start yours.
