Today I want to share with you what blogging is and why you should be doing it. Hopefully I can explain it in a way that you will find it more useful in your business.
The term blogging comes from the word weblog, like an online journal. When they first came on the scene, you could write and record things in them like you would a diary.
They were used as a way to journal or document your life and hobbies, and your day to day life as well as where you might go on a holiday or something like that.
Over time, all the blogging platforms out there such as WordPress, Blogger, Typepad and others all became a bit more sophisticated.
In the end, the one that has wound up being on top as the best blogging platform is WordPress, with around 1/3 of the blogging community is run on WordPress, and that is alot!
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Instead of being thought of as a blog these days, they are now really called a “Content Management System”.
That stands for CMS, and what this does is that now, when you add things to your blog , the CMS has a job of organizing it all beautifully.
You can do so much with it such as add 10 posts a day, and you know what? It will organize it by category, pages, etc.
There is so much you can do with them now a days.
It’s as simple as you typing it all in, just like you would if you were sending an email or a letter, or even posting something on Facebook. It’s that easy.
If you take Facebook for example. When you post something on Facebook, you can add a photo, a link, and comment on stuff when you post something.
It is the same with a blog. You type in the same way and just like that, it does it.
The Reason You Should Have a Blog
The reason you should have a blog, and by the way, this is for your business, is because you must be communicating with your clients.
Your clients and potential clients, when they want to know about you, they are going to look you up on the Internet.
You may say that you don’t have those kind of clients online, You are fooling yourself because your clients ARE online.
The only people who say that their customers are not online are the ones who are not online themselves and don’t understand it.
It’s Not About You
So the first thing you need to do is get your mindset wrapped around the fact that this is not about you.
Just because you don’t like Facebook, or you don’t like Twitter, or you don’t like watching videos on youtube, that doesn’t mean your customers don’t.
Take teenagers and kids these days for example. They all watch tv on their phones and tablets. you may think that is nonsense and rubbish, but that is what they do, so whether you like it or not, it is going to happen.
They are the next generation, so you need to remember it is not about you.
When someone wants to look up something about someone, they will immediately look it up on their smartphone or tablet.
They will check to see if you are on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. Believe me, they are looking you up and if they are checking for those, then they will also be checking to see if you have a website too.
Make Your Website Stand out
When these potential clients come to your website, they do not want to know anything about you. They do not want to see a “Home”, “About Us”, or “Contatc page” right away.
For example, say that you have a landscaping website, and your company name is “Joe’s Landscape Gardening”.
They do not want to know on your about page things like “we do landscape gardening, we have 5 lawnmowers, etc” They do not want to know these things.
However, when they are looking at your “About You” page, they want to know who you are such as your personality — how long the company has been in business, etc.
Even if you are brand new and have just started, tell them that info. Share your vision and why you wanted to start that company or website.
Your customers are looking to know about you. They are wanting to know what kind of jobs you do, what kind of experience you have.
They want to see examples, they want to see case studies. So if you are that landscape gardener, then take a few photos with your phone and explain what you did.
Be sure to take a couple of before and after photos and share them as well.
By doing this, you are showing other clients or potential customers that you do have customers. They can see the evidence.
They do not want to read that you do landscape gardening.They want to see it with their own eyes.
Are There Any Developments in Your Industry?
They also want to know about developments in your industry. You have reps in your area always talking about the latest and greatest lawnmower or landscaping device out there.
Now, of course you are interested in those latest gadgets, and I bet you think that no one else would be interested, but guess what? Yes they are!
Tell them what you are using, how long you have been using and don’t be afraid to tell them how much you paid for it. You don’t want them sprucing up their garden, you want to do it. So show them how much love you can give their yard with your new gadgets.
Now, you may be thinking, if I share this info with them, they are going to go do it themselves. No they won’t. If we watch cooking shows all day and still go out to eat, it’s the same concept.
That is why it is important for you have to this info on your website. If they visit your site and there is not even a site, or you have one but don’t have any information on it, they are going to look elsewhere.
Drive Time Podcast
Today is Thursday and that means it is time for a drive time podcast. Today I am going to recommend The Mind Your Business Podcast by James Wedmore.
Now, he is known for making You tube videos. He is a great businessman, built it up from scratch and is fabulous.
Now, he has a podcast and he basically says it is magic instead of metrics. It’s mindset and attitude over hustle.
For example, Gary Vee will tell you to hustle, hustle, hustle, and that is hard work, but James will tell that it is all in your mind.
He bases this off of his own experiences building his sales to over $1 million. He has videos, he has podcasts, etc. He even hates being on camera, but he built his business on something such as this.
He is a great guy so go look him up and have a listen. I will be back tomorrow with the weekend challenge.
