Is blogging dead? In the last couple of months, I’ve been asked this question. Business Creatives want to know why blogging matters if others say blogging is dead.
First, I don’t think blogging is dead. There are readers in the world who look at blogs for helpful advice. Real advice. From real people with real experiences. Take Scary Mommy for example. If you’re a parent, who are friends with parents, blog posts from this blog are shared DAILY. At least four times a month I see a post go viral on social media from Scary Mommy.
At the end of December 2015, I was just starting my Christmas Break. I was teaching full time and absolutely burned out. In my heart I knew I needed to grow my business so I could take it full-time. On that Christmas Break, I decided that beginning January 1st, I was going to blog consistently three days a week. I began 2016 with only 11 weddings. Thanks to my consistent blogging, I ended the year photographing 23 beautiful weddings. There’s only one thing I did differently, and that was my blogging.
Why Blogging Matters
When you blog, you are providing a free resource to a potential client or an already existing client. You are serving that reader to the best of your ability, in turn, they find value in what you do. Let’s break down each reason why blogging matters
Trust
This is important. Maybe the most important reason to blog. If you want your clients to trust your opinions, viewpoints, and suggestions, there’s a greater chance they’ll do so when you blog about those opinions, viewpoints, and suggestions. Even better when you explain the success you have with those opinions, viewpoints, and suggestions. For example, say you’re a florist, and you have found that baby’s breath isn’t the best option for a bouquet to add filler, a Bride isn’t going to trust this suggest if you haven’t properly explained why. You could do this during a consult, but the chances of a Bride respecting, and most importantly, trusting that suggestion is low. If they have read on your blog first why baby’s breath isn’t the best option, they’re more likely to take your suggestion into consideration. Go one step further, showcase better options so your client can see the difference.
Education
Your blog can be a wealth of information for your clients. Use your blog as a resource to educate clients and prospective clients. As a wedding photographer, I have photographed over 100 weddings. This is what I do. 99% of my couples are planning a wedding for the very first time. There are a lot of unknowns in their world of wedding planning. My world? My world is full of know-hows, simple solutions, and easy fixes. I wouldn’t be serving my clients well if I didn’t share what I have learned over the last six years.
Experience
Whether you’re blogging past work or education, you are showcasing that you have experience. Clients not only want to make sure you are worth the investment, but you are the right person for the blog. For the last year and a half, I have blogged every engagement session and every wedding that I photograph. This is especially helpful when inquiring Brides want to know if I have photographed at their venue. When they search my blog, they can easily find that either I have, or I haven’t. They can then critique my skill set at their venue, giving them an idea of what their wedding photos could look like.
Exposure
I’ll be the first to admit I love blogging for Brides and Business Creatives. I enjoy sharing what I have learned and teaching others my ways. After all, there are no secrets in any industry that someone somewhere hasn’t already mastered. But I need to be 100% real with you today. I blog because of the exposure. Blogging helps with my SEO, which in turn helps with my Google ranking, which results in leads. When the leads land on my blog and see all the evergreen content I have shared, they’re going to trust me, value my free education, and review my experience. Once we have a chance to sit down and chat about their wedding, I then have a chance to turn an inquiry into a booked client.
Blogging consistently three times a week for the last year has taken me from shooting 18 weddings in 2015 to 23 in 2016, and 27 booked Brides in 2017. 2018 is looking to be just as prosperous as 2017! All thanks to my blogging.
Real Advice. Real People. Real Experiences
Real advice, real people, real experiences are WHY blogging matters as a small business. You have the opportunity to grow your business through your blog by educating your clients about problems they don’t even realize they have. Educate those clients so problems that other people experience, so they don’t have to.
Brian Clark, a blogging genius, CEO of Rainmaker Digital, and expert in digital marketing is quoted saying: “These days, people want to learn before they buy, be educated instead of pitched.”
Are you teaching your ideal clients valuable lessons that they will find helpful? Are you educating prospect clients, so they won’t regret their choices on their wedding day?
Yes!!! Preach, girlfriend!
Yes! I agree 100% with this! Blogging is not dead at all. There are just other resources out there to connect with and build an audience. A blog will always be relevant because it brings people back to the website and provides the best information. Plus all those pinterest things we search (and googling) goes to websites. If we want to be found, we need to take care of our online main hub!
All such GREAT points!!!! My business wouldn’t be what it is today without my blog!!
I completely agree – blogging is not dead! And for me, as a boutique owner, my blog is crucial to showcasing what is currently available in the shop as well as credibility for my experience as a stylist for customers! And it makes for good social media content when you’re working with an amazing photographer :).