In the last post, we answered ‘why my side hustle or business needs a website.’ This post, we’ll answer ‘why that website needs a blog.’

There are tons and tons of articles answering this very question. The sheer volume of responses should demonstrate how important it is for your business to have a website. I won’t go through each one and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, I’ll highlight the ones that are particularly important to you - female entrepreneurs.

Female entrepreneurs primarily occupy the industries of professional services (consultants, coaches, etc.), health and wellness, apparel and accessories, and arts and entertainment. These industries have a few things in common. First, they are constantly changing - the trends, the services or products offered, and the methods of creation. Next, they are often unique to the seller or servicer - only that person can offer that product or service in that way. Then, they are in high demand - they are products or services that are necessary or highly desirable and popular. These characteristics lend themselves well to blogs. Here’s why.

• Traffic. As highly sought-after products and services, consumers are searching the Internet for details, costs, providers or retailers, tips and tricks, comparisons, and reviews. By blogging about these very things - say a blog post about what a career coach can do for your career, or how much you should expect to pay for a facial, or how to style your mini-crossbody bags, or the best mediums for portrait prints - you’ll show up in these consumers’ internet searches. If they click the link leading to your blog post, this leads to increased traffic and exposure to your website and brand, as well as a potential customer.

• Expertise. By providing well-researched, authoritative information to customers and potential customers, you establish yourself as an expert in the field. As an expert in the field, the reader will start to reference your content and trust you. And trust is the foundation of a solid customer relationship. Let’s say you sell candles. You write a blog post comparing wax candles to soy candles, and then asserting which is better. A potential customer finds it in her internet quest to redecorate her home with an infusion of candles. She loves what you’ve written, has determined to buy soy, and sees you have another post about the best surfaces to place candles. She reads it, loves it, determines to sit her candles on the mantlepiece, and then sees you sell candles. Because of the valuable and authoritative content you’ve provided, she trusts that you know how to make a candle, and therefore places an order. Boom.

• Connection and Engagement. There are a ton of ways the “Internet” will suggest you connect with customers. Some include showing your customers what inspires you, your thought or creation process, behind the scenes of a project or product, your internal culture (if you have employees), and changes to your offerings or business. While you have a website that should be updated as things change, a blog is the most appropriate place for connection. Some of my favorite businesses are those that allow me to see the owner in action. I follow a hatmaker, and he’ll post timelapse videos of him making a hat from beginning to end. And a web designer, who will post a website at its wireframing stage and then at its final publishing stage. It is these little glimpses into you, the product, and the business that often converts your customer.

• Knowledge. 2020 and 2021 have seen the rise of the side hustle. As such, an entrepreneur’s knowledge of the customer, product or service, or industry may not be as comprehensive as the topic they went to school or gained experience in. Blogging is a way to inadvertently increase that knowledge. Writing a blog post requires intentional thought, organization, and complete knowledge of the subject matter. When done seriously and professionally, this means a great deal of research and drafting will go into before publishing. All of that thought, research, writing, and work increases your knowledge, as well as the knowledge of your reader.

Here’s another small, fun fact/reason to start a blog for your business, only 1 percent of internet users create content while the remaining 99 percent just consume it. You’d be part of the 1 percent.

So are you convinced? Are you thinking of blog topics right this second? Good, perfect. Then I did my job! It can feel overwhelming to start a blog. Considerations like how often to post, how long should a post be, and do I need images can feel like a lot. And when overwhelmed, we can procrastinate. But don’t you worry, you can learn a little more in this post and then get details of everything you need to get started in the next post. You can sign up for my email list to get informed of when that post goes live or check back here in two weeks.

References:

Enns, Charissa. “Top 10 Industries for U.S. Women Business Owners.” The Story Exchange, 23 Apr. 2021, LINK.

Fishbein, Michael B. “10 Reasons You Should Start Blogging.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 14 July 2014, LINK.

Siekierski, Jaroslaw. “7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog.” Velocitize, 13 Nov. 2020, LINK.

Thacker, Nick. “10 Reasons Why You Need A Blog.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 28 June 2012, LINK.