Why Professionals Need to Create a Blog
Blogging has been around as long as the internet itself. I personally didn't start a blog until 3 years ago, and I kick myself every day for getting into the game so late. Professionals in particular really should create a blog as soon as they create their business. It's a lot of upfront work that may not see an ROI right off the bat, but trust me when I say:
It will pay off in the long run.
If you're a real estate agent, a lawyer, an interior designer, or even a local boutique shop, here's why you need a blog and what it can do for you.
And more importantly, what it can do for your customers.
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Who's Considered a "Professional"?
I guess by "professional" what I mean is an entrepreneur or a start-up company. Blogs are probably the last thing on your mind when you start your business, but it definitely shouldn't be the last.
It doesn't matter when in your entrepreneurial journey that you start your blog, but the sooner the better. You don't have to be established in order to dole out your perspective or expert advice in your niche. That knowledge grows as your business grows. And that's exactly what your clients want to see.
Take Brandy, blogger at The Legal Dutchess as an example. She's a lifestyle and legal blogger who combines the two niches to appeal to college-age law students. By the time she gets to practicing, taking on clients of her own, and possibly starting her own firm, she will have years worth of content displaying her legal tips and her successes.
Create a Blog to Show Your Shit
Now, over time your area of expertise (a.k.a your niche) will start to build its reputation. Whether you decide to do that through word of mouth social media or blogging initially is up to you. But a consistent and even amount of all three will work in unison to help propel your business into success even faster.
How does a blog help build your brand and reputation? Because a blog shows people that you know your shit. People search for content for one of these three reasons:
1. To learn
2. To be entertained
3. To solve a problem
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Your blog can do one or all three of these things. If you're a dentist who wants to sell Invisalign to more patients, you can direct them to your personal blogs on the subject. If you're a real estate agent working with first-time home buyers, your blog on "What To Expect" for their first investment helps establish your expertise. This will ultimately lead them to like, know, and trust you enough to use your professional services.
Blogs Give Professionals Reach
Search Engine Optimization is essentially a roadmap that helps Google find the best "destination" for its users. And according to Search Engine Land,
"the average figure of how many people use Google a day... translates into at least 2 trillion searches per year, 3.8 million searches per minute, 228 million searches per hour, and 5.6 billion searches per day."
If you're writing blogs for your professional brand, you want to make sure that they are SEO blogs. With keywords strategically placed into your blog, it gives Google the breadcrumbs it needs to pick up your website to appear on the front page, thus giving your business more reach for potential clients.
Now that's ROI.
Your Blogs Help Your Clients
And most importantly, your expert knowledge serves as a landing page that helps your clients. Those numbers we mentioned? Those are people typing in keywords to help them find an answer. They're searching for a professional, an expert, to help them solve their problem.
That's where your blogs come in.
As long as your brand has voice, personality, and authority, it will attract your readers to hit that contact button. Your blog is the ultimate warm lead because it acts as a space to showcase your professional knowledge.
