Maybe you’re never gonna ride the blog train.
That might be for a few reasons but it could be because you’ve heard blogging is dead. That statement has no basis in fact. It is yet another squirt from the marketing shit fountain. And it’s usually from folks that dislike reading / can’t write good / most certainly know fuck all about blogging. But even SEOs get shitty about blogging—shame on them!
Blogging is dead if you’re content clueless.
It’s deader still if you have no time or money to invest. It will continue to be bereft of life, if, as a freelancer, you hate writing. These are legitimate reasons for a blog ceasing to be.
But according to the many marketing gurus (can we start using the term wanketing? Great) blogging, in general, is deader than my insides. No really, it’s deffo on the way out. Blogging can hear the soft cooing tones of St. Peter, calling it to that content archive in the sky. This kind of bollocks is why you should question everything written by anyone on the socials (including me).
If you share opinions like this chances are your content bias is showing.
Eh?
For example, if you love video, you might be foolish enough to say it’s the only content route to take. According to some, we should all be wiggling our arses on TikTok.
This happens every time something new shows up.
Podcasts are so on-trend right now which means everyone starts crapping out nuggets of ‘wisdom’ about them. This stuff will make your head spin/make you kill someone. If you chase each new shiny object—ignoring what your market research is telling you, you’ll land hard on your coccyx.
Truth bomb number 1: freelancers who write for a living probably won’t get hired because they made a video.
Why?
Obvious really, it doesn’t demonstrate what they’re good at. I’ll say it again louder—not only for the businesses at the back but for the ones with their fingers in their ears: the content you produce is about the content your audience wants—not the bandwagon an influencer wanketer says you should travel on.
We. Don’t. All. Like. The. Same. Content.
Some humans prefer to read text, so blogging is essential for those individuals. Yes, be a maverick and give your audience lots of different kinds of content, that’s a splendid idea, it’s a cracking strategy for SEO. You’ll make your website interactive and accessible to everyone in your market.
The other day I read (yes, I read words, I know, how passé) that we should grow our reach on social media FIRST because it’s quicker. What’s the bloody rush?
Truth bomb number 2: brand awareness takes time no matter where you do it.
And there is no reason why you can’t be blogging AND do all of the other stuff. I would suggest that you focus your energy on where your audience is likely to hang out. No point loitering on Facebook if your people ain’t there.
“Blogging is dead”: I get it, sometimes it’s fun to play the contrarian (trust me, I know). But not being bothered to educate yourself on a thing, despite evidence to the contrary, just makes you look like the people who believe 5G gives you covid.
Ok, let me be absolutely upfront: blogging requires a proper plan and lots if content, especially if you’re relying on it to drive organic traffic to your site. Researching trending topics, keywords, and then actually writing the blog is time consuming. Big business employ a team of writers to churn out hundreds of articles per month so one blog post when you can be arsed isn’t going to cut it.
But (and it’s a significant but ) that doesn’t mean that blogging can’t be effective for the small business owner. All websites benefit from valuable long-form content, you need to read on to see why…
Content is king, ring any bells?
Not just another neato phrase but actual truth and whaddayaknow, blogging is content. But people still chat shit about blogging—the very same people who wax lyrical about the creator economy. *eye-fucking-roll* As long as people continue to enjoy reading, blogging will remain alive and well.
SEO and blogging.
Building a library of considered, relevant articles on your website attracts traffic. Even if you can’t manage twenty articles a month, your traffic will increase but at a slower pace. Organic reach is the primary focus when SEOs talk about blogging, which is probably why some are a bit sniffy about it—there are quicker, less labour intensive ways to reach organic ecstasy. And let’s be honest, a website without traffic is like a eunuch with a brothel gift card—absolutely useless.
How does your blog attract clicks?
By writing searched for articles. Note the content has to have a demand. There’s no point bashing out blog topics no one wants.
SEO is not just about organic traffic.
No it bloody isn’t! But people get bogged down (blogged down?) thinking organic is the only free traffic to your website. Most of your clicks might be from direct traffic. You know, like when you share your latest blog on LinkedIn or when subscribers hit a link on your newsletter. (This is part of off-page SEO, btw.)
Everything about a blog is helping SEO.
Even if you don’t realise it. When people read your words they’re hearing your voice. They can see how good you are. And all this is building trust. That’s SEO, bitches.
Organic traffic is the least important thing to me.
I know that’s controversial but hear me out. People that find my blog article on an organic search are unlikely to hire me.
WHAT?!
Not only do those users not trust me (they have no reason to from one blog post) but the intent behind most of my long-form content is informational (people who want to learn about that subject). My challenge is to create blog content around search terms that have transactional intent (people wanting to hire me). I touch on this here: content writing and copywriting: your website needs both.
My blog isn’t just for search term clicks. I use it to explain a point in more detail. When I write proposals and need to expand on a topic, I’ll have an article to cover it. If I get some lame request for free help, I send a link to my blog. I’ve most likely already answered the question.
My blog tells a prospect how good I am. No one should be in any doubt about my knowledge of SEO content writing. My expertise is out and proud.
My blog is my portfolio. It does the job of showing off my ‘gift’. They know immediately what they’re getting and it attracts the kind of fellow misfits that I adore.
My blog gets me hired—yes, this is the main reason I do it. And everything I’ve mentioned above leads to me making a living. The words I write are the ONLY reason this happens.
Content strategy.
Freelancers are often terrible at marketing. They barely post on social media let alone have a strategy. Larger organisations include blogging because they have the resources. But they wouldn’t bother if blogging was pushing up daisies—it takes investment, so why invest in something that’s dead? I’ve already given you enough reasons why you should but here’s something else to chew on…
These big companies that blog, know it’s mighty important to create content for every stage of the customer journey. Having a blog enables them to speak directly to their customer—no matter where they are in their funnel (ooh-err).
Here’s what I mean by that…
Top funnel content.
So these peeps are starting to hear about you. This is the brand awareness bit. Major brands probably benefit from this kind of thing the most—it’s not so great for Derek the window cleaner—it’s going to take him years to garner significant brand awareness, his marketing budget is best spent elsewhere. I digress. People at the top of your funnel ain’t ready to buy yet, they want to see if they can trust you—getting to know you before they lean in for a snog/see if what you got is a good fit—again, ooh-err.
Mid-funnel content.
Ah, the consideration stage! These guys like you, they dig your cologne. You’re urging them to scooch up a little closer, to find out more. These hotties are already in your honey trap/email list and now you’re treating them like a princess/lead nurturing. Go on, show them the wine list/provide testimonials and illustrate how your product/service could work for them.
Bottom funnel content.
Oh my, we’re on the brink (of a decision) with these people. You’re five dates in, they’ve likely seen a glimpse of your underwear/stats and case studies. Your hand slides up their inner thigh/you clearly demonstrate the product or service. Yes! Yes! You’re the best!. You’ve sealed the deal and lucky you, they’ll come again.
So blogging is more than orgasmic—organic traffic.
Writing a blog will save you time in the long run. You won’t have to keep repeating the same responses to the same prospect questions, write it down once and reuse the information. Yes, it’s work (welcome to marketing) and maybe it isn’t right for you but blogging isn’t even close to dying.
If that got you all fired up for long-form but you don’t know where to start, why not book a one-to-one with me and we’ll hash things out.