If you’re running a small business and wondering whether blogging’s worth the hassle, stick around. Because I’m going to show you exactly how blogging helps your business grow and attract more clients.

When I speak to small business owners about blogging they pretty much all tell me the same thing – that they don’t have enough time, they don’t know what to write about, and they don’t know where to start. And I get it, because running a business on your own is no mean feat. You’ve gotta be all the things, carry out all the roles, and most importantly keep the money coming in.

It’s a lot of pressure when you’re on your own.

The thing is, a blog isn’t just something that’s a ‘nice to have’ on your website. If it’s gonna sit there unused, never updated, merely a box that’s been ticked, there’s literally no point in having one. It needs to serve a purpose. And when done right, a blog can be one of the most powerful tools you’ll have in your marketing strategy.

In this blog post, I’ll break down how blogging helps your business grow, how you can use a blog to attract your ideal clients, and how you can make blogging work for you without completely burning out in the process.

What Does A Blog Actually Do For A Business?

OK so let’s find out what a blog actually brings to the party.

A blog isn’t just a thing to have because everyone’s got one and because someone told you it’s good to have. If used correctly, a blog can transform from a neglected page on your website into a powerful marketing tool that creates a whole heap of benefits to help with the growth of your business.

Here’s what a blog can do for your business and how blogging helps your business grow:

• Increases your visibility – Unlike the static content on your website (your home page write up, about me bio, product/service listings etc.) every blog post is a brand new opportunity for you to be found by Google. More content, means more keywords, more linking, and more visibility.
• Positions you as an expert – Publishing blog posts is a way for you to regularly share your knowledge and expertise. Over time this builds authority and credibility in your niche and people begin to see you as the go to expert.
• Builds trusting relationships – When you become the go to expert you also become a trusted source of information. And a trusting audience is a buying audience.
• Supports your content strategy – A blog post is more than just a blog post. It acts as the whole foundation of your content marketing strategy. One good quality blog post can be repurposed into social posts, emails, videos, lead magnets, and sales pages.

Basically, blogging helps people find you, get to know you, and decide whether you’re the right fit for them.

As you can see, having a blog on your website is about more than you sharing a couple of half-assed posts in a hidden corner of your website. Blogging is impactful and plays a massive part in helping your business grow.

Let’s take more of a look into exactly how blogging helps your business grow…

How Blogging Helps Your Business Grow

In order to grow a business you’re aiming for 3 things:

1. To get seen by more people.
2. To build strong, trusting relationships with those people.
3. To convert those people into paying customers.

Blogging helps with all 3 of these things.

You see, unlike a social media post which disappears from people’s feeds within mere minutes, a blog post remains visible on your site long after you hit the publish button. And with every new post you share it’s like you’re leaving a door open on your website. The more open doors (blog posts) you have, the easier it is for people to find and enter your website.

Every blog post you write is an opportunity to answer a question, solve a problem, cover a topic that your ideal customers are searching for. And as your library of blog posts start to increase and you offer more open doors on your website, your chances of reaching and attracting higher numbers of people start to increase.

Now the thing is, not everyone who lands on your site is ready to part with their money straight away. After all, why should they? They don’t know anything about you, they don’t know about your products or the services you offer, they haven’t had any kind of proof that you’re as good as you say you are.

But if you have a blog with lots of useful posts that show you know what you’re talking about, include expert insights about your niche, social proof of what you offer, opportunities for people to get to know you better and to connect with you, that right there is when growth starts to happen.

The fact is, content that is shared on your website belongs to you. Your time is much better spent creating blog content that continuously builds authority, provides value to your audience, and builds trusting relationships, rather than focusing on social media content that continuously disappears and relies solely on the small wins.

Why Blogging Builds Trust 

People buy from people they trust. But when there are so many other websites and businesses out there, how can you build trust with an audience when the market is so competitive?

That’s where blogging comes into its own.

You see a blog is a place you can sell without being salesy. Because let’s face it, no one likes being sold to. I don’t want to arrive at a website and immediately be bombarded with sales talk, adverts and pop up offers. It’s too in your face, too confronting, and massively off putting. And if you’re anything like me, when that happens, I leave… as quickly as possible!

A blog is a chance to showcase your knowledge and expertise, therefore providing free value to your audience, without asking anything back from them in return. And that’s what builds trust.

How blogging helps your business grow and build trust at the same time:

• Builds relationships – A website is a bit like your shop – it’s all about getting sales. Whereas a blog is your customer service – it’s all about building a relationship with your customer to show them you’re there to help them. That their needs come first and foremost. You’re showing up for your audience without expecting anything in return. And that builds trust and over time builds a loyal following too.
• Showcases expertise – Content that demonstrates your knowledge shows people you’re worth their time, you’re worth their business, and you’re worth their money.
• Answers questions – By writing blog posts that focus on common questions, hesitations, or misconceptions you help your audience before they’ve even had a chance to ask for your help. And that builds massive trust. It shows you understand your audience’s needs and that you’ve taken the time to address them.
• Shows you care – When people see you regularly showing up with thoughtful, helpful, purpose driven content, it sends a message… that you’re reliable and that you care. And in business, reliability builds trust faster than any flashy sales pitch ever could.

Blogging gives people a reason to trust you before they buy from you. It’s the bridge between “I’ve never heard of you” and “I’d love to work with you.” So, working on building the trust before railroading them with a sales pitch is the most effective way of growing your business.

How To Use Your Blog To Attract The Right Clients

It’s one thing attracting more people to your website it’s another thing entirely attracting the right kind of people to your website.

Because there is a difference.

The right kind of people are the ones who engage, that want what you offer, want your help, and who are your best chances of a sale. They are the people you should be focusing on. And a blog can help you direct your messaging at exactly the right kind of people you want to attract.

To understand the type of posts you should be sharing on your blog you firstly need to know who the right people are – your ideal clients. And I’m not just talking about having a vague idea of who they are but literally knowing them inside out.

You need to know how old they are, where they live, what hobbies they have, where they do their food shopping, what job they have, whether they have pets, where they go on holiday, what their favourite TV shows are… literally EVERYTHING!

I know this might sound a bit random. Most of this stuff is probably not even vaguely related to your business. But by really pinning down who your ideal client is you’ll be able to figure out what their pain points and struggles are. And once you know that, you can then start targeting your blog posts directly at them.

Here’s how you can do that:

• Deal with their challenges – Your blog posts need to speak directly to your ideal client and the challenges they face. Think about what they’re struggling with, what they’re trying to achieve, and what they care about. This is the content you should be creating.
• Create content that matches what you offer – Don’t just randomly write about anything that springs to mind. Stick to topics that naturally relate to what you offer i.e. the products or services you sell. This shows you know what your audience wants and this will help build trust.
• Tell stories – Storytelling is incredibly powerful. It’s how you share your personal experiences and how people really get to know you. People buy from people. They want to see your successes, your mistakes, your journey, and your client’s journeys. All of that helps them create a realistic picture of what they can expect from you and to imagine themselves getting the same results.
• Show them clear next steps – People will leave unless you help them take the next steps in working with you. Include clear CTAs (calls to action) in your blog posts, such as ‘book a discovery call’, ‘work with me’, ‘join my email list’ etc. Make it super easy for them. Because no one wants to spend time looking for help, they just want to be offered it from the get go.

If you want to attract an audience of ideal clients, you need to write content that educates, reassures, inspires action, and that directs people towards your offers.

How to Pick Blog Topics That Help Your Audience and Get More Leads

Something I know a lot of small business owners struggle with is knowing what to write about. And perhaps more specifically, knowing what to write about that will result in higher audience numbers and therefore generate more leads.

The best piece of advice I can give is to write blog posts that answer questions. I recently wrote a blog post about how AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are changing what people search for. I go into more detail about the type of content you should be sharing on your blog these days, so I’d deffo recommend giving this a read if you want to make sure your content is working as hard as it possibly can for you.

Read – Is SEO Dead? How AEO And AI Are Changing Search

Here are some blog post ideas to help inspire you:

• FAQs – What do people always ask you? Perhaps you’ve already got a FAQ page on your site. If so, that FAQ page is a great starting point for blog post ideas. Take a commonly asked question and write a blog post that answers that question in greater detail. This type of blog post helps educate people before they’ve even got in touch to work with you or buy from you. It builds the trust by showing them that you’re being completely and utterly transparent, that you’re willing to help them, and that you know what you’re talking about.
• Barriers – Think about why people might not want to buy a certain product or why they’re hesitant to commit to working with you. And then address these barriers in your blog posts. It could be that they think something is too expensive, in which case write a post that reassures and explains the value. Or perhaps there is a chance they may feel they can’t commit right now, in which case write a blog post that explains the advantages and disadvantages to help them make a more informed decision. This again builds a trusted relationship between you and the reader.
• Support – Be an expert to everyone. Create content that is useful to your audience no matter what stage of their business they may be at. As much as you should be raising awareness about a subject at a basic level, you should also be providing industry insights and updates at a more advanced level.
• Variation – Keep it interesting by sharing a mixture of different content types. For example, how to guides, lists, personal stories, case studies, behind the scenes etc. This opens up opportunities for you to work with a broader range of people and allows you to connect with them on different levels.

If you want to use a blog to grow your business, you need to be writing about topics that solve problems, share insights, and build trust. Blogging isn’t just about writing well, it’s about guiding people towards working with you.

Common Barriers That Hold People Back From Blogging

So, I’ve explained why blogging is a great way to grow your business and attract clients but I’m fully aware there’s likely some hesitation still going on in that head of yours.

I understand that blogging requires time, that writing may not come naturally to you, that it puts added pressure on you, and that you’re worried people won’t want to read what you’ve got to say. I get it, because I’ve been that person.

And sometimes I still am that person. Because confession time, I haven’t published a new blog post in about 3 weeks now, possibly even more. I’ve gone from being super consistent, posting once a week, to suddenly having too much on my plate and it all going to pot. And do you know what… that’s OK.

I’m here to tell you that:

• You don’t need to post weekly – just keep showing up.
• Your posts don’t need to be perfect – choose progress over perfection every time.
• People are interested in what you have to say – you just need to attract the right kind of people.
• You can write – everybody can, you just need to find your voice.
• You do have time – you might not think you do, but blogging will actually save you time (read here to find out how)

Blogging can feel overwhelming sometimes, because when you’re already spinning a million different plates in your business, of course it’s going to throw a spanner in the works when you chuck another one in. But just like anything that’s new, the more you do something the easier it becomes and the quicker you’ll become at doing it.

Writing for your audience is about showing up, helping them in some way, and forming trusting connections. You don’t need to be perfect to do this. In fact, in my experience being anything other than perfect is the thing that builds the best connection. People want to see authenticity. So, stop holding yourself back, stop forming these barriers, and just focus on being wonderful, imperfect you.

Final Thoughts

Blogging isn’t just about writing words on a page. It’s about showing up for your business, for your audience, and for yourself.

It’s all too easy to dismiss blogging as ‘just another thing’ on the to-do list. Especially when life’s chaotic, the tech’s scary, and you’re not even fully convinced anyone’s going to read it. But when done in the right way and when aimed at the right audience, blogging is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your marketing toolkit.

So, how does blogging help your business grow?

Remember, you don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to post weekly. And you certainly don’t need to write like Shakespeare. You just need to know your audience, write authentically, and make it easier for people to find you, trust you, and eventually, buy from you.

Got a question about blogging? Ask for help in the BlogWell Facebook Group

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Author Bio

Bex Stafferton is a blogger who started off writing her blog The Art of Healthy Living as a hobby when she was a stay at home mum and caring for her two young children. The same blog now earns her a full time salary while working part time hours.

Bex is on a mission to help teach businesses how having a blog on their website is a valuable marketing tool. Helping to build a strong online presence, grow an engaged audience, and increase sales.

She’s also one half of the Bex & Ben duo who help small business owners take control of their websites and content with their incredible OWN IT system.

When she’s not blogging, Bex spends her time hiking up mountains, trail running, cuddling her two cockapoos, and volunteering at a local wildlife rescue centre.