A blog post about whether to blog or not?… I guess that’s kind of “meta” as the kids say. This is a question I have been pondering ever since I started making this website, it’s a question I’ve asked over on my social accounts, in my coaching groups and I suppose the fact you are reading this blog post, answers that question!

But I thought I would explore the reasons why I have chosen to blog (and why as a website owner, charity or small business owner it’s something you should think about doing)

When I first imagined this website, I was definitely NOT going to blog. I am a visual creative not a writer, I wasn’t sure I would have anything to say or that anyone would be interested in reading it. My website was going to be purely a graphic design portfolio showcasing my design work and personalised artwork.

But words are important for lots of reasons, they tell people who you are and how you can help them and they are especially important to our Google Overlord and the dark arts of SEO (as it appears to the uninitiated or at least me!)

And recently I found, due to a family loss and through writing the copy for the website, that once I warm to a subject… I actually kind of like writing, and apparently, I am not so bad at it, if my friends and family are to be believed. (Maybe they were just being kind, feel free to put me in my place in the comments!) It also occurred to me that as part of my graphic design work, I often rewrite bits of client copy to make them clearer, more targeted or fit in a specific area, so honing my writing skills is never going to be a waste of time.

Google loves blogs!

Anyway back to SEO or Search Engine Optimisation and google ranking etc.… this is really something that I am only beginning to get my head around. There seems to be such a vast quantity of information and options but if I want to get this website to be more visible then I need to understand it.

One aspect of SEO is ensuring you have lots of “key word chains” that link back to the searches your customers are making. But as my good friend and marketing champ Sam Preece from Millbrook Marketing pointed out “you have to find a balance between writing stuff that people actually want to read… it can’t JUST be about key word chains” so that is something I am going to have to figure out as I go!

Also according to Vicki Jakes from Hey Vicki Jakes (my goto website guru) google absolutely LOVES new content and what better way to add new content to your website on a regular basis than by blogging?

To Provide Value

Another important aspect of blogging is actually to give value to my prospective (or existing!) clients or customers. If I can help people with their pain points by providing information, tips, training or tutorials then that’s going to keeps people engaged and bring people to my site. It also builds their trust that I know what I am talking about! So watch out for future posts about a range of my skills from logo design, choosing the right fonts to creating consistent branding.

To Create Connections

The final reason I think blogging is important is that, depending on what you write about, people get to know you as a person. You don’t even have to write particularly personal stuff for people to get a flavour of who you are. A lot of current marketing strategy is focussed on the customer/client and their problems… which is exactly as it should be!

But when someone says “It’s not about you, no one cares” I am not sure that’s true. People give business to people they like and trust, people who they feel aligned too. This is why social media has been such a great marketing tool for so many people because they can showcase the person behind their business. I do have a lot of other interests, I’m a crafter, a mum, I love to travel and I am fairly politically active… whether these subjects will (or should?) make it into this blog remains to be seen.

The Challenge

So those are the reasons I answered YES to whether to blog or not. My challenge is going to be consistency… I must admit that I am not immune to “shiny object syndrome”! I am also not massively time rich. On top of my work commitments which are getting busier all the time, I have a family to care for and hang out with (both young and old… sandwich generation!) plus my friends are hugely important to me.

I also have a few voluntary commitments which will come back into play as the current situation changes. August and the summer holidays may not be the best time to start something like this and it’s quite possible you won’t hear from me again until September! 😉

Anyway, I would love to know what you think of this subject, what other things you’d like to hear about from me and if you write a blog yourself… any tips would be gratefully received!

Catch you soon.

Sally