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To Blog or Not to Blog: Is It the Right Move for Your Business?
Episode 13 • 16th October 2024 • Business Ignite Podcast • Business Ignite Podcast
00:00:00 00:07:52

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In this episode of the Business Ignite podcast, hosts Ethan Walker and Samantha Reed explore whether adding a blog to your website is the right strategy for your business. They discuss a piece from 95Visual that outlines the benefits of blogging, such as establishing authority, boosting SEO, and building trust through genuine content. However, they also address potential downsides like the significant time commitment required and the necessity of producing quality content. Importantly, they emphasize considering whether your ideal audience values blogs or if they'd prefer other content formats, like videos or podcasts. They conclude that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to content marketing, and the key is staying curious and adaptable while focusing on genuine connections with your audience.

00:00 Introduction to Business Ignite Podcast

00:16 The Blogging Craze: Is It Right for You?

00:43 Benefits of Blogging for Your Business

01:11 SEO and Quality Content

01:52 Building Trust Through Blogging

02:51 The Time Commitment of Blogging

03:48 Is Blogging Right for Your Audience?

05:44 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

06:49 Conclusion and Farewell


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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome back to the business ignite podcast, where we light the fire

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for business growth and marketing success.

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Your hosts, Ethan Walker, Samantha Reed,

bring you the latest trends, expert

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insights, and actionable strategies

to fuel your business journey.

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Let's ignite your potential.

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Samantha Reed: Let's face it, the internet

is like obsessed with blogging, right?

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Everywhere you turn it's start a blog,

boost your business, but is a blog

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really the right move for everyone?

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Yeah.

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That's what we're diving into today

with this piece from 95 Visual.

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Should you add a blog to your website?

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Ethan Walker: It's a question

more people should ask themselves

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before they just dive in, you know?

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Samantha Reed: Right.

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Ethan Walker: This article does

a great job of kind of laying out

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the framework to figure out if it's

a worthwhile investment for you.

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Samantha Reed: Okay, so the article

starts by laying out all the potential

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benefits of having a blog and

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Ethan Walker: yeah, I

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Samantha Reed: gotta say some of them

are pretty enticing like becoming

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an authority in your field, right?

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I mean, who doesn't want

to be the go to expert?

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Ethan Walker: Yeah, it's

definitely appealing.

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And it's true.

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A well written blog can do that.

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It can lend you that authority

because you're providing such depth

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of knowledge that you just can't

always get across on a static website,

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Samantha Reed: right?

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It's like having this platform to

really showcase your expertise.

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Ethan Walker: Exactly.

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Samantha Reed: And then there's a

whole search engine optimization

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angle, which it seems like we hear.

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Ethan Walker: All the time.

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Samantha Reed: Everywhere these days.

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Ethan Walker: Yeah.

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Samantha Reed: How does

having a blog play into that?

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Ethan Walker: So it's all about

feeding the content beast, right?

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Search engines, they love

fresh content, new material.

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Every blog post you create is

another opportunity to grab their

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attention and potentially climb

higher in those search results.

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Samantha Reed: Ooh, higher.

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Yeah.

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Ethan Walker: But the key.

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Is, and the article makes this very clear.

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It has to be quality content.

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Okay.

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To churn out these like

full, fluffy pieces.

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Right.

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That's not gonna do you any favors.

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Yeah.

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Samantha Reed: It's not just about

quantity, it's about, like you

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said, giving information that's

actually useful and relevant

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to people who might be reading.

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Ethan Walker: Absolutely.

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And that ties into another benefit

that the article highlights,

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which is building trust with your.

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Samantha Reed: You know, I was

actually wondering about that.

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How does a blog build trust differently

than just having a regular website?

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Because isn't a website enough?

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Ethan Walker: Right.

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So think about it this way.

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A website is often very polished.

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It's very corporate feeling.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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Ethan Walker: A blog gives you

the chance to be more personal.

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more authentic.

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It's like giving your audience a peek

behind the curtain to see the real you and

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how you work and that kind of transparency

can go a long way in building trust.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, I

can definitely see that.

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Like the blogs that I feel like I connect

with most always feel very genuine.

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Like the person is sharing from

experience, you know, not just

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trying to sell me something.

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Ethan Walker: It's about

that human connection, right?

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Like we're all just people.

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But we do have to address the

other side of the coin here.

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Samantha Reed: Right.

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Potential downsides.

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Ethan Walker: Because,

yes, there are some.

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Samantha Reed: Which the

article does not shy away from.

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Ethan Walker: No, it doesn't.

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And the big one, the one that often

gets overlooked in all this blogging is

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amazing hype, is the time commitment.

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Samantha Reed: Oh yeah, for sure.

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That's definitely something

I've heard from people who blog.

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It's not just like, you can

just like, churn out a post

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every now and then, you know.

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Ethan Walker: Not if

you want to see results.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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Ethan Walker: No, this article really,

really stresses that blogging is hype.

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Effectively means showing up consistently.

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It means carving out time on a regular

basis to create that high quality

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content that we keep talking about.

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Samantha Reed: Which,

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Ethan Walker: which, let's be honest,

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Samantha Reed: can be a challenge.

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Ethan Walker: Can be a challenge

for anyone, let alone someone

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who's running a business.

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Right,

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Samantha Reed: exactly.

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Ethan Walker: So, and, it's not even

just about finding the time to write.

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You also need to be a decent writer.

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Or at least be willing to learn

and improve your writing, because

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as the article points out, forcing

out poorly written content can

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actually do more harm than good.

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Samantha Reed: Ooh, yeah, I

can see how that would reflect

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back poorly on your brand.

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You know, it's interesting

reading through this.

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I was thinking about all of those

businesses out there who maybe are getting

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pressured to have a blog, even if it's

not necessarily the right fit for them.

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Ethan Walker: That's a really good point.

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And that actually made me think

about something that the article

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doesn't explicitly address, but

I think is worth considering.

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Samantha Reed: Oh.

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Okay.

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I'm intrigued.

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Lay it on me.

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Ethan Walker: So the article focuses

on whether blogging is right for you as

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the business owner, which is important.

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Right.

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But what if we flip the

script for a second?

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Samantha Reed: Okay.

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Ethan Walker: And we ask, would my ideal

client or customer even care about a blog?

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Samantha Reed: That's a fantastic

point because you can have all these

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benefits of blogging, but if your

target audience doesn't even read

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blogs, then it's not doing you any good.

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Ethan Walker: It's like throwing

a party and no one shows up.

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Samantha Reed: You know, exactly.

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You

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Ethan Walker: have to know your

audience and you have to know how

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they prefer to consume information.

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Samantha Reed: Maybe

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Ethan Walker: they're

all about video content.

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Maybe podcasts are more their thing.

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Samantha Reed: It's about

meeting them where they are.

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Ethan Walker: Exactly.

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A blog is just one tool in the toolbox.

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Samantha Reed: Right.

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Ethan Walker: It might be the perfect fit

for some, but for others, it might make

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more sense to focus on social media, or

email marketing, or even in person events.

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Samantha Reed: It's not just about what

you want to do as a business owner, right?

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It's about what works for the

people you're trying to reach.

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Ethan Walker: Exactly.

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And you know what?

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That actually connects back to something

we were talking about earlier, which

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is this whole idea of building trust.

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Right.

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If you're creating content that your

ideal customer actually wants, And

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finds valuable that in and of itself

builds a level of trust that you

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just can't get from trying to force a

blog post that doesn't feel genuine.

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Samantha Reed: Right,

because they can tell.

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Ethan Walker: They can totally tell.

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It's

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Samantha Reed: like you're speaking

their language, you're addressing their

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specific needs and interests, which

honestly is a breath of fresh air in a

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world that's constantly bombarding us with

like, Irrelevant content all the time.

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Ethan Walker: Seriously.

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It's so true.

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It all comes back to quality over

quantity and understanding that

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like there's no one size fits all

approach to content marketing.

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Samantha Reed: So if someone's

listening to this and they are

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wrestling with that decision, right?

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To blog or not to blog?

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Ethan Walker: The ultimate question.

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Samantha Reed: What would you say is like

the most important thing for them to keep

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in mind as they're making that decision?

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Ethan Walker: Don't be afraid to

really, truly question whether

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a blog is the right fit for your

goals, for your resources, and most

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importantly, for your ideal customer.

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If it is great,

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Samantha Reed: but

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Ethan Walker: if not, there

are so many other ways to build

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a thriving online presence.

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Samantha Reed: Find what

feels right, you know?

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What feels authentic to you and

your brand and what you think is

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actually going to work for the people

that you're trying to connect with.

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Ethan Walker: Well said.

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And sometimes asking yourself a few

tough questions is all it takes to

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uncover, like, the best path forward.

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Samantha Reed: Absolutely.

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Well, another deep dive

successfully navigated.

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I feel like we really unpacked this

whole idea of blogging, the potential

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benefits, the potential downsides,

but then also the importance of like

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really making that strategic decision.

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For sure.

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For your business.

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Yeah.

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And then I love that bonus

inside of like, but also who are

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you creating this content for?

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Ethan Walker: Scientifically.

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Samantha Reed: Don't forget about them.

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Ethan Walker: Because at the end

of the day, it doesn't matter if

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it's not resonating with them.

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Samantha Reed: Okay, so to wrap

things up for our listeners out

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there, what would you say is like the

one key takeaway that you hope they

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walk away from this deep dive with?

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Ethan Walker: The online

world is constantly evolving.

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What works today might not work tomorrow.

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So stay curious, stay adaptable, and most

importantly, stay focused on building

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those genuine connections with the

people that matter most to your business.

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Samantha Reed: Couldn't

have said it better myself.

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Until next time, deep divers,

keep exploring and keep

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asking those tough questions.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for tuning

into the Business Ignite podcast,

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where we fuel your business

growth and marketing success.

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If you enjoyed today's episode,

be sure to rate and review us.

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It does help others find the show.

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Don't forget to follow us on social

media at Business Ignite podcast and

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share this episode with a friend.

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Keep the fire burning and remember,

your success is just one strategy away.

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Until next time, stay ignited.

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