Increase Your Flow: Add a Blog to Your Website

 Every business constantly assesses the health of its cash flow. Just as scientists sample our rivers and their tributaries to ensure they're running cleanly and with the proper diversity of minerals and organic components, CEOs want to know that their proper tributaries are clear and flowing readily. One of the large tributaries to your business cash flow is your marketing strategy. It in turn has its own tributaries. This article focuses on blogs—one of the possible contributors to your marketing tributary.

Blogs are like springs, contributing fresh, nutrient-rich flow to your business by attracting people who share interests with your company. For instance, say you have a dry cleaning business. Initially readers may visit your blog post about clothing styles. While the post isn't an in-your-face advertisement for dry cleaning, it entices style-conscious readers to check out your website where they see evidence of the knowledgeable and skillful care you provide your customers.  In other words, blogs provide an avenue to create awareness of your business that is attractive and inviting.

Often businesses start out with basic websites, just to get their feet wet and have "something" out there. There is nothing wrong with this, but later they see that a blog would inject more life into their marketing strategy. New questions loom.

Can I add a blog to an existing website? Absolutely! Whether your site is a DIY project or you hired a web designer, you can add a blog.

Is adding a blog to my site difficult or expensive? There isn't one right answer for this question. If your site has a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress built into it, you could be a YouTube video away from adding a blog page to your site. If you had a professional web designer build your site for you, they may help you add the blog yourself or, depending on how they set up the site to start with, they may need to write some new code for you. You might want to discuss whether it would be more beneficial to add the blog to the existing site or do a major overhaul on the site. While the major overhaul can run into more money up front, Ryan Hilton of Global Web Design says that having a more up-to-date website will likely benefit your company in other ways besides having a blog to attract traffic. The initial cost of overhauling your site may be the most cost-effective boost to your over-all marketing strategy.

Where do I get content for my blog? One option is certainly to write your own text. If you enjoy writing and possess the skill and time, writing your own blogs gives readers the opportunity to know you better. A second option is to outsource to a professional writer. There are web-based companies that hire pools of writers to fill their subscribers' needs or there are free-lance writers you may hire directly. Hiring a free-lance writer is an attractive choice because you can build a relationship with the writer, who can then relate your style and voice to the readers in a personable manner much as you would if you were writing the articles yourself. Content companies are great if you don't have direct access to a writer, but they lack the personal touch since the writers are generally not allowed to communicate directly with the subscribers.

Mother Nature doesn't have the alternative to just add a spring to flow into an old, stagnating river, but you can choose to boost your internet traffic (and thus, cash flow) by adding a blog. If you're interested in directly hiring a writer, please email me at vickidbennett@hotmail.com.