7 Ways A Blog Can Help You Grow As A Small Biz Owner

It's no secret in the online world that having a blog really gives your small biz an edge - in fact, studies find businesses that also have a blog receive 55% more sales than businesses without blogs.

Read on for 7 ways a blog can help your business grow, gain a more connected audience and boost sales!

Throughout this post I’m going to use a hypothetical example of a small business selling henna cones to illustrate how you could apply these tips to your small business

1. More traction from Google

I could go on for days about how Google is my online secret crush.

If you research your topics well and write a collection of great posts which have a medium to high search volume (demand) and low competition (I’ll be talking about how to find these in my book) you will introduce a wave of visitors to your website, and thus your small biz - a wave that may not have ever found you through any other way.

Listen guys, Google is THE BOSS of online traffic, there is no way to tip-toe around that. Google has the power to bring in SO many new customers to you if you educate yourself about search engine optimisation properly.

Let's talk about our henna business example. So you listen to this piece of advice and do some solid research, compile a list of 20-30 blog post ideas and begin to write and upload those posts to your blog. Your posts are well written, comprehensive, interesting, engaging and are accompanied with attractive pictures. Pretty soon, you'll begin to see your posts ranking on Google. People who want to learn more about henna, want to find places to purchase henna, want to perfect their technique, want to learn about the medicinal properties of henna... they all find your blog and are introduced to your henna business as a result. Boom - some of these people will convert to customers.

2. Create bingeable content

I've just read a fantastic book - 'Oversubscribed' by Daniel Preistley and I've been recommending it like a broken record to practically anyone who even so much as utters a hello to me.

In the book, Preistley talks about this concept of creating enough content for your potential customer to become immersed into your world and effectively be able to 'binge' your content. Potential customers want insights, stories, examples, demonstrations, facts. Enter: blog.

A blog is an absolutely stellar way to create bingeable content. The opportunities for content are endless, particularly when combined with a social media page, for you to take your reader deep into your world and create a hunger for your product by awakening a desire to seek more from your world.

3. Create more touch points

Anytime someone engages or interacts with your product, including opening an email or clicking a link to your website, it is considered a touch point.

Research used to indicate it takes 7 touch points to make a sale previously, however now in today's over-saturated, noisy online world that figure is thought to be a whooping 27 touch points!

Essentially what that means is, people need A LOT more interaction and engagement with your business before they make a purchase.

Blogging creates awesome opportunities for touch points. Additionally, long form content is fantastic in engaging readers in a more connected, focused manner. Bonus points if you can get them to sign up to your email list through your blog, which'll get you even more touch points!

4. Establish yourself as an authority figure by sharing your knowledge

When you create a library of informative, helpful and engaging content for people to binge on, they begin to see you as someone who knows what they're talking about. You become an authority figure, the 'it' person, the go-to. They hold you in high esteem, and therefore they'll also hold your products in high esteem too.

Let's circle back to the henna business. You've uploaded a great variety of posts - everything from the history of henna, how to make henna from leaves, how to identify good henna, how to get a good henna stain, the benefits of henna... you've gone to town and you've done it excellently. People who come to your blog are blown away by how vast your knowledge is about henna. Automatically, just by spending some time on your blog they come to see you as someone who really knows and understands henna - you're a trustworthy authority figure. And people LOVE purchasing products from businesses they trust.

5. You can showcase your products and services in more detail

If you have a social media account, sell on Etsy or have a website that only has product listings, there will be limitations to what you can share and how much you can share.

When you have a blog, you can really take your readers behinds the scenes, through the process and can dive deep into showing them your product using your words, photos and videos. You won't be limited to a certain number of characters, a certain number of pictures or a certain length of video. You can format your writing and presentation in your own style - you have so much more control over your content on a blog than anywhere else.

Some people love being taken behind the scenes - it makes them feel involved and connected with what they're purchasing.

Having the space to go into the full details without limitations is great for you too - it gives you the opportunity to highlight all the great things about your product with no holds barred. You can do this as dedicated posts which showcase your product, or by organically weaving your products into your posts.

Back to the henna example - a blog can allow you to share in-depth information about how you source the henna, what kind of henna you use for your cones and why, why your henna is a good purchase for your customer etc. Some examples of potential blog posts include:

• Why natural henna is the healthiest henna for your hands
• What kind of henna leads to the darkest stain
• Best henna choices for hair-dying
• Best henna choices for nails

Posts such as these will allow you to seamlessly weave your products into your writing, promoting readership and sales - exactly what we want!

6. Create avenues for diversification, particularly digital products

Before I scare you off with this scary jargon, diversification is just a fancy way of saying 'having different ways of making more money'. So if you're currently just selling henna cones, you could diversify your income by also beginning to sell digital products, or offering henna design services.

For this post, I’m focusing more on diversifying your business to offer digital products alongside physical because it's what fits best with a small business ecosystem.

Although you don't necessarily need a blog in order to sell digital products (you can sell them on places such as Etsy and Payhip), a blog is a great platform for many reasons including:

• Significantly lower fees to sell digital products on your own blog instead of another platform
• If you're not already selling on your own website, if you are diversifying into digital + physical products, it may well be worth your time shifting onto your own platform to sell to save on those seller fees
• Selling directly on your own website builds a sense of authority

Let's list some digital product ideas for our henna business:

• An ebook of printable henna patterns and/or stencils
• An ebook or course teaching people henna patterns
• Masterclasses on various aspects of henna making and/or application

I really love the potential digital products have to bring in some passive income - it's a great monetary boost to a businesses income alongside other physical products or services you may provide.

7. Create a connection before going in for a sell

Humans are social creatures - we love feeling connected. This innate need to connect interferes with our purchasing habits too. We are more likely to purchase from businesses and people we feel connected to.

There’s a big difference between a business that only sells, and one that builds a connection based on knowing, liking and trusting them before going in for a sell. They are not the same, and never will be!

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Let’s talk! Do you have a small biz with a blog? Or have you ever thought about starting a blog? OR has this post opened up a whole new world of possibilities for you? Let me know in the comments! ✨