Has the pandemic left you scratching your head, wondering how to effectively grow your business right now? Well then, let this sink in today: A business blog is still one of the cheapest, safest and most effective ways to promote your brand in 2020.

As this pandemic continues to wreak havoc on people’s health and the economy, many of us are looking for ways to save money and time. We know we still need to keep promoting our businesses to draw in fresh leads, but who can afford expensive ads right now? 

We’re looking for cheaper ways to organically grow our businesses that don’t consume a ton of our precious time. (Because don’t let anyone tell you differently—your time is valuable.)

This is where blogging enters the picture. You may not feel like you’re a naturally gifted writer. Or you may think you truly don’t have the time. But I’m telling you: You don’t have the time not to blog.

Here’s why I’m so convinced blogging is one of the best ways to build your business right now:

A Business Blog Doesn’t Cost a Ton of Money to Get Started

Starting a blog costs $0 if you already have a website. After all, your website theme probably already has an option for you to host a blog. You just have to use it. 

And on top of that, many plugins that you need for a blog (SEO, social media sharing, etc.) are completely free.

Now, if you don’t have a website, I do recommend you build one. (And no, you don’t have to be a professional coder or a tech genius to build a website.) Nowadays, you can easily set up a website and download a theme you like.

Getting your website up and running can cost you as little as $3.95 a month when you sign up for Bluehost. When you purchase Bluehost, you also get a free domain name for a year (that’s the URL people type in to go to your website) and a free SSL certificate (which tells people your site is safe to use).

Important Note: The link above is an affiliate link. That means if you click on it and end up purchasing Bluehost for your website, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. And just so you know, I only promote products I use and love. 🙂 

If you don’t have a website and you really can’t start one right now, you can still “blog” on your social media with long-form posts. But I do highly recommend blogging on your own website. For starters, it looks much more professional.

And the other reasons? Well…

It’s Safer to Blog on ‘Your Own Property’

Here’s the ugly truth, my friend: You don’t own social media. 

That means that when you make any social medium your blog’s home and post all of your messaging and promotion there, you are at the mercy of that platform. 

Just yesterday, a fellow online entrepreneur shared his horror story of how Facebook shut down all his promotion for his online course. They deleted every one of his prior posts and blocked him from posting for at least 21 days. He said he felt “gutted” because he had put all of his course promotion on social media.

Chances are, this fellow business owner somehow broke Facebook’s promotional rules. But he’s not the only one who has accidentally done so. Social media platforms often have strict rules you need to follow when it comes to posting content for your business, and it’s easier to break them than you think.

The lesson here is clear.

You don’t own social media, but you do own your website. When you blog on your own website, you face far less danger of your hard work being deleted or shut down. 

Plus, when you blog on your website, it’s like inviting your readers into your home. When someone reads your blog on your own site, it lets them see a clearer picture of who you are and what you do. In some ways, it fosters a deeper connection between you and them.

The last reason I highly suggest you use your own website to host your blog is that it gives you way more opportunities to lead readers into your sales funnel as you promote your lead magnet on your site.

Blogging Lets Readers Consume Your Content at Their Own Pace

People often don’t have time to listen to an entire podcast or watch an entire video, especially now during the pandemic. Studies show that during COVID-19, time watching TV and on social media is up. Meanwhile, though, some studies suggest that podcast listenership dipped after the coronavirus struck.

With people spending more time on their phones and computers, they have more time at least to skim your blog post. If what they see fascinates them, they can save it and go back to it later.

Or if they have more time on their hands, they can binge-read your blog to easily find the info they’re looking for.

A Business Blog Gives Better Opportunity for SEO and Backlinks

This is a huge reason why I love blogs. 

With blogs, you can optimize for SEO, link to credible resources and link to other pages on your site. 

Podcasts can’t really give you that same opportunity unless you create show notes and transcripts. That’s totally doable, but it does take a lot more work. With blogging, you do all that in one fell swoop.

Blogs Are Easier to Promote on Social Media

When you post a blog link on Facebook or LinkedIn, all the reader has to do is click the photo and it takes them directly to your post.

Here’s an example of that:

 

You can’t do that with a podcast because a podcast link doesn’t have a featured image. (Unless you’re hosting the podcast on a blog, which is something I recommend!) So when you post a podcast link, it shows up like a normal, ugly link within the Facebook caption.

Yuck.

What most podcasters end up doing when promoting their episodes is they put the ugly link in their caption. Or they have to direct people to listen on iTunes or GooglePlay. Then they upload a separate photo to attract attention.

There are two things that make this difficult for an audience. 

1. This adds an additional step for potential listeners.

They have to either scroll through your caption to click the link, or they have to leave Facebook and find the podcast in iTunes or GooglePlay. You lose potential listeners in that process.

2. People love clicking photos.

People are far more inclined to click the picture than they are to click the link within the caption.

Believe me. 

When I was online news director at a Christian magazine, I actually tested this. Facebook was malfunctioning one day and not loading the clickable pictures for articles. So I put the link in the caption and uploaded the photo separately for our articles that day.

Traffic suffered. Badly.

My scrappy substitution posts were better than not posting at all. But the dip in traffic until Facebook fixed the bug in its system was pretty noticeable.

A Business Blog Makes It Much Easier for Your Audience to Take Action

Every content creator knows that they should end their message with a call to action (CTA). Something that tells the listener/viewer/reader what to do next.

With podcasts, or even sometimes videos, you have to explain to the viewer/listener what to do and where to go. For example, on a podcast, the host may say: “Hey, please rate and review my podcast! Go to iTunes or GooglePlay and click the ‘Review’ button.”

Again, the host is asking the listener to do an extra step. Far fewer will actually follow through and go the extra mile to rate and review the podcast.

With a blog, though, you can provide a clickable link that directly sends your readers where you want them to go. Hyperlinking those CTAs makes the process so much simpler.

For example, if I tell you, “Hey, go to Facebook and like and follow my page! My handle is @JennyRoseSpaudo,” you are far less likely to actually do what I’m asking.

But if I say, “Hey, would you take just 2 seconds to go like and follow my Facebook page?” All you have to do is click twice to follow through with what I’m asking. So much simpler.

I’m Not a Podcast Hater, I Promise

My goal with this article is in no way to hate on podcasts. Podcasting can be a great way to organically grow your business, and if you have the time and resources to do it, I highly recommend it!

But during this pandemic, when time and money are in short supply, blogging is certainly the ideal way to go for many small-business owners. 

You have a lot of things to do for your business—like make money and serve people. So for those who are just starting out or are trying to tighten their money belts, all I have to say to you is: start blogging.

Do you want to start a blog to promote your business? Grab my free roadmap to receive the clarity you need to get started the right way. Just sign up below to get started!

And, P.S., if you’re already blogging and want to make sure your blog is optimized for your business, this roadmap will still be super helpful for you.