Do You Need a Blog to Promote Your Business Online?

Everyone talks about it….but as a home business owner, do you REALLY need a blog to promote your business online?

Blogging is one way to establish your presence on the Internet and show the world who you are and what you do. Google and other search engines love frequently updated content, which is what a well-managed home business blog will consistently provide.

The question is, though, do you HAVE to have a blog to be successful online with your home based business?

Here are the facts:

• you can promote your business online just using social media and sending people to a company replicated sales page

• you can do the same with a small 3-4 page traditional website that has a little information about your offer and an opt-in

So knowing this, why would you need to start a blog? Blogs take more work than traditional websites.

• a blog needs fresh content every week (3-4 new posts if possible)

• a blog need a little maintenance, attention to updates, etc.

• all in all, traditional websites are easier – just publish and forget for the most part

Let’s look at three different ways you can promote your business online, as well as establish trust and credibility for your personal brand.

Using a Company Replicated Site

This is the simplest option – everything is done for you, it is usually a professionally designed presentation designed to sell, and often includes some form of opt-in to help capture leads who want more information.

The downside is that the company owns this site. Even if it is customizable, it is basically the same website everyone else has. What sets you apart? If you depend on it as your “home base” online, what do you have if you choose to move on to a different opportunity sometime in the future?

Using a Static Website

For having your own personalized site that is truly yours, this is the simplest and most low-maintenance option. It can be small, 3-4 pages, with content designed to entice prospects to opt-in for more details. A “static website” is just a traditional site with content that rarely changes. This is in contrast to blogs, which ideally have fresh content posted weekly.

The downside – maintaining a traditional website requires hiring someone, or learning how to use Dreamweaver or one of the free publishing programs like KompoZer, along some knowledge of HTML.

Setting Up a WordPress Blog

To promote your business online, I’m talking about a blog on your own domain, not the free type like they offer at wordpress.com. The software to run your own self-hosted blog is found at wordpress.org.

Disadvantages of a blog include higher maintenance than other options, but look at the advantages!

• you own it and nobody can take it away from you or tell you what you can and cannot do with it

• it is user friendly with a simple interface for publishing content

• you can get just the right look with one of thousands of available themes (I recommend premium themes that you pay for over the free ones)

• they are search engine friendly and with the right plugins you can easily rank in search engines for your content

• free WordPress plugins make it really simple to promote through social media, and do just about anything else you want, easily

Bottom line – use a WordPress blog as your home base and online marketing hub. Use social media and advertising to drive traffic to it. Promote your business online by having an opt-in form in place to build your list and create a community of fans and followers who can be your future customers and business associates!

Check out “The Eldon Beard Show” on the Home Business Radio Network – this week on one of my shows, I will be going into greater detail about whether a blog is really your best option to promote your home based business online.

Did you get some value from this post? If you did, I would really appreciate you sharing it with others! And, your comments are welcome below!

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