“Is a writing blog still important?”
I receive a version of this question frequently. It might be phrased as: “(Someone or other) said that blogs don’t work.” Or “How can my blog help me to: get more clients/ sell more books/ build my platform…?”
Blogging has changed enormously since I started my first blogs in the late 1990s, but the questions remain the same. 🙂
Back in the day, I resisted starting a blog, even though my intuition kept pushing me to do it. Finally I ignored the outraged squawks: “you’re writing for free!” and started a blog.
So, I encourage you to follow your intuition: do what feels right for you.
If you’re a new writer who’s looking for clients, think of your blog as a writing sample.
Your writing blog is a sample of what you do
A tsunami of content flows onto the web every day. Some 70 million blog posts are published to WordPress blogs in a month; WordPress blogs make up some 35% of the web. (Lots of companies use WordPress, because it’s basically just a database script which can create many different kinds of websites.)
That’s a lot of content.
Then there’s you.
Let’s say you publish a couple of blog posts a month. The chance that your blog will make your fortune is somewhere between zero and none at all.
However… Consider this example scenario:
- You live in Some City, Some State, Some Country on the planet;
- You’re a writer;
- You want to get hired to write by health services companies.
If someone were to type “Some City health services writer” into a search engine, what would they find? Would your name be there?
Yes, I’m talking about SEO.
Search engine optimization (SEO) and your blog
Google and the other search engines are indexing scripts. They geo-target, and they’re getting better every year at delivering what searchers want.
When I mention SEO, I’m not talking about SEO spam like “Get on the front page of Google!” although that does work, in a way.
For example, let’s say you’re a health services writer, and you create a blog page titled “health services writer” plus “Some City, Some State”. Once your page is indexed by the search engines, people looking for your services will find you… And because they’re looking for someone like you, chances are good that they’ll hire you.
True, that might be a grand total of four people a year in your city, but your blog is nevertheless valuable, because your blog sells you. It gets you known.
Your blog is your 24x7x365 sales person
You’re a freelance writer or indie publisher. Sadly, you’re forgettable.
However, when you have a blog, your clients and readers can find you again, long after you’ve completed a project, or a reader has read your novel.
Web search is just one way for people to find you via your blog. There are many more, including social media, direct advertising, email and phone marketing…
Consider also:
- Your blog grows, as long as you keep blogging. Every page and blog post on your blog is a new gateway to you and your services, as long as your blog is online.
- When you market your “health services writer” business, your blog demonstrates your credentials and credibility.
“Is a writing blog still important?”
Only you can answer that question, but if you want to market your writing, your blog will help.
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Updated: May 11, 2021
Copywriter and marketing pro Angela Booth maintains a busy copywriting and ghostwriting practice. Fascinated by online marketing, she wrote one of the first business books for internet marketing, published by Allen & Unwin. She’s been an enthusiastic blogger since the late 1990s.
