Welcome back, I expect you have been very busy putting your content creation knowledge to the test! I am delighted to see your return! As promised, this week I will be look at how blogging is the art of telling a story for your business. So what is blogging? Blogging is a term that means ‘to write’ it can include photography too depending on the subject. Typically a blog is hosted on a website by the writer. Blogs are updated regularly, they are created in a casual tone and gives the writer the chance to speak directly to their audience in a friendly manor. 

Bloggers write about a subject specific to themselves, for me I blog about marketing. No matter what your hobby or interests are, you can write about that!

So lets look at some of the pros and cons of blogging:

• Low cost – It is certainly a very affordable way to get your message out, without spending lots of advertising. Typically a blog is hosted on a personal website and it is only the writers time that comes at a cost.
• Positioning Yourself – What you write about something, your readers will see you as the expert. With this you command a following and are seen in a higher position due to the information you hold.
• Adaptability – Blogs are featured on a website, the entire thing can be updated or amended at the click of a button. If the same info went in print, there would never be an opportunity to edit what has been written. 
• Profitable – Should you choose to profit from your blog, there is always opportunity to do so. You can advertise products, affiliate yourself with a product or promote and sell your own products via your blog. It is the perfect way to bring in some extra cash. On that, I have been meaning to say that I offer social media management, should you need a bit of help.
• Relationship Building – You can create a stronger bond with your followers when they begin to see your knowledge flourishing and start to see your personality through your writing style.
• New customers – Through blogging on a particular subject, you can always drive more traffic to your website and in turn create more customers.
  
  Unfortunately there are downsides to blogging too, so you need to consider these carefully before you jump in.
• Time consuming – It takes a long time to gain traction whilst building your blog and for many it takes years of blogging before it becomes popular. Which is always tough when writing your blog takes a number of hours every time you sit down to write. You always need to set aside a quiet time in your diary so it does not fall by the wayside. 
• It is difficult – Many people do not enjoy blogging, nor are they big readers. As a dyslexic myself I find the art of writing does not come naturally. So whilst blogging is very important, it is always worth asking yourself, will I enjoy this? If not then perhaps it is worth getting your colleague to take the lead on blogging. 
• Technology – As we all know, technology is not easy. The slightest impact from a website going down to a laptop breaking can set us back on our schedule for blogging. So being organised and making sure everything is up to date will set you up for success.
• Slow generation of income – As mentioned, gaining traction from blogging is slow. So if you are expecting to turn a quick buck, this is not the place to start. But it is an effective way to increase sales, so make sure it is included in your marketing strategy.

One of the most important elements considering blogging is the art of telling a story, is that it drives is footfall to your site. This is done via SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). What is SEO I hear you say? SEO is when a person designs elements of their website so that ir ranks higher on search engines results page so that you drive more traffic to your website. The aim is to sit on the first page of your chosen search engine (typically google) and it means you will get the most of your target audience. 

Keywords are the trick to this, planting certain words throughout your website in a strategic way will give the search engine more opportunity to find your site. It is a balancing act with keywords, going to general and you will get lost in the noise, so specifics are great. For Instance say you run a top end restaurant in your area, things people might search for when looking for top end restaurants in a particular area could include:

• Fine dining Newcastle
• Fancy restaurant new me
• Posh restaurant on Newcastle Quayside

So including these above words in your text may be a great way to begin to drive business. There are ways of enhancing your keywords where as you can pay the search engine to pick these up from your website, however I will be delving into that in more detail in my SEO blog.

My suggestion to you now, would be to go and choose your favourite subject remembering blogging is the art of telling a story. Write about this for 20 minutes and see where it gets you too. Writing about what we love helps us understand our own knowledge of the chosen subject. But it also helps us understand if writing is really for us.

Thanks for staying with me throughout this journey. Next week I will be taking you through the importance of social media in the marketing world. See you then!