Did you know that women make up just over 50% of bloggers (depending on which list you look at!). Are you one of them? If not, why not? Many women in business view blogs as too hard and too much work. But if you haven’t investigated the positives of blogs for your business, you could be missing out on an avenue to easily and affordably interact with your customers.

 Here are some advantages:

• Blogs can create ‘evangelists’: blogs humanise your business and give customers a reason to follow you and tell others about you.
• Blogs facilitate ‘buzz’: informative and thought-provoking posts tend to be shared and spread, thereby creating communication with customers and potential customers you otherwise would never have.
• Blogs can showcase your industry knowledge: helpful tips, personal perspectives on a topic that you are passionate about, sharing new innovations, and so on, can establish you as a leader in your industry.

Blogs should not be an exercise in marketing or branding. No-one is going to visit your blog (or subscribe to it) if you simply promote yourself and try to ‘sell’ your latest product or service. You need to post a variety of content: humour, customer stories, latest research and so on.

So should you write your blog posts yourself? There are those who say emphatically YES, to ensure that it’s your ‘voice’ coming through clearly. But there are some great copywriters who, once you establish rapport, will have the ability to capture what you’re trying to achieve.

Best of all, blogs are generally free. You can set up a blog via Wordpress or Blogger in a few minutes and be posting your first article today!

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender