Creative Business Owner? Big Reasons To Keep Blogging in 2024
When you are running a creative business, it can feel like keeping a blog going is yet another thing to do. You might feel ‘what’s the point’ and that it almost feels somewhat ‘old hat’ in a fast-moving, noisy world of social media, video, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But honestly, blogging is a great way to consistently market your business, and the results can last for years! I won’t drone through loads of statistics about the business benefits of blogging – you can do a quick ‘google’ and get plenty of results shown to you. Many of those will be blog posts!
Think about it. When you search for information, how often do the results contain blog posts?
Writing consistent blog posts which help people with a specific problem or query is a brilliant way of helping very relevant people to find your website.
- And once they are on your website, they may well find your other posts interesting.
- They may want to sign up for your free offer that gets them into your email list.
- or decide to spend some money with you...
- buy some art, choose a kit, or join your courses and classes.
The search engines also love blog posts ‘cos it keeps your website up-to-date and is ‘proof of life’ that you are still running a relevant business. Google only wants to send its ‘googlers’ to the best most relevant results.
Does Anyone Actually Subscribe & Follow Specific Blogs Anymore?
Blogging style has changed, that’s true. You may still think of it as an online ‘diary’ that people followed. That still happens BUT you might want to think of each blog post as an opportunity for your art and business to get found on the internet by people who are looking for your stuff. Keep them very specific around a very specific topic, and they are likely to be found.
Answering questions is a brilliant way to think of content for your blog. One of the most common search terms is ‘how to’… How many times do you type ‘how to’ questions into google to learn something? By the way, a fabulous book by Marcus Sheridan is 'They Ask, You Answer' all about creating useful strategic content around answering questions.
An interesting point is that a blog might not be still referred to by the name blog. In the past a blog may also have been called 'news' or 'latest news'. But terms such as 'learning centre', 'knowledge centre', 'resources hub' and similar are popular to highlight the high value of educational content typical of modern blogs.
I particularly love the blogs (or learning centres) of the major online software tools. Teachable the course hosting platform have a great blog.
Impact is another great place to learn about using questions to drive your strategic blogging content.
Getting To Grips With Search Engine Optimisation
One thing you do need to get to grips with when writing blog posts is what is known as SEO Search Engine Optimisation. This is the ‘art and science’ of setting up your blog posts so that they can be found in response to a relevant search. Like many things on the internet, it can become incredibly complex. But at its heart there are a few simple principles that can be learnt and practised, and you’ll achieve increasingly better results from your blogging. Help people to find your stuff! Yoast.com is a brilliant place to learn about different aspects of content creation, blogging and SEO.
Blogs Live Forever?
When you create social media posts, they are very short lived, and it’s very rare they ever turn up in search results. A great benefit from blogging is that those blog posts will be alive for as long as you choose to keep them on your website. Over the years, my blog posts have been a key driver in being found online and for getting clients & customers. And listeners to my podcast, Stitchery Stories.
Review Old Posts & Refresh Useful Posts
I wrote my first blog post back in 2010 and it still pops up in search results! I was contacted last year from someone in USA who was enquiring about a service I stopped offering years ago. They had found an old blog post which talked about the specific thing he was looking for.
In fact, writing this has reminded me to go back and revisit those posts and make some new featured images. I don't think featured images were a thing back then, or if they were, they've stopped working and need a long overdue upgrade!
It is also a great tactic to go in and periodically review and refresh your blog posts to reflect changes in the topic. I've also even deleted piles of posts from time to time which no longer served me and that were distracting from the theme and content of my site.
Through my blog posts
- I have been invited to be a guest on other podcasts and livestreams.
- Been invited to speak at summits, and present to groups
- Invited to be a contributor in a major USA portal for financial advisors.
- I have sold online courses in a range of topics through writing blog posts.
- Provided consultancy and services, all through being discovered through my blogging efforts.
- I’ve known artists be approached for book opportunities, guest slots on podcasts and magazines, teaching opportunities and much more.
Blogging To Sell Your Stuff!
- Blogging can also be a great way to sell your stuff.
- Blog about each kit,
- Explain how to do things
- Write about the materials you sell.
- Shout about your classes.
- Celebrate your students and their achievements
- Also great for generating affiliate revenue too.
StitcheryStories.com is a great example of relevant blogging.
The whole website is a blog with very specifically optimised posts. Yes, the podcast audio is distributed through the podcasting ecosystem, but I create a blog post for each episode. This helps with discovery of my podcast and my fabulous guests.
The post brings a different aspect to the episode and provides a way to display relevant images from my guests too. All those posts (>130 episodes to date) build to create a very relevant network of linked information which signals to google that my Stitchery Stories website is very relevant for textile art and embroidery.
Each episode also provides opportunities for the guests to link to it and for others to share it too. I’ll be making a few changes, as it becomes a more important hub for my business.
Your Blog Highlights Your Unique Creative Style
In an era where AI can feel a threat, remember that you are a fabulous unique artist, and that blogging will help you show your uniqueness.
If you use Pinterest, then a powerful strategy is to create Pins that link back to your blog posts. Pinterest actively encourages you to link to content outside of its platform.
Pinterest and Blogging go hand in hand to help people find your stuff.
If you like making videos for YouTube, then you can also create a blog post for each YouTube video too. More links, more relevance, more discovery opportunities.
Hopefully this has re-ignited your curiosity around why bother to blog in 2024!
My Next Focus For Blogging in 2024!
I’m launching a new venture called StitcheryCourses which will provide a unique directory of experts who teach with fabric and thread. You can bet that blogging will be an essential aspect of that website too.
Happy Blogging in 2024!
I'm Sue Weeks - textile art dabbler, online business owner and writer of many blog posts since 2010!
Host of Stitchery Stories podcast
Founder of StitcheryCourses.com
You know I'm always cheering you on,
Sue xxx
PS. Blogging will help you attract more buyers to your classes and help them buy