A lot of clients tell me “I don’t have a business yet, so I can’t blog.”
What a lot of people don’t know is this: A blog is essential for the business that you have yet to begin. Why? Because a blog provides you with an instant platform to get your brand message across and create a following for your brand — even before you have actual products to sell.
Here are three key ways that a blog can help launch your freelance career or business (or both!)
1. You can build up your brand on your blog (which can eventually be the storefront for your business).
I’ve said it several times: My blog has been a storefront for my services as a content writer, a copywriter and blog coach. But it’s become more than that. My blog(s) (yes, plural) are what compelled me to create a lifestyle that I love, one that gives me more time with my family and for the things I love doing.
My work as a blog coach, a blog workshop trainer, a writing mentor, and a small business consultant: All of it would not have been possible if I didn’t put my heart and soul into blogging. I didn’t just blog: I built my brand from it, using the blog as a soapbox for the message I wanted to send out to the world.
- What’s your message to the world?
- What are the convictions in your heart?
- What are your beliefs about life, business, or work?
You can start writing along with your natural trains of thought, creating content that engages and inspires others. Once you gain readers (and eventually, a following), you would have built up an audience who might be interested in the products and services that you’ll eventually offer.
Related Content: The Right Way to Sell Services On Your Blog To Bring In Steady Income Each Month
2. You can build up a tribe and following on your blog (which could eventually become your preferred customer base).
Blogs are a great way to chronicle our learning experiences as budding entrepreneurs and freelancers. That’s why there are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there in the same niche (i.e., mommy bloggers) or revolving around a particular industry (e.g., work-from-home blogs, like TWAHW). Just search your niche for say “work-at-home mom blogs,” and you’ll surely find thousands of work-at-home niche blogs with articles about similar topics.
What does this mean? It means that you can potentially connect with those other bloggers and create a community within your niche. Making contact and establishing relationships through our blogs is key to building up a tribe, that is, a dedicated following for your blog. I know, because I’ve done it!
The key to building up a blog that builds a tribe is to tell your story authentically. The more personal you are, the more your audience will put their trust in you. Why? Because people love great stories. Let’s say you’re an entrepreneur: Post articles that document your lessons as a business owner. Have helpful blog series’ that will add value to your content and help your audience find answers to their own questions. The point is to nurture your tribe and followers so that you establish yourself as a dependable resource, even an expert, in your niche.
Related Content: How and Why You Should Make Freelance Friends
3. You automatically have a marketing powerhouse.
The great thing about having a blog that will eventually launch your business is this: Your blog and your tribe can eventually spread the word about you. That means you automatically have authentic brand believers marketing your products and services, just by a social share on Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks, or even through word-of-mouth recommendations. Again, this has happened for me and has been key to the growth of my business. Once you give value to your blog readers and nurture them through a community, they will eventually be your number one fans — and ultimately, your best endorsers.
Related Content: 10 Reasons Why You Should Have a Blog
Have you ever considered making a blog so that you can launch your brand or business? Why or why not?
Emily
I love this! I have recently been asked why I continue blogging if I am not earning any profit from it…It’s because I have received many opportunities that I don’t think I would have been offered if I hadn’t established myself as a blogger first. It opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities.
Holly Hanna
Emily — so many bloggers say just that. It’s not the blog directly that makes them money, but the exposure and opportunities it brings in. For myself it has become both, income and opportunities + work /life balance.
Jewel Ruiz
I was also thinking the same. I have a blog but it’s not constantly updated. I thought that having a business is important before starting a blog. I will try to do your advice and hopefully be a successful blogger someday :)
Holly Hanna
Good luck on your blogging journey!