Here is a fact – my clients that blog is seeing an increase in sales as a direct result of their blog. Well, truth be told, there are a few exceptions and that is only because they have a blog with posts that are 9 months old. I am going to send them this post in hopes it will inspire them to blog.

I can list 20 reasons why you should blog for your small business; however, because you are a busy entrepreneur I am going to list my top three reasons:

1. You Get Buyers Through Search Engines

Blog posts are found by search engines and appearing in search engines is a must. 70-80% of buyers begin their purchasing decision with search engines.  Goodbye Yellow Pages!  The new Google search logic places a greater emphasis on recent content.   By their very nature blog posts provide your website with new content on a regular basis. You don’t need to spend time thinking of changes to your About page just to keep your site’s content updated. You can simply blog.  Blogging is the best way to show up on search engines for your targeted keywords.

2. You Connect with Your Prospects

When you blog your prospects get a sense of who you are and your philosophy. They feel connected to you and your blog becomes part of closing the sale in a wonderful way. It is really awesome when I have a regular blog reader call me and I don’t need to explain what I do because they already know thanks to my blog.

I’ll give you an example. I am hiring a gardener and want someone with a specific approach to gardening. After doing a few Google searches, I found a few candidates. I decided to call the fellow that blogged about his love for organic gardening and posted awesome pictures of his work with each blog posts. When I called I felt as if I knew and trusted him. The sales dance was quick – no time wasted on the what and how. We were able to get to the close very quickly; “Can you fit me into your schedule and how much do you charge?”

3. You Are the Expert

A blog enables you to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. This is so important in today’s interactive world. Do you want your customers to have confidence that you are knowledgeable? Blog about it. Write informative, relevant information your prospects are eager to understand. You can become their go-to person for a specific topic. When the needs arise they will call you. Share your blog posts on Social Media networks to expand your territory.

If you blog consistently, write about the things that matter to your customers, and communicate with authority, you are increasing your visibility and thus increasing sales.

P.S. You don’t need to be a great writer to blog. Be yourself.