When you run a small business, the last thing you need is to have another item added to your marketing to-do list.
It’s no surprise then that when the topic of starting a blog comes up, you’re not exactly jumping at the chance to get started.
But what if starting a blog for your business didn’t need to add to your marketing burden? What if instead, it helped alleviate some of your most pressing marketing challenges and allowed you get more from the work you were already doing?
Take your email newsletter for example.
Chances are you’re already hard at work, planning and writing content for this month’s scheduled mailing. You’re thinking of content ideas, going through a few different drafts, and eventually you’ll have everything ready to go — just in time to start planning for what’s coming next.
But let’s say instead of just plugging that content into your email newsletter, you published it on your blog first. Better yet, instead of trying to pack every article in its entirety into your newsletter, you use your blog to trim down the amount of text within your email newsletter and link to your blog to read more.
Right away you can identify a few important benefits.
The design of your email becomes a lot simpler.
This means an easier creation process for you, but also a more enjoyable experience for your readers — especially those email contacts that are checking email on their smartphone or tablet.
There are also benefits that you might not think of right away.
One of the biggest benefits comes from how you measure the effectiveness of each piece of content. By providing a link to an individual blog post, rather than packing the entire article into your email newsletter, you’ll have more insight into which content generates the most attention. All you’ll need to do is look at your click reports.
If you’re a Constant Contact customer, you can see who is clicking each link so you learn more about what your audience finds most interesting.
This provides a new level of insight that isn’t available with open rates alone.
You’ll also have the added benefit of having engagement and feedback features that come with using a blogging platform.
Readers will be able to share links to individual blog posts on their own social networks, or post responses to your content in the comment section of each post.
This is a great chance to answer questions and build stronger relationships with the people reading your content.
And finally there are the benefits that last long after your email newsletter has been sent.
By publishing content on a blog, you’ll immediately extend the lifespan of the content you create.
Because you’re not only publishing content, but also driving people to it with your email newsletter, you’re content should start to generate traffic quickly. This will catch the attention of search engines like Google or Bing.
Content that is available on a public page, that gets viewed, consumed, and shared on a regular basis is the exact content these search engines want to provide to the people searching for answers online.
By posting the content that you’re writing for your email newsletter on a blog, you’ll open your content up to the public and give your business more opportunities than ever to be discovered online.
So, to recap, publishing content on a blog:
- Allows you to slim down the amount of text in your email newsletter resulting in a better experience for you and your readers.
- Gives you a better sense of who is reading your content and what they’re most interested in by looking at your click reports.
- Gives you more opportunities for engagement outside of the inbox thanks to the social visibility your posts can receive.
- Boosts your ranking on search engines like Google and Bing.
Are there any cons to consider?
One of the things you won’t want to overlook is the impact on the exclusivity of your newsletter.
If people can get the content you’re sending on your blog, why would they need to sign up for an email newsletter?
This is why it’s important to also look for opportunities to provide additional value within each email newsletter you send out. In some cases, the value comes from the convenience of you pulling together the content and delivering it to your subscriber’s inbox.
You may also want to test exclusive promotions, like early access to an upcoming event or a downloadable guide that’s just for email subscribers.
The additional value doesn’t need to be groundbreaking but should reaffirm the benefits of being on your email list. See industry-specific email newsletter templates and get tips on creating valuable email content here.
Let’s get started!
Adding a blog to your marketing strategy doesn’t need to happen overnight. If you’ve been sending a regularly scheduled newsletter, you’ve already taken some important steps to building customer relationships. Now it’s time to get more from all that hard work!
Need help getting started? Download our free guide, A Beginner’s Guide to Small Business Blogging.
Have other questions we can help you with? Post them in the comments below.
