Bridget Willard

Do You Still Need to Blog in 2024? Yes, Yes You Do.

Instead of asking if you still need to blog in 2024, ask yourself if you still need customers in 2024 or if you still need sales.

Here’s the short answer: yes.

Yes, you still need a blog in 2024.

Yes, even though people are using AI to write (the school calls it plagiarism), you still need to write and publish on your blog in 2024.

Why?

Let me count the ways.

Oh and before this becomes way too hard to read, let’s agree that “blog” can be a verb meaning publish your writing. Blog is also the noun referring to the archive of articles you publish on your website.

And I may just say “write” instead of blog. I would presume you’re also publishing these articles on your website (aka blog). Sound good? Let’s go.

  1. You write to establish yourself as an authority.
  2. You write so people can validate you as a business/service.
  3. You write to stay top of mind.
  4. You write to educate your customer base.
  5. You write to provide helpful tips for your existing customer base.
  6. You write because your competition isn’t writing.
  7. You write so you can be found on a search.
  8. You write to rank on Google.

As another caveat, let me ask you a few more questions.

  1. Do you print materials like brochures to give out?
  2. Do you hand out business cards?
  3. Do you have radio commercials or TV spots?
  4. Do you have billboard or print ads?

If the answer to any of these is “yes,” then your website better deliver. (We’ll come back to “validate your business” in that section.

Table of Contents hide
1 You write to establish yourself as an authority.
2 You write so people can validate you as a business/service.
3 You write to stay top of mind.
4 You write to educate your customer base.
5 You write to provide helpful tips for your existing customer base.
6 You write because your competition isn’t writing.
7 You write so you can be found on a search.
8 You write to rank on Google. (This is the worst reason to blog.)
9 Are you going to start writing now?
10 More Resources

You write to establish yourself as an authority.

Regardless of the nature of your business, you need to establish yourself as the authority. Are you a dry cleaner? Your website should help a consumer trust your business with their $500 suit. Are you a website designer? Your website should help a client choose you for their $2,500 website build. 

You’ve read it so many times you can probably guess that I’m about to say that people do business with people they…? Know. Like. Trust.

In a digital world where consumers are researching solutions to their problems way before you invented your plant trap (I so want one, thanks Instagram), you have to be trusted. Who do we trust? Subject matter experts.

No seriously, look at the Instagram account for Plant Traps by RailScapes. It’s pretty great and they have a blog. Or Sam & Louie’s Pizza in Corpus Christi. It’s real. Authentic. Pam Chavez cared enough to go to school and learn the trade. Her story is why my BFF and I eat there. Now, is she blogging? No. But she is creating content which is a start. (Always back up your video content with blog posts on your own site. You don’t want your IG account to get hacked and then you lose everything. But that really is another blog post.)

You write so people can validate you as a business/service.

Remember earlier when I asked if you hand out printed materials and or business cards? So people know your website because they met you at a mixer, say. They don’t need window blinds right now but they keep your card. You’re a nice enough fellow so when they decide they want shutters — who do they look up first? You. 

Your website has to back you up. In fact, your website is the best salesperson you’ll ever have. That is, if you maximize it. And you maximize it with your blog posts. Why? Websites don’t work 9-5. They don’t take vacations. Websites don’t call out sick (when you’re on a good host.) People can read and process the information on your website at their own pace. They can watch the videos. 

You write to stay top of mind.

As you think about all of the connections you’ve made over the years, how many people can you think of that you know are roofers? Go ahead. I’ll wait. How about a lawyer? I don’t mean Greg Hermann or Thomas J Henry. I mean a business lawyer. Oh yeah, there was that one guy who talked about LLCs back in 2021. But do you remember his name? Nope. Nada. Why? Because the interaction is gone.

Now, people tend to not subscribe to blogs anymore (the best practice is email marketing campaigns with Mailchimp, for example). 

People always ask me what they should post on social media. Blog posts. You should post links to your blog on your Facebook Page, on LinkedIn, and on X. You can even make a video out of your blog post with a service called Lumen5. I do it all of the time. 

You write to educate your customer base.

Educating your customer base is one of the most important reasons to have a blog. You want to clear up industry misconceptions, manage expectations, and have the customer closer to a yes by the time they call you. 

Educating your customers means you’re using the same vocabulary which makes communication clear. How many times can you think of when you thought you bought something but was delivered something else? Too many.

“I didn’t know I needed that!”

In roofing, for example, you never know if the plywood sheets need to be replaced until — guess what? — the roof is removed. So that conversation is had during the bidding process. Any reputable company will give you the per sheet price in that bid, if it needs to change.

This can also happen with a website build. “I just want a button.” Well, what does the button do? And are those services connected? And did you pay for the software? Getting on the same page is so much easier if you have articles and helpful FAQs on your website.

You write to provide helpful tips for your existing customer base.

If people are already customers, maybe they need help using your product. This is where Plant Traps does well on their blog. They’re doing presales work and giving ideas for current customers. If you’re providing an accounting service, publish articles so that your clients are ready for tax time. My CPA DiMercuiro Advisors does a great job with this (though I wouldn’t call it a “Learning Center”).

Green Cremation does this very well with aquamation here in Texas. They write articles about obesity and the cremation process, the process of water cremation, as well as a complete guide to natural burial. Things you might not know about until you need to know. And none of us want to talk about death – again, another blog post. 

You write because your competition isn’t writing.

Everyone wants to compete with their competition. Wait. That sounded weird. Every business owner thinks other businesses are competitors. And, they very may well be. But the truth of it is that consumers make choices based on variations we can’t always account for. Maybe your business is chosen because customer A only wants to support women in business. 

With that said, having an active blog on your website is a great way to stand out from the competition. To me, an active blog tells me that you’re in business. You’re not going anywhere. I won’t have to change service providers, find a new dentist, etc.

(But you haven’t published in forever, Bridget. I know. I was in a car accident in December and had 8 herniated discs. That was a lot of pain and quite a bit of treatment. I’m finally feeling like myself. Thus, today’s blog post. And two more drafts in my head.)

You write so you can be found on a search.

Where was the last time you searched for a product or service? Was it Google? Bing? Siri? Alexa? Yelp? Reddit? Pinterest? Facebook? Maps?

The truth is, our search intent has a lot to do with where we’re searching. For example, if we’re going out to eat and the restaurant is closed, we may open up Google Maps (my BFF is definitely opening up Yelp) to find a place nearby that is open now. If I’m watching a movie and just want to see where else I saw Chris Evans, I may just ask Siri.

Of course, you want to be found. But you may also be found on a search in X, a hashtag on Instagram, a job title on LinkedIn, or even on Facebook. 

Search doesn’t always equal Google.

You write to rank on Google. (This is the worst reason to blog.)

A lot of people believe that ranking on Google is the primary reason to blog. It’s not. Google’s search has been idiosyncratic for about a decade. Your search history frames the results that Google will show you. SEOs call this SERPs: Search Engine Results Page. Unless you’re in a private browser, your results will be different from Jack in Miami. 

Everyone forgets about Local SEO. Meaning, most of us search for things around us: dry cleaners, roofers, dentists, restaurants, movie theaters, bars, etc. And most of the time, we’re making a purchasing decision with that intent. 

Everything that you do in all of the reasons above has a cumulative effect on whether or not your website shows up on a search result for a user. 

Are you going to start writing now?

I hope the answer is a resounding yes. Send me your blog link. I’m happy to make suggestions. But the main thing is that you now understand that blogging isn’t a frivolous activity. Blogging is vital to the long-term success of your business. 

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Bridget Willard