Often times, clients will ask me..
“Do I need a personal blog to generate leads for my direct sales business?”
Before you answer that question, let’s define a “blog” so we’re both on the same page.
A blog can be a website, or part of a website that displays articles. You can write these articles (blog posts) yourself, or you can hire someone to write them for you. Blog posts are usually displayed in the order in which they were written.
Now that we have defined “blog”, let’s ask the question again.. do you need a personal blog to generate leads for your business?
In my opinion, No.
A blog won’t generate immediate web traffic, or sales for you. A blog will take precious time away from lead generation activities like placing advertisements online and offline. And it will take time away from following-up with the leads you already have.
But..
A personal blog is a nice thing to have for your direct sales business IF you have time and effort to put towards one.
There are some real benefits of having a personal blog for your business that include:
Become an Authority
Blog articles can showcase you as an authority on your subject and business. By continuously showing up with timely articles about trends, techniques, and news about your business and industry, you appear to prospects as a leader in your niche. Prospects will see you as a reliable source of information; then come to you when they’re ready to start a direct sales business of their own.
Getting to Know You
Direct sales is much about relationships. People buy from those that they know, like and trust. A blog is a great way for people to get to know, like and trust you even though you may never have met them or spoken to them. I can’t tell you how many times in a day I receive phone calls from people that have visited our site over and over.. and now they’re ready to place their first order.
Share Your Experiences
You’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Make your prospect’s lives easier by sharing your insights with them. Let them experience your experiences through your eyes. They’ll see you as a person that can help them achieve more. Then they’ll want to do business with you.
SEO Benefits
Search engines love blog content that is updated frequently. Use your blog posts to add keywords that your prospects will be searching for. But don’t overdo it. Search engines hate sites that “keyword stuff“.
Learn About Your Prospects
A blog creates a two-way conversation with customers, prospects and industry peers. A blog encourages interaction, comments and feedback. Blog analytics can also help you to track readers, click-throughs, popular topics, shares and comments. You can even tell what days of the week your visitors prefer to stop by and read your blog.
In summary, a personal blog won’t generate any immediate web traffic, sales or leads for your direct sales business. However, as time and effort permit, you should consider creating and maintaining a personal blog for your business. It’s a great way for prospects to get to know you before they decide to join your business.
Thanks for reading.
To your success,
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