5 Common Myths About Blogs For Your Business
Did you know that blogs have been around since 1994?!
They’ve been a thing since the Internet made its debut, but it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that people really started using them.
Mommy blogging kicked off the influencer style blogs that you’re familiar with today and businesses slowly started to adopt blogs into their marketing strategy when Google updated the way it ranked sites in search in 2011.
(If you’re curious to know the entire evolution of blogs from start to now, click here!)
As social media entered the scene and continues to grow with the popularity of various platforms today, the focus from website content to social content has shifted dramatically.
Many brands and businesses use social media as their primary source for marketing, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that blogs are dead!
They’re still alive and well and believing that they’re no longer relevant is just one common myth about blogs that I’m here to bust.
If you’ve been turning your head away from blogs for your brand or business, it may be because you’re believing one or more of these 5 common myths and my hope is that you see how these simply aren’t true and how blogs can actually be extremely effective for almost all brands or businesses!
Not only do blogs serve as a great source of information and education for your audience, but they also allow you to grow your thought leadership, be seen as an expert in your industry AND be a trusted go-to source in your community.
5 Common Myths About Blogs For Your Business
Myth #1: Blogs are just for lifestyle or fashion influencers and mommy bloggers.
Since the start of blogs, influencer style accounts have traditionally used blogs to feature product round ups, styling guides, lifestyle essentials and more.
I’m sure you’re no stranger to these types of blogs - you know the ones where you can find the latest Amazon dupe, link to an Abercrombie sale or find your next travel outfit inspiration.
Influencers and lifestyle bloggers like this often design their entire website to be a blog and have different categories for their content.
It's for this reason that when many people hear the word “blog” they automatically think “influencer” or “blogger.”
But the truth is that ANYONE – meaning any brand, business, company or entrepreneur – can have a blog for their business.
Your website can be designed to have a “blog” tab to deliver long-form content for your audience and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
While it’s true that influencers do occupy a large portion of the blog space on the Internet, they aren't the only group of people that can benefit from having blogs on their website.
If anything, influencers and lifestyle bloggers are proof that blogs WORK and if you’re selling or promoting a product or service, you should consider using blogs as a way of marketing.
When you consistently create blogs for your business, you are essentially creating a content bank that you can refer to for years to come.
And the best part is that you OWN the content which means, unlike social media, you are in full control of what happens to that content in the future!
Myth #2: Blogs are dead and no one reads them.
This is probably the most common myth about blogs that I hear…
People tend to think that blogs are a thing of the past and instead of intentionally creating blog content for their audience, they put the majority of their focus on social media efforts.
While I’m all for having a social media presence, what I want you to understand is that blogs are TIMELESS – meaning they aren’t going anywhere and I’m not sure I can say the same about Instagram.
It’s been said that 71% of B2B buyers consume blog content during their buyer journey which tells me that blogs are in fact NOT dead and people DO still read them!
Here’s why: blogs have the ability to educate, inform and provide value on a deep level that social media posts simply can’t do.
That’s the beauty of long-form content – it’s the real meat and potatoes of your content that gives your audience the MOST value.
So, while your 10 second Instagram reel might catch their eye, if your audience wants more, they need somewhere else to go and your blog can be the place they land.
Myth #3: Blogs are only useful for SEO purposes.
If I’m being honest, this myth is the one that gets me fired up the most. 🔥
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I hear and see people *only* utilizing blog content in their business for SEO purposes.
If you’re unfamiliar, SEO stands for search engine optimization and it’s the process of optimizing your website so that you’re easily found and populate higher in Google search.
While it’s true that quality blogs on your website DO optimize your SEO, this isn’t the only reason you should implement blogs in your business.
When you make blogs a core part of your content marketing strategy that are designed to truly serve your audience and help them solve problems, you naturally become a thought leader and authority in your industry that people trust and WANT to learn and hear from.
When you approach blogs in this way, SEO becomes a cherry on top – but it’s not WHY you do it.
When you’re only blogging for SEO purposes, it’s easy to lose sight of what the content is actually for. Instead of creating with a human in mind, you start creating for a search engine and obsess over keywords and titles that will rank.
The way I approach blog content for myself and for my clients is with a human first mentality.
What questions are they asking? What are they struggling with? What problems do they need solved? What are their struggles and pain points? How can I make something easier for them?
Asking yourself these questions allows you to create blog content that is QUALITY and it’s this type of content that will actually serve you even more!
(For more on my blog philosophy, click here!)
Myth #4: Blogs will automatically generate more traffic to your website.
This one goes hand in hand with only blogging for SEO purposes.
If you’re only implementing blogs in your business with the hope of automatically generating more traffic to your website, there’s a chance you’ll be let down real quick.
While it’s true that having a blog DOES increase your chance of ranking higher in search by 434%, this doesn’t just happen overnight.
Blogs aren’t the magic wand that you can wave and suddenly populate on the first page of Google. They ARE a tool that can help get you there when you approach them correctly over time.
Blogs are a long game approach and when you commit to the consistency, you will slowly start to experience results that are hard to achieve elsewhere.
Just like a few of my clients have recently experienced:
Those results didn’t just happen from them “posting and praying” that just because they're posting blogs that their website traffic will skyrocket.
Both of these clients understand that there's much more to it than simply pressing "publish."
If you truly want to generate traffic to your website through blogs, it’s up to YOU as a brand or business owner to make sure you are properly promoting them to your audience.
Myth #5: Blogs don’t impact leads or sales.
Did you know that 60% of people purchase a product after reading a blog post about it?!
SIXTY. PERCENT.
AND content marketing alone produces 3X more leads than paid search.
That’s pretty wild if you ask me!
While blogs are designed to be a value add for your audience, there is a way you can persuade AND educate at the same time.
If you write your blogs with the intention to answer questions, solve problems and make your readers life easier, there’s a good chance they’ll be more inclined to move into the next action that you propose to them – which could be a sale.
Every blog post that you publish probably won’t equal a sale, but each post could very well be the thing that your audience needs to grow their trust to purchase from you in the future.
Blogs are a long term play and when you approach them with intentionality and the heart to truly serve, THAT is when you win. 🏆
(P.S. Here are 5 ways that blogs CAN boost your sales.)
And that’s that! 5 of the most common myths that I see and hear about blogs for business.
Ready To Start Blog Content For Your Business?
Aka are you ready to:
✔️ work smarter not harder
✔️ be consistent AND
✔️ create amazing content for social media
WITHOUT reinventing the wheel?
I have a feeling you just said, “HECK YES!” and if so, you’re in the right place.
If you’re brand new to blogging for your business and are looking for a step by step process to get started with ease, The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging For Your Business was created with you in mind!
When you download your guide, you'll receive:
✔️ 4 step blog content planning process
✔️ quarterly blog content calendar template
✔️ guidance on how to write & structure your blog posts
✔️ blog post outline template
✔️ 20 blog title formulas
✔️ 8 ways to repurpose your blogs on social media
CLICK HERE to grab your [free] comprehensive workbook to start blogging in your business with ease and confidence 🎉
If you’re in search of more hands-on support, there’s a few ways that we can work together, depending on where you’re currently at:
📝 The Manuscript – a custom blog strategy service designed for business owners who want to start blogging OR finally make it consistent
Includes:
Kickoff call to discuss your blog goals, ideal audience, & desired publishing schedule for the long term
Custom blog strategy creation WITH defined blog content pillars, a quarter’s worth (up to 12) blog topics tailored to your goals and audience, PLUS ideas for how to repurpose your blogs on other platforms
Strategy delivered via Loom
30 days of Slack support so you feel confident putting your strategy into action WITH the option to submit one piece of writing for review per week
✍🏼 Press Week — a blogging sprint that acts as your fast-track to a ready-to-launch blog, giving your website readers irresistible content to bine on day one.
Here’s how it works:
Monday – We’ll kick things off with a strategy call to talk strategy and map out topics.
Tuesday & Wednesday – I’ll dive into writing while you focus on running your business.
Thursday – Your six blog posts arrive in a Google Doc, ready for your review.
Friday – I’ll make any final edits and tweaks based on your feedback, so you can press publish as soon as you’re ready!
🗞️ Hot Off The Press — A-la-carte Blogs for business owners who need high-quality blog content on a flexible, as-needed basis
Whether you want a Natty Writes trial run before committing to ongoing blogging, need a few extra posts to support a launch, or just want some fresh content without a long-term commitment, this service delivers polished, strategic blog posts right when you need them.
You bring the topics and ideas, and I'll bring them to life with content that’s hot off the press and ready to publish!
New to my world? Nice to virtually meet ya. 👋 I’m Natalie, but everyone calls me Natty (you can too) – blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers.
If you like what you read and want more, there’s a few ways we can stay connected:
Binge the blog for a mix of blog and email writing tips, how-to’s for blogging in your business, tangible resources, and of course a little bit of BTS of a blog writer’s life along the way.
Browse the tools, recs, and resources that I personally (and professionally) couldn’t live without.
Join the Writer’s Room Waitlist to be the next to know when the BEST (yes, I’m biased) done-with-you writing membership is back open for enrollment.
If you’re in need of some blog content in your business, or are simply curious about what that would look like, check my services here.
And if you just wanna say heyyyy, follow me on the ‘gram and send me a DM!