Imagine your fashion brand just launched a new line of shoes and you want to get the word out. Do you revamp your entire website to announce the presence of these shoes? You could, but it might be time-consuming and require the work of software engineers. A more efficient option might be to announce the shoes in your own blog post, which lets you broadcast your new offering without impacting the rest of your website.
Starting a blog makes a lot of sense for a growing business. It’s a great form of organic marketing, and it’s easy to do. Here’s an overview of blogs, with tips for starting a blog of your own.
What is a blog?
A blog is a regularly updated online journal where authors share content like written posts, photos, and videos. Entries typically appear in reverse chronological order, with the latest blog posts appearing first in the feed. Abbreviated from the term “web log,” a blog provides routine updates to an online community of interested readers.
Blogs come in many forms. A personal blog can look like an online diary, where bloggers share thoughts and experiences with their audience. A business blog can promote products, inform a target audience about a company, or deliver content that optimizes search engine results and drives traffic to an ecommerce store. Some blog owners lease out space on their blogs, allowing advertisers to pay for sponsored posts promoting their brands.
Most blogs provide a lot of leeway for the people who maintain them. You can spend all day writing blog posts, or you can post only on rare occasions. This flexibility makes most blog content different from news articles, which audiences expect at regular intervals.
Blog vs. website: What’s the difference?
Both blogs and websites exist online and can be accessed via web browsers. However, the terms “blog” and “website” are not synonyms. A website is any collection of web pages published under a common URL. A blog specifically refers to an online journal, a portion of a website that contains written and visual content.
Websites can include landing pages, ecommerce stores, video libraries, photo portfolios, contact pages, and blogs. In fact, many business websites contain a blog section where the company can post updates without upending the entire website. However, those websites likely contain many other sections, too—the blog just occupies one web page out of many.
In essence, a blog always appears on a website, but not all websites have blogs.
Benefits of blogs for businesses
- Improves search engine optimization (SEO)
- Fulfills a content marketing strategy
- Establishes expertise and authority
- Promotes products and services
- Engages customers
Blogs can add a lot of value to a business website. Sometimes blogs can even be the start of a successful business. Epic Gardening started out as a blog and later branched into ecommerce. In an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, Epic Gardening founder Kevin Espiritu explains that his company’s blog origins helped center its mission when ecommerce became the company’s primary focus. “Our mission as a company is to teach the world to grow,” Kevin says. “Whether it’s an article or a blog article, podcast or YouTube video, whatever, that’s the primary goal.”
Here are five specific benefits that businesses can expect from a successful blog:
Improves search engine optimization (SEO)
Blog content can help your website rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is particularly true for blogs that cover niche subjects. Let’s say your blog’s niche is woodworking. If you write a detailed new blog post about joint fasteners, your post might show up when people type “joint fasteners” into search engines. Showing up on SERPs can drive website traffic, which in turn can lead to more sales.
Fulfills a content marketing strategy
In addition to posting on social media platforms, a well-maintained blog can be the cornerstone of a broader content marketing strategy. The shareable content you create in a blog can be repurposed for social media marketing, newsletters, and other marketing channels. These combined efforts can amplify your business’s reach and visibility.
Establishes expertise and authority
You can use your blog to share personal insights, industry knowledge, and expertise, positioning yourself as a thought leader and trusted source in your field. This helps you build credibility with customers and peers alike.
Promotes products and services
If you sell products online, blogs can help you explain their value to website visitors. You can use a blog post to highlight product benefits, use cases, and success stories. For instance, if your ceramics company rolls out a line of dishware, you could dedicate a series of new blog posts to showing the dishes in action, highlighting their dishwasher-safe construction, and sharing customer testimonials about them.
You can also promote your products even when you’re not directly writing about them. Continuing the dishware example, you could launch a series of seasonal recipes and point out that your new plates provide a great way to serve dinner.
Engages customers
Try using your blog to speak directly to your audience by addressing readers’ questions, concerns, and interests. Solicit blog post ideas from subscribers. Answer questions in the comment section. Directly quote clients when you write a blog post. This engagement fosters a sense of community and strengthens customer relationships.
14 types of blogs
Blogs take many forms and serve different purposes. Some of the most common types of blog formats include:
1. Business blogs. Focused on promoting a business, these blogs publish content that highlights industry trends, company updates, and product information.
2. Personal blogs. These are online diaries or personal web pages where individuals share thoughts, experiences, and insights about their personal lives.
3. Educational blogs. Focused on teaching, these blogs often sell online courses or offer tutorials and how-to guides on various subjects.
4. Lifestyle blogs. Many bloggers run lifestyle blogs that cover topics such as fashion, travel, and wellness, often reflecting the blogger’s personal interests and daily life.
5. Tech blogs. A tech blog covers topics related to technology, such as software reviews, tech news, and how-to guides.
6. Food blogs. A food blog focuses on sharing recipes, restaurant reviews, and cooking tips, often accompanied by high-quality images.
7. Beauty blogs. Beauty blogs typically feature content related to makeup, skin care, and hair care, often including tutorials and product reviews.
8. Fashion blogs. Dedicated to the latest trends in fashion, these blogs showcase outfit ideas, style tips, and shopping advice.
9. Travel blogs. Someone who travels extensively can create a travel blog to share experiences, tips, and photos from their journeys, inspiring readers to explore new destinations.
10. Parenting blogs. Focused on family life, these blogs offer advice, tips, and stories about raising children and managing family-related challenges.
11. Health and fitness blogs. Many blogs in the health and fitness sector focus on wellness, exercise, nutrition, and mental health, often including workout routines and healthy recipes.
12. Niche blogs. These blogs focus on a specific angle within an industry, like a design blog that focuses on eco-friendly interiors. Niche target specific—though not always small—audiences.
13. Group blogs. Managed by multiple contributors, these blogs allow multiple bloggers to share diverse content under a common theme or topic.
14. Reverse blogs. In a reverse blog, the content is primarily generated by the blog’s readers or community, with the blog owner acting as a moderator.
How to create a blog
- Choose a blogging platform and web hosting service
- Plan your content strategy
- Customize your blog to fit your brand
- Write and publish your first blog post
- Promote your blog
- Optimize your process for continued success
If you’re new to blogging—or have engaged in personal blogging but never business blogging—you may find it a bit intimidating to get started. But it’s quite easy to get a new blog off the ground. Here are six steps to follow:
1. Choose a blogging platform and web hosting service
Begin by selecting a blogging platform that suits your needs, such as WordPress, Blogger, Shopify, or another content management system (CMS). Next, pick a web hosting service that offers reliable performance and consider whether you want a free domain or a paid one. Your choice of hosting service will affect the blog’s speed, security, and overall user experience.
2. Plan your content strategy
Your content strategy will narrow the focus of your blog, giving you guardrails for what to cover and what to leave out. Research successful blogs in your subject area and write down a list of best practices. Decide whether you will be the one authoring most of the content, if you’ll hire a writer to develop blog posts, or if you’ll lean on guest blogging, which involves other bloggers contributing content in exchange for a backlink to their website.
Develop an editorial calendar around a reasonable schedule that allows you to create content consistently without becoming overwhelmed.
3. Customize your blog to fit your brand
Use your chosen blogging software and content management system to set up your blog. Choose from a variety of blog templates and customize the design to reflect your brand. Ensure your site is optimized for both desktop and mobile users.
4. Write and publish your first blog post
Your first article will introduce your blog’s purpose and tell readers what to expect. Make sure it’s well-written, engaging, and aligns with the brand voice and style you’re aiming to use across your blog. Once your first blog post goes live, publish content regularly to keep your audience engaged.
5. Promote your blog
Leverage email newsletters and social media promotion to drive traffic to your blog. Share your posts on platforms like Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram to reach a wider audience. Engaging with readers through comments and social media can help build a community around your blog. You can also cross-promote your articles with other blogs by guest blogging on each other’s platforms.
6. Optimize your process for continued success
Review your blog’s performance using tools like Google Analytics to track metrics such as page views, bounce rates, and customer engagement. Update your editorial calendar and refine your content to ensure your blog remains relevant and successful.
What is a blog FAQ
What is an example of a blog?
One example of a blog is the Partake Foods blog, which shares recipes and tips for people with food allergies.
What is the purpose of having a blog?
The purpose of having a blog is to share valuable content, ideas, and information with an audience, encourage engagement with your brand, and establish authority within a particular subject area.
How do I create a blog?
To create a blog, choose a blogging platform and web hosting service, plan your content strategy, write and publish your first post, and then continue publishing content.
