Here’s an essential lesson on why you shouldn’t stop blogging
This is my 1st blog on our website in the last 5 and 1/2 weeks and it’s the longest period in the past 6 years of Altrincham HQ where there have been no new blogs
Despite of this – this month being our best month ever in business, but traffic to the website has dropped by 42% and new business enquiries have dropped by 50% over the period I stopped blogging
WHY I STOPPED BLOGGING
This year has been our fastest period of growth since we started and the last 5 weeks we’ve spent time working in the business rather than on the business
Being busy is a good problem to have and the idea of being Succstressful ran through my thoughts a lot over the past 5 weeks.
The idea that running a successful business is stressful, but so is running a failing one was as constantly at the back of my head to see me through when I worked those 15 hour days
So ultimately the blogging stopped due to little spare time to do so and also on those rare moments where an hour presented itself – the creative juices just didn’t flow
I’ve always believed you get the best content when you let the writing flow onto the page and not force it
Overworking stopped the creative flow
WEBSITE TRAFFIC – DID IT REALLY DROP BY 42%
Blogging is the real bread and butter for business … and the stats over this 5 week period were a wake up call
Organic Search due to 260+ blogs on the website was barely affected – it shows the power of having a great archive of blogs that have worked well for us over the years in terms of organic seo
But social media traffic dropped by nearly 50% as the energy for pushing something new dropped and the craving for something new wasn’t there for our large audience
During this week period we had an archive of classic blogs to push which meant there was far from radio silence (and Social Media impressions actually increased massively as we worked on a lot of social media only posts on this time) -but the word new is massively powerful for blogging
The 2 words “New Blog” make people click and always will
AND NEW BUSINESS ENQUIRIES DECREASED MASSIVELY WHEN YOU STOPPED BLOGGING?
Blogging increases the touch points with potential new customers and over the 5 weeks we stopped blogging we lost 5 potential weekly touch points
At Altrincham HQ we’ve a strong mailing list of 1000+ local business owners that have signed up to our list over the years
And we have a strong social media following of 17,000+ across various social media platforms
Now whilst we produced other short form content in this period – regular fresh graphics, new quotes, content curation on social media – by not blogging we stopped giving as much value to people and new business enquiries dropped by 50%
Conversely we’ve had our best month ever to date this month – but I firmly believe we are having our best month in May because of our success in blogging in the previous 6 years
Success is built on layering and the harder you work on bringing people value – the more results you see
WHAT LESSONS WOULD YOU GIVE FOR SOMEONE READING THIS?
1. Never get so busy making a living that you forget to write a blog
2. If you’re not blogging yet – it’s really powerful and content is king isn’t just a marketing cliche – it really drives business
3. Never forget what makes your business successful – Altrincham HQ secret to success is Being Present, Networking and Blogging – and for 5 weeks I forgot the latter and it impacted us
4. Tell Your Story, in your voice and don’t be afraid to open up – people appreciate honesty
5. Write to make an impact and create change
And on that last point – we really want to see more local businesses blogging
If you want more info on blogging please read these blogs here
- 5 Reasons Your Business Should Be Blogging – https://altrinchamhq.co.uk/blog/5-reasons-your-business-should-be-blogging/
- The Secret To Our Success – Being Present, Blogging, Networking – https://altrinchamhq.co.uk/blog/the-secret-to-our-success-being-present-blogging-networking/
- Blogging – How To Reach The Tastemakers & Influencers in Your Industry – https://altrinchamhq.co.uk/blog/blogging-how-to-reach-the-tastemakers-influencers-in-your-industry/CHAT TO US
Chat to about Social Media for YOUR business so we can better understand YOU and what would work best for YOU
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting to you
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
“With over 12 years experience of Social Media and 17 years experience of online marketing in other companies, clients come to myself when they want a veteran rather than a rookie” Alex McCann
Inspirational advice as always.