How to Build Your Own Creative Business: Start a Blog {Day 14}

Hey, hey! It’s {Day 14} of the Build Your Own Creative Business 31 Day Series! If you’re just joining me, you can click here to catch up from Day 1. Today we’re going to talk about blogging to represent your brand and drive traffic to your online storefront.

I can’t beat around the bush on this topic: I want you to blog regularly for your business. If you don’t have a business yet, I want you to blog for the business you might create one day. If you have no intention of ever building a business, I still want you to blog … because I think it helps everybody in any stage of their life refine their message. It forces you to sit down and ask: What do I want to say to the world? And once you start sharing that message, it only gets better. The writing begins to reveal your inner truth.

Blogging refines your message

This is my absolute, all-time favorite thing about blogging. When I first started writing online, I didn’t have a strong voice. I was ignorantly opinionated, often cynical and sarcastic, and I mimicked many of the other bloggers that made me laugh. If I do say so myself,

I’ve evolved, baby!

And I credit blogging for helping me rethink and refine the content that I put out into the world. At first, I didn’t know what to say! I didn’t have anything to talk about, or so I thought. But over time, certain ideas would strike me, and I’d get lost in the zone. I’d read back over what I wrote, and I’d feel so proud … it was all so true, so real, so open and honest. I love when that pours out of me.

In an interview we did together, Leonie Dawson likened blogging to taking dictation from God. I almost cried when she said it. It takes awhile to clear your channel of what you think you should say or what you think people want to read. But once you start operating on a clear channel, blogging becomes just that: dictation from God. The words pour through you because you’re open to sharing them, and your inner truth is revealed.

It reinforces your brand

For example, the Energy Shop is a brand that’s based on optimism, positive affirmations, and absolute gratitude for Life. That is my truth, and I’d like to think that my writing reflects that side of me. My creative business feels so aligned with who I am as a person, and that’s a must because I’m often required to forfeit my comfort zone, take giant leaps of faith, and give it all I’ve got.

If this is the creative business that you were meant to run, you’re probably eating, sleeping, and living your brand. It’s time to share that with the world, and the conversational-style outlet a blog offers is often the best way to do it.

Blogging lets the customer get to know you better

A blog is an ongoing conversation between you and the reader. It’s where they can go to ask you questions and get to know you better. They can read a full post rather than a short Facebook message or a 140-character tweet.

It’s true, some people won’t be interested in reading; some people simply don’t like to read. And that’s okay, those people aren’t your blog’s target audience anyway. Your blog’s target audience are the people who are looking for something of substance every time they’re online. Your readers are people who want to dig deeper and get to the root of things. Write from the heart, as if you’re writing an email to your best friend, and you’ll give your audience exactly what they’re looking for.

It drives traffic to your online storefront

The majority of my shop’s traffic comes from blogs (my own and guest posts on others). The blogging community is friendly and engaged, and bloggers are most willing to help other bloggers! I started out with the Etsy community, where I often felt visiting the forums was like falling into a bloody shark tank! You just never knew who was going to jump into your friendly conversation to try and take a bite out of your reputation. Some sellers operate on fear and thoughts of scarcity, while I’ve always operated on thoughts of abundance.

The blogging community is most certainly abundant with share-friendly writers! We’re all looking for new inspiration and stories, and we’re all more than happy to link, tweet, pin, and post your products in return. I’ve personally written and shared hundreds of posts that typically revolve around the Energy Shop, and that means thousands of links and tens of thousands of clicks around the web. Blogging is definitely good for business.

Where to start

Google “get a free blog” for lots of options, but most people choose either WordPress or Blogger. If you’re wondering what the differences between the two are, you might appreciate this wordpress vs blogger post from Viva La Violette. Personally, I started out on WordPress.com and then later switched to a self-hosted WordPress.org site.

Next, and depending on what else you’re wondering about blogging, I rounded up these helpful articles:

For beginner bloggers:

• How to Blog by The Blog Tyrant
• Should You Blog for your Business? by Launch.Grow.Joy.
• Fab Sites for Bloggers by Kerry of Handmade Success
• If you choose WordPress, you’ll love everything by Pixel Frau
• Shrimp Salad Circus’ Blog Better file.
• DIY Blog Design: A 10-Part Series by The Flourishing Abode

For advanced bloggers:

• Setting up a WordPress Site in Six Easy Steps by Carrie Loves
• My Must Have WordPress Plugins by live. laugh. rowe
• 50 Ways to Seduce Your Web Visitors with Persuasive Landing Pages by KISSmetrics
• 8 Useful WordPress Plugins from The Sensible Mom
• Everything on Think Traffic

And that’ll do it for Day 14 of the series. If you’re not already blogging, I hope I’ve convinced you to start! Until next time and all the best~

P.S. In honor of the 31 days to Build Your Own Creative Business Series, I’m offering my complete business-boosting e-program, Shop Fundamentals ($57) for $31 while it runs! Click here to learn more.