Is blogging a good idea to promote a small business?

Being credible means you can’t be a salesman all the time. If the only thing you talk about is you and your company, people will stop paying attention. Share information about your industry, hints and tips that will help your readers even if they don’t use your products. If you do, they will appreciate what you’re doing and will patronize your business. I once worked with a nursery that experimented with this and discovered that sharing information equated to customers walking in the door — even though the nursery owner didn’t believe it would at first.

This is where some lifestyle bloggers and I part ways. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I am affiliated with a company. I don’t talk about it much, but they know I am an employee. I don’t try to be anything I’m not. I work very hard to be credible. Some lifestyle bloggers regularly review products they are paid to review. For example, their monthly blog about date night at a restaurant like Chili’s or Applebee’s might very well be a paid endorsement — making their review a lot less credible if it isn’t disclosed (which often times it isn’t).

If you aren’t credible, nobody will read you.

Is blogging a good idea for small businesses? Absolutely. You simply need to be consistent, personal, and credible.