Why Your Mundane Industry Makes for the Perfect Blog
I have two words for you: basement waterproofing. Does that sound like an exciting topic? Sump pumps, foundation wall cracks and drain tile systems could be some of the driest (or shall I say wettest) subject matter in the entire blogosphere. Guess what? It’s pretty interesting if you have a basement full of water!
I know exactly what you’re thinking; I was in your shoes. Why would anyone be interested in reading a stupid blog about your (fill in the blank) business? I remember like it was yesterday when I asked myself the very same question.
Since I started blogging for U.S. Waterproofing (my family business), I have published almost 100 blog posts. And, I have at least another 50 in my pipeline. That’s right, 150 blogs. That equates to approximately 100,000 words, about the length of your average novel. Enough said? I’m not done yet. I’m only 150 words deep into this blog, surely not enough to satisfy Google, or perhaps your curiosity.
Enough About Basement Waterproofing
If you are looking to fill your sales funnel and there are potential customers out there in need of your product or service, you need a blog. I don’t care if you sell life insurance, have a specialized law practice or are trying to sell snowshoes for dogs. A blog will help you be found. Period. In fact, studies show websites that contain blogs achieve 55% more traffic than those who don’t. Convinced yet?
Maybe you’re a skeptic like I once was. You realize that more traffic does not always equate to more prospects and more sales. I’m right there with you boss man.
Say you have a $10 million catering business. Let’s assume your advertising budget is 5% of sales, so you have about $500k to work with. If you held back $25k of your budget and pocketed it, would it have a very detrimental effect on your revenue? If your answer is yes, then keep doing whatever you are doing, as you must be doing something right because you’re getting value out of every dollar you spend.
If you’re not sure, or not satisfied with your ROI, try investing that money in an inbound marketing program. It is much easier to track and, if done right, will generate a much higher ROI versus traditional, interruptive advertising (TV, Radio, Billboards, Newspapers, etc). Still doubt me? Inbound marketing generates qualified leads at a rate 61% cheaper than outbound methods.
But nobody looks for my product or service online. Oh really? Let’s take a look at some of the more popular search terms used to find a wedding caterer and their global monthly search volumes (as reported by Google):
Catering Services 14,800 searches
Catering Companies 5,400 searches
Event Catering 2,400 searches
Maybe you don’t do business on a global scale. Let’s look at localized search volume, assuming your business services only the Chicagoland area:
Catering Services 1,600 searches
Catering Companies 1,300 searches
Event Catering 320 searches
Convert even 1% of these searches into a customer and I’d bet you be pretty pumped.
Still Skeptical?
So how can I be certain if you start ranking on the first page of Google for your targeted keywords that the increased traffic will translate into additional sales? Without knowing such things as (1) what your business does, (2) how much online competition you already have and (3) what your website looks like, I can’t give you a concrete answer. If you ask an inbound marketing expert, they’ll give you an honest assessment of your chances and how they would envision an implementation customized for your business.
If you’re interested in my opinion, drop me a note in the Comment box below.
