Numbers Tell the Story in Blogging for Business

“If you haven’t already heard, blogging is big (like really big – tyrannosaurus rex big),” says Jordan White in the Inbound Marketing Blog. At Say it For You, we know that, but White’s enthusiasm bears sharing with readers and especially with the new Indiana blog content writers I train.

The numbers White compiled from BlogHer, Hubspot, and MyMarketingDept tell an impressive tale, to be sure:

• 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
• Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links.
• In 2013, 128 million people in the U.S. are blog readers.
• 61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.

What can you achieve with a blog?  Attract new customers, engage existing customers, connect with journalists and with potential new hires, to name a few, says Lee Olden of Toprank. To realize those goals, though, takes some effort, Olden explains.  You must understand your audience, prepare keyword lists, grow social networks to promote your content, and above all, share useful content.

There’s a dark side when numbers get big: “When I started doing it, there wasn’t nearly as much news,” observes Neil Hughes of the Apple blog. “Now everybody is in a rush to be first, and nobody is really concerned about being accurate.”

Blogging can be big business for small business, but authenticity and accuracy are what will add value and provide utility, Emily Ferrar reminds blog content writing wannabes.

Numbers do tell the story in blogging for business.  The bottom line about  it is this: the numbers are there to be had, but only when you create content that engages numbers of people.