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Blogs are ever increasingly being seen as yet another way to promote your business online. Once the domain solely of people looking to share hobbies, thoughts and interests, blogs are now used to break through the impersonal barrier that the internet presents.

But is a blog beneficial for every online business?

Many people make the mistake of using a blog to aggressively promote their products. While it may seem to be a good idea, this can actually damage your business and get you less customers than using a more subtle approach will.

So… does your website need a blog? In short, the answer is yes – but only if you use it correctly.

Blogs are by their very nature a personal form of communicating on the web. Websites have sales material, articles, adverts and much more. Blogs on the other hand are driven by you. You can share your thoughts and opinions on your subject matter, and aim to build an audience that is interested in what you have to say.

That is why it’s good to add a blog to your website – it helps your visitors find out more about you and get to know you (albeit online), and most importantly it builds trust.

Trust is a big issue online, and anything you can do to help foster a sense of trust will result in you gaining more sales. If your blog is hosted on a separate blog platform, make sure you link to it prominently from the home page of your website as this will get you more traffic. You can then do the same in reverse to funnel more traffic towards your website.

This is especially useful if people find you from a search engine listing. Make sure you write content for your blog in the same way as you would for your website; pay close attention to keywords and phrases in every blog post you make.

You might think that not promoting heavily in your blog takes away the purpose of having one, but people appreciate not being exposed to the hard sell. If they find your blog to be interesting, thoughtful and packed with relevant information, they are very likely to click through to your website and perhaps make a purchase or sign up to your free newsletter.

Finally, think of your blog as a long term venture. It takes time to build up a readership – even if you already have a decent amount of traffic to your website – but it’s time worth taking, and your business will benefit from it.