Small Business Blog Posts Are a 24/7 Workforce

Why should your small business value blog posts on your website? It’s simple. Your blog posts are a 24/7 workforce. Your website is that extra salesperson -- the 12th man to Seahawks fans -- who is always there cheering you on. Your office may be closed, but Google will serve up results -- from social media, your website, and Google My Business.

(00:03):
Welcome to the Launch With Words podcast, with your host, Bridget Willard. We're going to talk about all things. Content, blogging, articles, videos. Whatever has words and goes on your website.

(00:22):
Hey, Hey! This is the last episode of Season One of the Launch With Words podcast. Thank you for joining me in on these 10 very short episodes 'cause I know you don't have time to just be listening to podcasts. We're not really commuting to work anymore. We're going from our bedroom to the other side of our bedroom. We are going from, uh, our den to the kitchen table. You know, some of us are working in the parking lot at Starbucks.

(00:52):
I feel ya. I feel ya right there. So, Hey, let's talk about the best person on your team for the price. That's right. Your website. Your website, for the price, is the best sales person you have even better is if you are building up your internal sales library by publishing blog posts.

(01:17):
If this is your first episode of the Launch With Words, podcast, I would encourage you to go back and listen to the rest of them. Wherever you're listening now, you'll be able to find all 10 episodes. It is based upon my WordPress plugin called: Launch with Words and the starter pack is completely free. It comes with blogging prompts to help you get in. Get it done. Get it published. And go back to closing those sales. Right?

(01:54):
So let's talk about blog posts. Blog posts are available when Jenny asks her neighbor, Sue, "Hey Sue, do you know any plumbers in the area? I think I have a slab leak." They're at dinner. It's 7:00 PM on a Friday. You're not open, but she could go. "Yeah. I went to Billy. Bob was plumbing in Schertz and they're the best. So they go to BillyBobPlumbing.com.

(02:24):
I don't know if that's a real place. And she looks at your website. It talks about slab leaks. You have a blog post about it. How much time it takes. Who's going to lay the concrete when it's over. What kind of piping is the best. Preventing slab leaks from happening again. Helping you with your homeowner's insurance claim. And, and you're like, "Yes! Yes. I'm going to fill out their website for them right now." And then guess what? Saturday morning, she's going to get a call from Billy Bob and say, "Hey, really glad that you called let's schedule a time to look at this. Is it leaking right now or you just suspect it?" You know, that is the way to use your website and those blog posts for your benefit. Blog posts, as we've mentioned before, are not just influencers telling you about the lipstick they like from Cover Girl.

(03:21):
This is the way to inform clients. This is the way to answer pre-sales questions. This is the way to establish the fact that you're a legitimate business. You are in business for the future. You are not going anywhere. You're not a fly by night. Your website isn't on Wix or Weebly or Webflow or Squarespace about to shut down because you're not getting the domain name renewals from GoDaddy, right? This is a business that pays somebody to have a WordPress website. That has a contact form with a customized email that says, "Hey, we'll get back to you. Our regular service hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM." You know? That kind of thing. Legitimacy. Legitimacy in every single part of the customer journey. It takes 7 to 10 touch points to make a sale. That's whether they saw you on Facebook or whether they saw you at that chamber of commerce mixer or whether they saw a tweet by you, or whether they saw a friend at a dinner party recommend your business.

(04:41):
Neighbors are asking neighbors, especially in the service-based industry. It's the same for hairdressers. It's the same for yoga instructors. We do business with people that we 1, 2, 3: Know, Like, and Trust. Know, like, trust. Know, like, and trust. I do business with you because I know you. You do business with me because you know me and you know me because you like me and you like me because you trust me. Right? I'm trying not to be like "getting to know you getting to know all about you, getting to like you, getting to hope you like me." You know, I don't want you to copy my problems. I love "The king and I."

(05:26):
But listen, I have had a great time recording this 10 part series.

(05:34):
I really want to know. Did you publish a blog post because of one of these podcasts? Send me an email. [email protected]. I actually answer those emails. I don't have a virtual assistant. I don't have AI. It's really me. It's really me here sitting at my desk, recording in San Antonio, Texas. It's really me trying to give you as many tools as I can for free so that you can be a successful business.

(06:05):
You know why? Because if we small businesses, don't stick together. How else are we going to make it? You're trying to compete against a franchise. You know? You're not a franchise massage parlor. You're not a franchise yoga chain. You're not a franchise coffee shop. You're not a franchise plumber. You know? They're, they're paying tons of money, you know? And calling you, Bubba, right? With their butt crack. You know what that's, that's the money that franchising hats, you can make a website on WordPress. If you want to do it yourself, do it on WordPress.com. Get one of their plans.

(06:50):
It's the best way to do it. We're pressed.com is so easy. And yes, you can install Launch With Words on WordPress.com. As long as you have the appropriate package, get your domain name, take your business seriously because you're not going to pay 40% labor burden on your website. You're not paying that extra salary. That website is not going to get sick with the flu. That website doesn't have to take its kids to ballet. That website does not go on vacation.

(07:28):
If you have even more budget, like $1,500 to up and up, I would recommend hiring a WordPress developer. Um, my best friend, Rhonda Negard of FatDogCreatives.com has website packages starting around $4,000. I keep telling her to raise it to five. She won't listen to me. So why don't you reach out to Rhonda Negard before she listens to me and raises her prices? I'm telling you if you like my website, you will love the work that Rhonda Negard does. She's also working on greater:SATX's website. So she also did some work for Credit Human. She also did some branding for WPwatercolor. I mean, it goes on and on and on. It goes on and on.

(08:19):
Why do I work with Rhonda Negard? Because she cares about my business. She cares enough about my business that will, she will say, "Bridget, why aren't you doing a podcast?" Like she's kind of responsible for this. "Why aren't you doing a podcast?" Well, because I, it just, I couldn't figure out what to do. And now I realized what I'm doing. I want to talk to you. I'm taking a little bit extra time on this last episode.

(08:49):
I want to tell you what I'm using. I'm using my MacBook. It's a 2015. I'm using, uh, Mar um, uh, a podcasting mic. I gone to Amazon for $47 called Marantz MPM-1000. I'm using Zencastr.com I'm hosting on Castos.com. I am transcribing with Temi.com. And I just want to tell you, this is all possible.

(09:21):
I started my content marketing journey in 2004 by writing Bible studies on webpages in HTML. I didn't even know blogging was possible. 2007: I started blogging on WordPress.com. Even a free account, you know, like. But spend some extra money. Get don't. Get your domain name. Get, uh, get something looking good. It doesn't have to be fancy. It needs words. Spend some time set aside two hours a month to blog and install this starter pack. And then let me know when you've done it. It's been 10 minutes. It's been a great season.

(10:05):
Season Two. I don't know if it's going to happen. But if it does, you will find out more about it if you go to LaunchWithWords.com LaunchWithWords.com and that is LaunchWithWords.com.

(10:21):
Thanks for listening to Launch With Words, a podcast by BridgetWillard.com. If you liked this podcast, why not go ahead and share it with your friends, small business owners, peers, your brother? I really appreciate your attention. If you have any ideas, contact me on my website, follow me at @BridgetMWillard on Twitter. And I hope to see you on the next episode or the next season.

(10:56):
What's your favorite, um, tune from "The King And I?" I just love that they're all sitting around. She has her big fluffy dress. And she's singing, "getting to know you getting to know about you getting to like you getting to hook you like me... Something, some thing, something, something, something, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh."

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