Brian McGovernMarketing For Professionals

I talk to many business owners and salespeople and most don’t blog. To them, it’s a huge mysterious concept, blogging. That’s good news to those of us who do blog, but only if you use this potentially powerful marketing tool intelligently.

For example, a lot of wedding planners blog about getting ready for weddings and caterers blog about their day-to-day activities. What’s wrong with that? Plenty.

First - how are buyers supposed to find you- if you aimlessly blog? Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer and your market is Cleveland, OH. If the article of your blog headline is “Here We Go Again,” and your post is about doing your taxes - how is someone going to find that post if they’re typing “Cleveland Wedding Photographer?” If you want a platform for your personal thoughts, get a personal blog. If you’d rather blog to get clients - only blog about what your customers care about.

Thought Leadership Blogging is Stupid …

… if people don’t buy your thoughts. If I’m hiring a consultant, I want to read “thought leadership” blog posts. If I want to order a wedding gown - I want to see some pictures, reviews and prices. As a consumer, I really don’t care that much beyond, “Do you have it in my size?” (I doubt it, I’m 6′-3″ and 210 pounds and besides, I don’t have the legs for it).

Who Cares?

“Today I went to the car wash and aren’t my kids cute?” Really? Who cares? Not your potential customers. Save that stuff for your personal blog. If I’m searching for a local graphic artist to do my invitations, all I want to see is your portfolio and prices. Remember, I’m talking about local service businesses.

It’s OK to let potential buyers see you as a real person via blogging. But, if all you ever post about is unrelated personal drivel - how are they supposed to find you?

The Only Way to Blog & Attract Local Customers

You must think “keywords” if you want to be found. For local buyers to find you, think, “keywords + local appends.”  Huh? Stick with me, it’s easy.

I go into the subject in more details and include some links to video tutorials in my free e-book, “More Clients Now - Ten Free Tools.” But, let me give you the 5 cent tour. Here’s tip one;

Use the same words your buyers use.

Figure out how your clients search for your business online. What words do they type into Google when they’re shopping for services like yours? Don’t assume you know - it’s really eye opening to see how people really describe your services.

Too many times, we get caught up in out trade’s slang. Don’t use technical jargon unless your customers do too.

If it ain’t broke

Don’t get cute. You may be bored and want to describe yourself, as a “bridal consultant,” but “wedding planners” is better. Don’t believe me?

A quick check on Google’s Keyword tool shows the facts; just this morning I compared “wedding planner” to “bridal consultant.” The exact phrase “Wedding planner” gets searched 201,000 a month and “bridal consultant” only 36 times! That’s almost 6,000 more searches. Do you see why blogging strategically is so important?

I feel bad when I see a business owner create post after post the wrong way. What a waste of time and energy. So, here’s another tip - just because I like you.

Use local keyword phrases

How hard is it to show up on page one of Google for a keyword like, “catering?” It’s possible - but only if you work hard at it. You’ll have to displace sites that have full-time SEO squads and large budgets to do it. The firms that rank on top for your primary keywords are spending an enormous amount of time and energy to target the global market.

So, here’s the tip. Our wedding photographer would be wise to blog about “Cleveland Wedding Photographer,” one day and “Wedding Photography in Cleveland,” the next.

But why stop there? “Cleveland OH Wedding Photography,” “Cleveland Ohio Wedding Photography,” “Wedding Photography - Cleveland Area,” and don’t forget “West Cleveland Wedding Photography,” and “Cleveland Heights Wedding Photography,” too. Next, use your unique knowledge of your location to outgun the big sites. How many national firms are optimizing web pages for “Cuyahoga Wedding Photography?”

OK - so there you have it. YES - blog to get business. It’s easy, it’s free and it CAN work if you do it strategically.

Blog about high volume keywords that are most relevant to your business. Then add on your local phrases. Put your keyword+local phrase in your blog’s headline and be sure the content of the post includes the keyword+local phrase.

You won’t get 200,000 searches a month with this strategy but the traffic you get will be highly targeted.

Any questions? Download my free e-book for more instructions and leave a note in the comments section.

And, in case you’re wondering … this is how I look in a wedding dress …