Rana Shahbaz | Blogging Consultant | I Share Ideas to Simplify Blogging for Inspiring Bloggers to Grow Their Businesses

A lot of uncertainty is involved in the process:

• What is a blog?
• What is blogging?
• Why blog to grow your business? 
• How to start a blog?
• How to write your first blog post?
• Best ways to promote your blog?

The Internet Has Democratized Your Success!

I am fascinated by the opportunity that the Internet has provided us. I believe, if you are inspired and want to grow, you only need a computer with Internet access and a strong will to achieve your goals. 

• If you are a writer, WordPress has democratized publishing.
• If you are a singer or an actor, YouTube has democratized media. 
• If you are a photographer, Instagram has democratized photography.  
• If you have physical products to sell, eBay and Amazon have removed the middleman
• If you are searching for a traditional job, you have LinkedIn. 

However, if you have access to the global market, the employer has access to the talent of the whole world as well. 

In my opinion, the best way to compete with the whole world is to keep improving your personal and professional game consistently. 

Therefore, I have become a lifelong learner and believe that staying in the learning mode is the best way to keep improving your game and to make the most of the opportunity, which the Internet offered us. 

How You Market Your Business Online 

There are two popular ways to market your products or services and grow a business online.

1. Paid advertisement

Paid marketing is the fastest but expensive way of market your product or service. Businesses make an average of $2 in income for every $1 they spend in Google Ads.

If you have a budget and got this combination right then, you have a money-making machine.

However, if you are struggling to get this combination ($1 out and $2 in) right, the paid advertisement can eat up a significant amount of your marketing budget.

Also, the moment you stop spending $$$’s, you stop getting $$$’s back.

2. Content marketing

Word of mouth marketing is the most significant source of business for many small businesses.

• According to the Nielson report: 92% of buyers trust suggestions from friends and family more than advertising.
• 88% have read reviews to determine the quality of a local business
• But only 33% of companies are actively collecting reviews.

In my opinion, content marketing is the word of mouth marketing on steroids. Strategically created content helps you build your content marketing asset and automates your word of mouth marketing.

For example, a happy customer can quickly spread a helpful blog post or a case study, which explained how you solved his or her problem using today’s powerful tools such as Whatsapp or Facebook groups.

It is easier to share useful information with friends and family than ads.

However, if you don’t have helpful content on your website or blog, you are not helping your customers to do word of mouth marketing for you.

According to Content Marketing Institute’s Content Management and Strategy Survey 2017, 91% marketers use content marketing as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.