Creating blogs is a great way to engage and educate your crowd with the added bonus of them driving targeted traffic to your website via search engines. Done right, a business blog will help send a steady stream of potential new customers over weeks, months and years.

BUT, many businesses don’t take advantage of blogging. Why? Well, let’s face it – it can be time-consuming and if you don’t enjoy the process of writing then it’s a downright chore! And even if you’re keen to get writing, there’s still lots to learn about writing for SEO and doing any technical jiggery-pokery behind the scenes to ensure that Google can read the content correctly and identify its keywords and themes.

So, based on chats I’ve had over the course of my work and feedback from other business, I’m sharing with you the key challenges many small businesses face when blogging to promote your business. . 

What are the Main Challenges for Business Bloggers? 

Lack of Planning and Focus

Interestingly, I’ve heard this from business owners that haven’t started a blog yet and those that already blog regularly. This shows that even those businesses who seem to have got their blogging act together still aren’t 100% sure of their planning & focus and often feel like they’re ‘winging it’ and hoping for the best. 

Finding the Time

 Aaah, that never-ending problem when running a small business! Where do you find the time when you have to wear all the hats (accountant, marketeer, admin etc)? 

Many businesses aim to post at least once a month just to keep Google reminded that the website is active regularly updating content. And blogs also provide some lovely content to share with your crowd on social media channels to keep them interested in what you have to offer. Those that choose this route, spend around 1-4 hours a month on their blog. 

Those that have decided to blog weekly as part of their marketing mix, spend around 6-10 hours per month. Obviously, this time will vary depending on the word count and detail included in your blog. And to be blunt, it also depends on how much you procrastinate or flounder for ideas of topics to write about. 

If you lack planning & focus (see challenge above) then blogging will take up more time. It’s a weekly/monthly challenge to think of blog titles and subjects to write about. And a lack of inspiration means things usually takes longer as you procrastinate. As with most things in business, even a rough plan of action will save you heaps of time.

Read my Blogging Tips for Small Business 

Making the Decision To Outsource Blog Writing 

Does the thought of outsourcing blogs make you feel a bit nervous? Or you feel it’s something you can’t afford or aren’t convinced that you should do it. There are those that are keen to be rid of the task and happy to pay a freelancer or have employees able to take it on. Most people seem to have two major considerations when selecting an outsourced service. The first is price, and the second is finding someone who ‘gets’ their brand voice.

This is so important – finding someone who understands your brand voice is key. The ability to nail what your business is about, what your audience wants to hear and how it should be written is a key skill for a freelance blog writer. It’s not something everyone can do.

This brings me back to the first consideration – price. Wanting a skilled copywriter that specialises in writing for SEO, but also being concerned about price is a contradiction.  I understand that we all need to watch our marketing budget but with all things – you get what you pay for. A skilled blog writer shouldn’t come cheap as done right, a cracking SEO-friendly blog is a massive asset to your business. Evergreen blog content can bring a steady flow of traffic to your website over a number of years so think of it as an investment, rather than a cost. 

Conversely for these who wouldn’t consider outsourcing they felt that as the expert behind their business/personal brand they really should be writing their own blogs. This is great if you have the ability to do so. But blog writing isn’t just about being able to write well. You also need to consider writing for SEO, sourcing images, and sharing on social media and blogger networks. Writing can often be the quick part – it’s redrafting, editing and doing all the above tasks which suck up the time when blogging for business. If you enjoy writing, you could get your VA or marketing staff to do the other tasks for you. 

How your business acts on these considerations will depend on how much time you have to spare. Try to be realistic – do you have time, or are there better ways you could spend this time to generate income for your business? Try a cost/benefit analysis to see if you’d be better off outsourcing blogging for small business, just parts of it or do the whole shebang yourself or in-house. . 

What are your main concerns about business blogging? We all have different challenges and needs in our small business and whilst they’ll depend on your size and turnover and I’d love to hear your personal challenges. Drop a comment here or via my social media channels and let me know