Here are my TOP 5 reasons you should start a blog as a content creator or influencer in the digital marketing and social media worlds!

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SHOP MY BLOGGING ESSENTIALS

1. Social Media is Here Today Gone Tomorrow

You know that SUPER amazing post you spent hours styling, shooting, editing, and writing the perfect caption for on Instagram? Well, after about 48 hours, no one is going to care anymore. That’s right! The average life of an Instagram post is about 48 hours, with Facebook posts being even less. Tiktok can range beyond that, but one algorithm change and it’s completely different.

Keeping up on social media is exhausting, in large part because of this. It’s here today, gone tomorrow. And sometimes, it’s not even here today! Those dang algorithms change so often that it’s hard for 99% of us to keep our heads above water.

Blogging on the other hand is entirely different. Create a killer, informational, inspirational, long form evergreen blog post, and then ask me how long it will last… FOREVER. Especially if you update it a year or two down the line.

Why? Because the internet works much differently than social media algorithms do. Google and other search engines promote GREAT content, not just new great content. There is also a stricter and more reliable science behind successfully performing in Google’s eyes. It’s called SEO, or search engine optimization. And it’s reliable. Learn to optimize that SEO with proper keyword research, and your blog posts will outlast every single thing you post over on social media!

2. You Do Not Own Your Social Media Followers

And every single one of them could vanish tomorrow, and for a variety of reasons. I’ve seen it all. Getting hacked, being flagged as spam for some reason and IG deactivating your account. Getting kicked off of Etsy or Ebay for violating some obscure “rule.” Or even if you still have your account, the algorithm gods just aren’t working in your favor during a certain week, month or year.

A blog/website is the only platform your truly control 100%. You actually own your email list, your site, and everything on it. No giving away a license to a social media platform to use your content in whatever way they choose forever and ever. No need to constantly create content or be “online” all the time just to keep up.

Instead, your blog serves as the hub for your business, and you can now strategically use social media as a FREE. MARKETING. TOOL. Period, end of story. Use social media to drive traffic back to what’s yours, not money into Instagram and Facebook’s pocketbooks.

3. Engagement Rates via Email are 6-10x HIGHER than On Social Media

Speaking of that email list you’re building with your blog, did you know the average engagement (or click through) rate in an email is 6-10 times higher than the average social media engagement rate?

The email list I have built over on fiddleleafblog.com is now over 1000 people. My average click through rate for each email I send there varies between 13-20%. So for easy math, let’s say that’s 130-200 people. On Instagram, for comparison, my engagement rate hovers at about 2%. 2% of 35,000 people is only 700.

That means I have only about 3.5-4x as many engaged followers on Instagram, even though my actual “following” is THIRTY FIVE times as high!

Crazy?! I know, friend But the math doesn’t lie.

So what does this mean? It means that any time you spend dedicating to your blog will have a much higher return on investment (ROI) than the time you pour into social media. The next time you catch yourself creating content and spending hours online scrolling your social media apps, I want you to ask yourself why?

In many cases, it’s because there is a short term gratification that exists on social media that just isn’t the same on a blog/website. As humans, we are addicted to that instant gratification – the likes, the comments, the APPROVAL of strangers. A blog is a much longer game. But when you start seeing the results of your hard work (in the form of subscribers, website traffic, and DOLLARS), that instant gratification and approval of randos on the internet just doesn’t seem as cool anymore.

No offense internet stranger, but $$$ > your heart on my post. 🙊 Am I right or am I right though?

4. You Can Get Paid More For Brand Collaborations

Establishing a successful blog even with just 10-15K views per month can land you WAY more leverage, and therefore, money, when it comes to negotiating collaborations with brands. Brands are well aware of Reason #1, and they know that a dedicated blog post with killer content and copy is going to long outperform a social media post. Brands also tend to get more imagery out of a blog post collaboration, which is icing on the cake for them.

Start a blog that drives buzz and traffic, and you will look more professional to brands. Your blog is your resume, your personal brand, and your social proof. It’s exactly why I created this website at the same time I launched my new @creatorscoachingco instagram account – because this website elevates me to a more professional level than other people doing the same thing and only hanging out on Instagram or TikTok.

It also tends to show brands that you have a level of longevity that other content creators may not have. I can’t even count the number of home decor gals over on Instagram who started at the same time as I started my @fiddleleafinteriors account who are quite literally no longer on the platform. And that’s totally cool! But if you want this to be your business and your JOB, setting up a blog sets you apart as someone who takes it seriously. And brands often take notice of bloggers as content creators capable of LONG term collabs (which is when the money really starts to increase!)

5. You Position Yourself As An Expert In Your Niche

This reason to start a blog goes along with Reason #4 quite nicely. But I want to shift focus to your ideal client/reader/audience instead of brands.

I think we all know how negative the connotation of “influencer” is these days. There are literally “influencer hate threads” that exist just to bash influencers online (I don’t suggest you look them up, they’re awful). And I’m not necessarily saying that having a blog will save you from people still having some kind of negative opinion because they personally associate influencer with something they dislike.

BUT, there are a LOT of people online looking for “get rich quick” formulas. People who will peddle products they hate all day long just to make a few dollars without regard to having integrity. (If you’re here, I know you aren’t this person!) Having a blog/website instantly sets you apart from these people because blogging is work. It’s more than just snapping a photo of a product and pretending you like it on social media. So you instantly position yourself as someone who is here to SERVE your audience, rather than someone looking to get “instafamous.”

And a quick aside, while blogging is work, I actually work less and make more by focusing on my blog and less on social media (and it’s what I teach my students, too)! It’s seriously AWESOME not having to rely on an algorithm for the success of my business! #winning

SHOP MY BLOGGING ESSENTIALS

So there you have it, friend! The 5 reasons you should start a blog as a content creator or influencer! It’s a must if you want to make a business out of creating content and working with amazing brands! It’s precisely why I created my blogging course, OWN Your Influence! And the reason I created this amazing free resource for you HERE, too!

If you have any questions or comments or want to start a blog yourself, lets chat below! And if you’d like to talk further, feel free to email me at creatorscoachingco@creatorscoachingcogmail.com!

Until next time…

XO,

Ana