If you’re not sure what a blog is, you’ve probably come across one before. Maybe you came across a blog while searching for “healthy dinner recipes.” Maybe you don’t know it, but you’re on a blog now.
I love blogging. I created my first blog in 2010, but stopped writing it the exact moment I got my very first comment. As far as I know, this was my biggest blogging mistake.
Now I have my own blog – a blog about bike tours. My blog has one goal: to help people get interested in cycling and traveling the world. It is what you would call an affiliate blog.
I also write blogs for HubSpot and work as an SEO with companies on their blogging strategy to generate traffic and leads for their website.
One of my clients generates 64% of his traffic from the blog. Thanks to analytics, we also know that $30,000 to $50,000 per month is generated from people who also viewed the blog.
A blog isn’t just a site you stumble across, and it’s not reserved for personal anecdotes; A blog can help you build an online presence, prove yourself as an expert in an industry, and attract more quality leads all pages of your website.
I’m not the only one who thinks like that – 76% of B2B marketers Evaluate blogs as an effective lead generation tool.
Professional blogs are sometimes referred to as “news,” “knowledge centers,” or “articles.” Many of them are essentially blogs.
If you think about it create a blog For your business or if you want to know what this is, read on.
Table of contents
What is a blog?
Blog Definition: Simply put, a blog is a regularly updated website or webpage that can be used either for personal use or to fulfill a business need.
A quick history – In 1994, Swarthmore College student Justin Hall is credited with creating the first blog, Links.net. At that time, however, it was not considered a blog, just a personal homepage.
In 1997, Jörn Barger, blogger for Robot Wisdom, wrote, coined the term “Weblog”, This was intended to describe his process for “logging the web” while surfing the Internet. The term “weblog” was shortened to “blog” in 1999 by programmer Peter Merholz.
In the early stages, a blog was a personal weblog or diary where someone could share information or their opinions on various topics. The information was published in reverse chronological order so that the most recent post appeared first.
Nowadays, a blog is a regularly updated website or webpage and can be used either for personal use or to fulfill a business need.
For example, HubSpot has been blogging about various topics related to marketing, sales and service since HubSpot sold Products that relate to these three topics – therefore, the type of readers HubSpot’s blog attracts will most likely be similar to HubSpot’s core buyer persona.
my blog, Path to the frameis a blog documenting my 24,000 mile bike ride around the world. It’s packed with personal stories, travel tips, travel guides, gear lists, reviews, hotel recommendations and more.
My blog does not serve any larger company, but is “just” my passion: a blog written for an adventurous community that wants to travel by bike.
Although my blog is not a business blog, it is still a monetized blog that generates passive income month after month. I earn money through my blog through ads, affiliate links and product recommendations.
What is a blog post?
A blog post is a single web page on your website that addresses a specific subtopic of your blog.
For example, let’s say you start a fashion blog on your retail website. A blog post could be titled “The Best Fall Shoes for 2024.”
The post ties in with your overall impression Blog topic as a whole (fashion), but also a very specific subtopic (autumn shoes).
Blog posts allow you to rank for a variety of keywords in search engines. In the example above, your blog post could allow your business to rank on Google for “fall shoes.”
When someone is searching for fall shoes and comes across your blog post, they can access the rest of your company’s website. They might click on “Products” after reading your post and take a look at the clothing items your company sells.
A blog post links back to your entire blog site. For example, you are currently at blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-a-blog. The “What is a Blog” section of the URL links to /marketing/, the blog.
If you need help creating a blog post, you can use HubSpots AI blog author to do this.
What are the benefits of a blog?
There are many There are many benefits of blogging, but here are, in my opinion, the top three reasons to have a blog.
Audience engagement
Your blog is a tool that allows you to connect more with your audience. Readers can comment on blog posts on my blog. Compared to the rest of a website, a blog is more like a two-way conversation.
The image below is from the comments section of one of my blog posts. This was a proud moment for me as a blogger.
There was a dedicated comment on the blog, but what struck me was that other readers were helping each other in the comments. The conversation extended to a community, not just me and a reader. I loved it.
I’ve seen comments like this on business blogs too. From my retail client, we sometimes receive comments requesting clarification on topics or related questions. The comments section inspires new blog posts and helps us understand our audience even better.
Pro tip: Make sure you reply to comments to encourage others to leave. You can also invite people to comment within the article content.
Content generation and reuse
Blogs are generally longer-form content. Once you create a blog post, you have content that you can use for other purposes and share across your marketing channels, such as social media.
If you set up the right analytics, you can also share and analyze user engagement data. For example, you can monitor how many readers share your blog posts on social networks, how much time people spend on a blog post, and how far a user scrolls.
All of this data can generally help you with your business and marketing. If the number of shares is high and users are scrolling down, you can bet that you have a good blog that is of great interest to your audience.
Pro tip: When you reuse content on visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, you’re probably creating an image or perhaps a video. If you do this, embed the asset in the blog too! The repurposing works both ways.
Traffic generation
If you add a blog (or news section) to your website and start strategic writing with SEO in mind, you’ll likely start ranking a lot of keywords. Your blog will probably contain the most keywords. Therefore, your blog increases traffic to your website.
It allows you to better convert that traffic into leads, it allows your business to build authority in an industry, and it continues to help your business grow and attract new customers months and even years after publishing.
Pro tip: Blogs can continue to generate traffic long after they are created; That’s the great thing about a blog. A blog post has compounding benefits over years.
Blog vs website
A blog is typically a section of your company’s website. HubSpot’s website is a good example of a company website that includes a blog.
The screenshot below shows that the blog is a section of the website and is navigable from the main menu.
Your blog is different from your website pages.
In general, your website is pretty static. You create pages with purposes (e.g. homepages, service pages, product pages, about pages, contact pages, etc.).
These pages make up the website. Your services probably won’t change much and will remain static until you make a (probably minor) update.
Blogs, on the other hand, are expected to be updated regularly. You could use your blog to write about industry trends, educational articles to teach your audience, or to showcase your expertise.
For businesses, I often think of the blog as a section of the website that supports the most important pages (e.g. the pages that generate money: products and services).
A blog can also be an entire website, and often this is the case when the blog is for personal use only – for example, a travel blog or a recipe blog.
If you’re starting from scratch and are nervous about your first post, check out our step-by-step guide to writing a blog post.
What is the difference between a wiki and a blog?
A Wiki is a collaborative space where anyone who visits the site can edit, share or publish content – Wikipedia is one of the most popular examples of this.
On the other hand, there is usually only one person or a team of people with admin permissions to edit, share, or publish to one Blog. Website visitors who encounter the blog may be able to leave comments at the end of the blog post, but they will not be able to post anything to the site or edit the material posted.
What is a blog for?
- To help your business rank in search engines.
- Exchange information on a specific topic and become an expert in an industry.
- To attract visitors to your website and convert those visitors into leads.
- Build an online community and interact with an audience.
1. To help your business rank in search engines.
Typically, a business uses a blog to improve the ranking of its website in search engines. While you can certainly use paid ads to improve your company’s website rankings on page one of Google, a more effective and long-term solution is blogging.
Blogging is often synonymous with content strategy and SEO. If you want a successful blog that actually attracts visitors, you need to seriously think about SEO.
Or you may need to distribute the content widely in other areas of marketing, social media and email, for example.
To consider how your business can rank in search engines through a blog, I’ll start with an example: Let’s say you work for a web design start-up with very little online presence.
You decide to spend the first year regularly writing and publishing blog content that has a strong connection to web design. Over time, your traffic will increase and other companies will link to your website for web design information.
In this case, Google will recognize your business as legitimate Source for web design information. Eventually (with a lot of trial and error), your blog posts will rank on page one of Google for terms like “web design,” “website builder,” and “ecommerce website.”
Then one day you search for “web design company in X city” and realize your company is now on page one. This is probably due in large part to your consistent blogging efforts.
2. Exchange information on a specific topic and become an expert in an industry.
In 2006, Boston native Matt Kepnes quit his job and began traveling the world. He documented his travels in his now infamous blog: NomadicMatt.com.
After about a year, he started doing it thanks to tireless blogging efforts and SEO strategies that allowed him to rank on Google Raised $60,000. Matt also created e-books and used sponsorships and Affiliate marketing Earn money.
He also wrote a New York Times bestseller, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day.
Now Matt’s blog beckons 1.5 million visitors per month and revenue of about $750,000 per year – and he has become a well-known travel expert.
If you want to become known as an expert on a topic that interests you, from fashion to blogging to fitness, you can—and often it starts with a blog.
3. To attract visitors to your website and convert those visitors into leads.
There’s only so much traffic you can get from your business website’s homepage or About Us page. Of course, these pages are crucial for leads who are already interested in your products – but they often don’t attract traffic from the top of the funnel. This is where your blog comes into play.
Your blog can be a general resource that helps your website visitors even before those visitors are ready to purchase from you.
Let’s say you sell products for eCommerce stores. You may attract some eCommerce owners who are already searching for your products online, but in most cases, the eCommerce owner is not ready to buy right away.
Alternatively, if you start blogging about tips to help the retail owner who’s just starting out – like “How to Start a Retail Website” or “Benefits of E-Commerce Compared to Brick-and-Mortar Stores” – go slow Attract an audience that enjoys content and finds it useful.
Then, as these website visitors’ eCommerce stores grow (thanks in part to your blog), they already know your brand and trust it as a helpful resource. That is when they look at your product pages.
Here’s an example from ASOS showing how they get leads through their blog. The screenshot below is from her blog, Every Shoe You’ll be Wearing This Autumn. Within the blog they share a picture, a styling tip and of course a link to the product.
4. Build an online community and interact with an audience.
At the very least, you could create a blog to connect with an online community of readers with similar interests. Maybe start a food blog and ask readers to share their own recipes with you.
Alternatively, perhaps start a blog that focuses on DIY projects. You post the fun DIY projects you’ve completed in your own home and ask your readers to share their own DIY tips in exchange.
Why you need a blog
For companies, a blog is a valuable tool in your marketing strategy. This is a great way to promote your brand and build a relationship with your audience and potential customers.
Use it to provide your audience with useful industry-related information, share company news and product updates. Blog content is also easy to reuse for email marketing needs and across social channels.
Without such a system, you miss opportunities to promote your brand.
Creating engaging blog content may seem like a difficult task at first. Luckily, there are free tools like HubSpot’s AI Content Writer so you can write better content faster.
How to blog
- Choose your target group.
- Brainstorm content ideas frequently based on your market segment.
- Research and review a content management system (CMS).
- Create a blog strategy and editorial calendar.
- Pay attention to the article structure.
- Become an expert in marketing and promoting your blog.
- Learn more about SEO.
- Use different blog post styles.
- Reuse old content.
- Conduct a competitive analysis.
1. Choose your target group.
Brainstorming your target audience is similar to creating a buyer persona for your company. It will also give you an idea of what type of content you want to produce.
2. Brainstorm content ideas frequently based on your market segment.
Once you’ve started a blog, you’ll want to publish high-quality, consistent content on a regular basis. That’s not always easy. Creating content is a time-consuming task. You want to make sure your content is something your readers are interested in and can hopefully help with your SEO – more on that in a moment.
To start brainstorming content, consider what your competitors are doing. Look for gaps in content that you can fill.
Additionally, you should also conduct SEO research to ensure that users are searching for and interested in the topic you want to write about. Tools like SEMrush, Google Keyword PlannerAnd Respond to the public can help.
You should brainstorm content frequently so that you always have ideas to implement. Having content ideas in the pipeline is a simple trick that eliminates the need to think on your feet. With a Blog Ideas Generator helps you fill your pipeline with content ideas that are relevant and helpful to your audience.
3. Research and review a content management system (CMS).
To create your blog, you most likely use a CMS. A CMS is a tool that allows you to design, manage and publish your website. You’ve probably heard of examples like WordPress or Wix. I wrote a post about the best blogging platforms to help businesses and bloggers find the best platform for them.
If you don’t have a website yet, you should choose a CMS that offers the ability to host a blog. If you already have a website, check if it has built-in blogging options. If not, you may need to find a CMS that integrates with your website or opt for a completely new CMS.
There are tons of options in the CMS world, including HubSpot. (You can try out our CMS here.)
HubSpots free blog maker offers everything you need, including free hosting and security tools. Getting started is easy, with hundreds of free themes to choose from and a simple visual editor.
4. Create a blog strategy and editorial calendar.
Just like starting a business, you can’t have any strategy in mind when creating a blog. Your strategy should answer questions like:
- Who are you targeting?
- What type of content will you produce?
- When will you post?
- Where will you promote your content?
Overall, you should have a mission, vision, and goals for your blog.
Then create an editorial calendar to stay organized and on track. Using a calendar allows you to keep track of what posts are coming up, ensure authors are meeting deadlines, and ensure you have enough content ideas for the foreseeable future.
5. Pay attention to the article structure.
When writing your blog posts, it is important to consider article structure. For example, do you use subheadings to break up the post so it’s easy to understand? Do you use bullet points and images that make the post easier to search? These are important factors that help keep your reader on the page.
Additionally, you should make sure to use calls-to-action (CTAs) that inform the reader what to do next. This is how you can make money and generate leads with your blog.
6. Become an expert at marketing and promoting your blog.
Another element of blogging is marketing and promoting your blog posts. It’s like the age old saying: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
So if you write a blog post but no one reads it, does it have a positive impact on your business or brand? Probably not. This is why you need to market your posts. You can use social media, SEO, your website, or your email newsletter to reach current and potential customers.
7. Learn more about SEO.
As I mentioned above, you want people to read your blog posts. One way to achieve this is to generate organic traffic through SEO. If you want your blog to be successful, learn how to search for keywords, how to rank in search engines, and how to develop an SEO strategy.
Actually, I learned everything about SEO through my blog. I started writing a blog and realized I wanted people to read it, so I had to learn SEO. I began applying SEO best practices from the few Google ranking factors I knew at the time.
Before I knew it, my first page was ranked #1 for a long-tail keyword and I was thrilled!
My first blog rank on page one is shown below. The keyword is “cycling in Azerbaijan”. Pretty niche! Since not many people do it, it was relatively easy for me to get to.
If you are starting out with SEO, I would recommend this to you. Choose a long-tail keyword that’s easy to rank for, even if it’s not ideal for your business. Just try to rank and practice SEO.
8. Use different blog post styles.
Your blog posts should be interesting to everyone who reads them, and especially to customers who read every single post.
Those who are active followers and ambassadors of your blog should use different blog post styles so that your blog doesn’t become boring. Consider using how-to posts, list-based posts, or thought leadership.
9. Reuse old content.
It can be difficult to create blog content consistently. But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you write a blog post.
You can update old blog posts to keep them accurate and comprehensive.
Additionally, you can use other content of yours, such as a YouTube video or podcast, and turn the content into a blog post.
Get started with HubSpot’s free AI Blog Writer
You can use this to refresh old content HubSpot’s free AI blog author — The software can help you generate ideas and write texts.
10. Conduct a competitive analysis.
To understand your audience, conduct a competitive analysis of your top blog competitors. This will help you identify trends, uncover content gaps in your industry, and give you ideas on topics and ways to promote your blog.
Conducting a competitive analysis will help you build and iterate on your own blog strategy.
How to promote your blog
If you’ve got your SEO in order, visitors will largely find your blog through Google, but as mentioned above, a blog is a great channel to build awareness and promote your brand.
Here’s how:
1. Link from your website.
This may seem obvious, but you should make sure your blog is easy to find on your website. Consider using an attention-grabbing CTA or making it easily accessible in a dedicated location on your homepage.
2. Use blog content for other purposes.
As mentioned, repurposing content saves you a lot of time in content creation, but it also allows you to promote your brand across multiple channels, be it videos, podcasts, etc. Email or social networks.
3. Use internal links.
Once you have started generating a significant number of posts on your blog, it can be helpful to include links to other posts or related topic pages on your blog.
This is good for SEO, but it also helps your readers find relevant information about a topic that interests them.
4. Advertise on social media.
You can also use your social media channels to increase traffic to your blog using eye-catching videos or images. Additionally, consider placing a link to your blog on all of your social media accounts.
5. Consider guest blogging.
Guest posting on another industry-related blog gives your brand the opportunity to introduce yourself to new customers who may have never heard of you before.
It’s also a great opportunity to network with other industry professionals and provide cross-promotion opportunities.
6. Use influencers.
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool you can use to give your brand social credibility.
Similar to guest blogging, you can reach that person’s target audience and introduce your brand to a new audience. Make sure you work on cultivating a relationship first before asking for a favor.
7. Explore paid options.
If you have the budget, paid content promotion is another route you can take to get your content noticed. Running ads or a boosted post on Facebook is a good entry point for paid advertising.
If you’re officially ready to start your own blog, take a look at our guide to creating a successful blog strategy.
Blogging is beneficial for business.
There are no limits to a blog – and so are the benefits to your business, as I’ve seen with the many blogs I’ve created or written for myself. Having new content published regularly that is engaging and helpful to your audience makes it an invaluable tool for your marketing kit.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2019 and has been updated for completeness.