Image courtesy of Fox_Kiyo

I have been a fan of WordPress for many years. I began using WordPress as a blogger, but soon found that using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) was the best option for my needs. I’ve created several websites that are pure CMS or a CMS/blogging mix. I’ve found WordPress to be an extremely adaptable alternative to other website platforms. I joke that it is the chameleon of the web world, changing its face to meet the needs of the environment it is in.

As I pondered the uses of WordPress for small businesses, I came up with three distinct reasons why I would choose WordPress over any other platform.

It’s Very Easy to Add Content to a WordPress Site

Once the system is in place, the business owner can take control. If you are a restaurant owner and you want to change the weekly special on your website, you can do it with ease. If you find that you just can’t find the time then there are inexpensive people who can help you. It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to change an item on your sidebar or in your website menu list. The days of designers and programers who will not relinquish site maintenance are gone. With WordPress, the ability to take control of your web presence is back in the hands of the website stakeholders.

It’s Fairly Easy to Add Functionality to a WordPress Site

WordPress can adapt. It’s a little more complicated than adding in content, but changing a WordPress site to meet your needs can be done. With WordPress I’ve created blog sites, static pages, e-commerce sites (yes within WordPress not as an aside) and membership sites. You don’t have to limit your website to what the platform can do, now you can design it based on what it needs to do to perform–without spending the big bucks to do it.

It’s Easy to Customize the Layout of a WordPress Site

There are many different free themes and paid themes out there for WordPress. If you don’t have a design in mind you may be able to find a free one that works well. Change a few of the header graphics and colors to match your businesses look and feel and voila! Customized look and feel at a fraction of the cost. If you have an existing design, and a little CSS/HTML knowledge you can adapt your existing design to lay on top of the WordPress loop. WordPress design can be as little or as much as you need it to be.

Image courtesy of Down Town Pictures

You may have developed the greatest product since sliced bread. You may even be giving it away for free. But if no one knows that your amazing business or organization exists, how will they ever make a purchase from you?

With marketing and sales techniques we build bridges that encourage consumers to discover very specific things. We don’t build paths – people tend to step off of those. We don’t create maps – people tend to not follow them. We build a bridge that carries the consumer safely over the vast sea of internet information and lands them directly on our virtual doorstep.

When you’re building your online advertising campaign you need to devleop your strategy on the bridge principle: how can I (a) guide the (b) consumer from demographic directly to my (c) product. You should already have a grasp on the demographics you want to tap into from a market analysis. For example, you may find your ideal customer is a stay at home mom between the ages of 25-35. If this is the case, you would look at what types of websites and advertisement methods would best reach these customers, possibly Facebook and various SAHM sites. Now that you’ve identified (b), and I’m pretty sure you know what (c) is, you can calculate for (a) your advertising message.

If you’re like me, you put the needs of a client in front of your own. Deadlines are looming and you have to make a choice between doing stuff for you, doing stuff for your family, and doing stuff for the people who pay you. Your family and your clients sometimes struggle for that top spot, but the bottom line is that your needs get put on the backburner. Only they’re not really your needs are they? They’re the needs of your business.

You are not your business.

It may seem obvious, but it’s an important distinction to make. Without it, as freelancers, we become both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Take on too many clients and we feel that everything is spiraling out of control. We experience burnout, panic, and provide less than quality products for our clients. Take on too little work and we lose faith, damaging our “business esteem” and sending our writing career down the drain. The key is to separate yourself from the business and treat it like the entity it is… a business.

Think about it: If you were to look at your business as a prospective client what would you differently? Would you schedule marketing tasks along side the ones you do for your clients? Would you research keywords and readership trends for your website? Would you have your own deadlines for content creation for newsletters and press releases? If you would do these things for a client then do them for yourself.

Then, as the client, look at the quality of work you create. Is it worthy of higher pay? Is it reaching the right people in the right way? Or do you need to sit down with yourself and have one of those unpleasant chats about moving on? If you can be honest with yourself about these choices and decisions then you will be doing your business and your paying clients a favor.

Looking at your output as a business owner allows you to make abstract decisions about your work and how you should move forward. In some cases this will give you the freedom you need to do what’s right for your self – you become one of your high priority clients! Schedule in your blog posts like you would for a client. Edit your newsletters and polish them like you would for a client. Be your own best client and you’ll be amazed at what you can do.

Why your business doesn’t need a blog

Chance are, if you have made the jump to the internet you have a static webpage. That is, you have a website with several pages that sum up your products/services and provide a means to request a quote. If you have a small local clientel with enough work to keep you happy you do not need a blog. But if you are in need of expanding your client base or boosting your profits a blog may be a good first step into social marketing.

Blogging is simply a means of communication

Consider a blog post a way to “soft sell” your products or services to many people at once. It’s not a daily chant of “buy,buy,buy!” Instead, a blog allows you to chat up customers about what you love most: your products/services. If you own a comic book shop for example, you could blog about the latest releases and give your reviews. If you own a bookkeeping business blog some business tips that will make work easier for the client and tax time easier for both of you. Housekeeping service? Then you can blog some tips on how homeowners can keep their homes looking their best in between cleanings. Blogging is a chance to make an impression and turn a query or interest into a sale.

But I don’t have the time or experience to blog

The extent to which you use a blog to promote your business depends on what you want to accomplish and what means you have available to do it. At WeeWebWorkk we offer services for all levels of expertise. I can host your site for you and get it started with a free layout. I can consult with you via phone and then ghostwrite blog posts based on our conversations. Or I can post material that is beneficial to your clients based on the specific industry you are in. Or, if you prefer, follow the free WeeTutorials and develop your own business blog.

Remember, a blog is a form of communication between you and your clients, so be sure to use it wisely.