Inbound Marketing – Blogging Strategy for 2022

It's the question on the lips of all forward-thinking entrepreneurs and small-brand owners.

TLDR; Fuck No! Blogging is BOOMING!

Blogging is the business growth tool which has been largely overlooked since 2014 or so - and in that time, those who have persevered (because it's NOT easy!) have seen their online businesses sky-rocket, their credibility shoot to the stars and leverage the power of a truly-engaged audience who WANT to hear what they say.

It's got a bad rep because it's seen as a boring sort of "mommy blogger" type thing with people just spewing out the minutiae of their day-to-day lives - but for business? Especially those who are creators, online coaches, service providers or course providers? It's a flippin' excellent marketing tool and one which allows you to really stand out from the crowd and showcase your expertise on a daily basis... without being at the mercy of someone's bored scrolling fingers, Mark Z's algorithm or needing to employ a graphics expert to ensure you've got the "prettiest feed".

Isn't it fucking INSANE that people genuinely think that a 15 second video clip on Instagram is actually a serious & heavyweight marketing strategy for discerning buyers?

Because when push comes to shove? Blogging is you WRITING about the shit you KNOW about and letting the whole damned world see it - and it barely costs a penny and is the only truly SUSTAINABLE INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY and for those who are serious about business growth, longevity and gravity.

Is Blogging Dead in 2022?

Absolutely not - if anything blogging is making a HUGE comeback - especially for those who want to build their business because they're genuinely talented and don't want to be a part of the Social Media Circus "begging for likes" like a fucking sea lion doing somersaults to get a dead pre-frozen fish tossed at its mouth!

10 years ago or so blogs were people's boring AF online diaries, over-exaggerated tales of what a 2 year old said, a world-beating recipe for Welsh Rarebit (it's fancy grilled cheese on toast since you ask!) and other navel-gazing activities.

Those using blogging (content creation) as an Inbound Marketing strategy were able to churn out endless lists of fucking boring & obvious "tips" which generally help NOBODY because they're so fucking generic. And... because so few were using the inbound marketing strategy - because it's HARD - and everyone likes an easy fix right?... it was possible to get away with producing low-quality content simply by virtue of producing "something".

Nowadays to shine in the inbound marketing space, you're required to have (and be able to articulate!) expertise in certain areas, such as marketing, sales, business growth, personal growth, yoga or photography - or whatever your business niche is - in order to stand out from the crowd.

For online entrepreneurs - WE ARE  THE WORK - and what we do every day when we sit down and write our blog - is that we unleash our creativity and show the world just how fucking amazing we are and what we're doing with our business.

It allows us to not only express our own creativity, ideas and thoughts - but also to demonstrate our expertise and clearly show how we're different.

And... it's perfect for introverts or those who don't wake up looking fluffy & bouncy & groomed - but instead are sat at their laptop with tousled GENUINE bed-hair and coffee stains down their t-shirt - but have a genuine flair for writing - and love doing it!

Many low-vibe entrepreneurs are caught up in thinking the idea that they have to increase their YouTube views whilst simultaneously climbing in the ranks on Pinterest and gaining 10k Instagram followers. 

It's even easier for low vibes and introverted entrepreneurs to fall into the trap of comparison and comparisons.

They look at these "who's doing what with their business" posts on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and spend 20 minutes every morning or evening (and all that time in between!) scrolling and re-scrolling, looking at other people's lives and businesses and feeling like they're a total fucking failure because their graphics aren't as cool, their hair not as shiny and their followers on Social can be counted on 2 hands.

For better or worse, most of us climbed aboard the Social Media wagon to network, talk to friends and relatives or to keep a beady eye out for romantic partners.

If you're feeling like this is how you actually WANT your SM to be and actually you'd prefer to take back control of your time, your damned thumbs AND your business, then I urge you to take some time out, sit somewhere quiet and ask yourself - WHY the fuck am I putting myself through this SM nonsense and not taking the time to build my own business?

Most downright miserable online coaches are downright miserable exactly because they're NOT getting clients - and that's because they're small fish in a small pond and they'd have to be juggling ice-cubes naked to get any attention!

Blogging allows your clients to see WHO you are, WHAT you are, WHAT you do - and the best thing? The Search Engines fucking love it!

Meta Got Too Big For Its Boots & Pissed Off Its Users

Over the course of 2021 we've seen an enormous evolution of marketing practices from personal brands, online coaches, creators and course providers - what worked in the few years previous - e.g., large-scale Social Media marketing, Facebook ads and targeted message are failing. Fast. Those who are still throwing money that way are losing money - and certainly not seeing the ROI they once were.

Nobody really knows what the fuck is going on with Facebook/Meta - but I read this morning from a digital marketer that when he himself scrolled his feed he had SIX ADS IN A ROW before seeing a single post from an ACTUAL friend - then six more ads... even though he uses FB for marketing his OWN business - he felt turned off by the platform on a personal level.

Now if those of us IN THE INDUSTRY are feeling like this - where does that leave your friends, family & associates?

Do THEY really want to scroll through ads?... And that's before we even discuss inquiries, reports, privacy concerns, mental health woes et al!

Discerning Information Seekers

As people recover from the pandemic and look towards creating a more self-satisfying future, it means they're looking to be increasingly discerning with their time.

Instead of wasting minutes/hours/days on the endless scroll - they want to find the information they're looking for, get the answer - and get out!

Book sales are booming - as are CDs - and, for the oldies amongst us - even vinyl sales are up! 

People want to be in control of their time and not be dictated to by algorithms making choices for them.

One of my guilty pleasures is buying a CD.

It takes me back to the late 80s (vinyl then of course). I read all the inserts, learn the lyrics - listen to the music over and over again learning every song the artist has put together for my listening pleasure - not just what some streaming service THINKS I want to listen to next.

Actual footage of me listening to a CD in the car like it's the greatest luxury in the world!

C'mon ladies - seriously - can you think of much better than driving on deserted roads through the mountains singing a lil' Stevie Nicks?

People don't want to be living with the RUDE and INCESSANT pull of their phones... we may well be living in an age of "Rise of the Machines" - but we own the fucking OFF-BUTTON!

Evergreen Content and Search Engines

Rather than seeing your hard thought-out and lovingly created content disappear into a puff of dust in approximately 37 seconds on regular Social Media channels, blogging allows you to create content which remains evergreen, frequently relevant for years to come AND remains under your control.

People who use Google to find content are BUYERS - not SCROLLERs!

A blog is the perfect place for you to share expertise with the customers. Did you know that if you are sharing content around a subject that you are an expert in, Google will rank your content higher?

Whilst we don't yet know where Google/Alphabet will take us and there may well be a huge backlash - and, a few years ago I heard rumblings of a blockchain engine to rival Google - we're not there yet - so, it makes sense to leverage those clever machines over there at Google whilst we can - and... even if Google DOES wane in popularity - your content remains your content remain your content!

But, but, but! Ignore Bing at your peril - Safari browsers have the option of using Bing, Yahoo and also DuckDuckGo which is seeing increasing popularity with European users sensitive to being tracked online.

*At the time of writing we're currently unable to submit our sites to DuckDuckGo for indexing, however it "talks" to Bing - so that's another reason you shouldn't ignore Bing itself.

Index your site/blog at Bing here: bing.com/webmasters/

Blogging is a Cheap Way to Market Your Business

OK, so first off you need a website. 

But you've already got that right? Right? Because only two-bit players are in this game still thinking they don't need a website... 

So I'm gonna work on the assumption you've got a website - and you've got a keyboard - and you're GOOD TO GO!

There are 2 basic ways to market your business: ORGANIC (e.g., inbound marketing strategies) and PAID ADVERTISING.

FAST GROWTH ISN'T CHEAP. Booooo! Sucks right? But really, what are your other options? If you've got money to throw at a ton of ads (even when the arse is falling out of the SM ad market...), then you don't need to be reading this page.

The fact you ARE reading this blog tells me that you need to save some costs on marketing & advertising right now - and that's one of the reasons blogging appeals to you.

It takes time to write a blog - even if you're a touch typist typing 90wpm and your fingers can't keep up with the speed your brain moves at anyway... - and it takes thought. I'm betting you've got a whole heap of the later - even if the former is lacking. Want more of the former? Cool, delete Facebook off your phone right now - and there's 60 minutes a day found for you already!

ORGANIC GROWTH IS CAN BE SLOWER - but you know what? I've been working with online business owners for years with their marketing strategy and what I've learned is... those who BLOG are WAY more fucking clear about what they actually do - than those who don't. 

And when you're in a SERVICE-BASED industry, you really need to know what the fuck it is you're doing - and tossing out "Monday Motivation" memes on Facebook does NOT bring you any closer to mastering the delivery of your services AT ALL!

You will need to actually market & distribute the blogs you write - but... - this is the point where you're gonna think "a-ha now I get it"!

You'll still be posting to SM (probably via a scheduling tool) - but you are spreading YOUR CONTENT - not just a fucking empty low-vibe "Monday Motivation". 

Increasing Your Business Knowledge

The more you blog about your industry or what you do - the more you'll understand it, get more creative, have better ideas and know better how to serve your clients because you're actively engaging with INDUSTRY THOUGHTS every single damned time you write the blog.

People that blog tend to be really involved in their industry and are always looking at new ways to improve it. Working in an environment where you are constantly learning from and improving the products and services that you are selling is great for the people you actually serve - and, because you serve more - it works as a perpetual motion cycle in that you increase your knowledge... you blog more... more knowledge... serve more... and so forth and so on.

With the increased personal growth you find when you blog - this comes about by increased confidence and acceptance that you really DO know your way around your topic and industry - and, because you're putting your ideas out there (and all the other fuckers are too lazy to!) - you truly step into that space of being an INDUSTRY THOUGHT LEADER and not just another low-vibe player.

There are those who deal the cards - and those who play them - and the house ALWAYS WINS!

Customer Engagement (Super-Fans)

Engaging with customers through a blog is a great way for them to interact with your business. Customers can comment on the posts and there is a high chance that they can start conversations. This creates a two-way flow which is good for both the business and the customer.

Having a blog allows your potential customers to see you in action in a "longer format" than just a SM snippet - and when they're ON YOUR SITE - ta-da (!) - it's the perfect time for them to opt-in to your FREEBIE.

By blogging regularly and with a similar tone - you'll build up an audience of SUPER-FANS who are genuinely engaged with what you're doing and are actively LOOKING FORWARD to the next blog you publish... rather than just randomly having it come up in their SM feed - perhaps hitting a like button and then keeping on scrolling. 

Most Bloggers are Doing it Wrong

Yep, for real! They make such a huge fucking deal out of having the "perfect strategy", keyword research, hitting the perfect number of words per post, Pinterest strategy, thinking that it's all about affiliate ads, dancing banners & boring AF lists - that they never actually get started.

Those who do are working to a formula which doesn't actually pay dividends.

• There is NO perfect blog post length
• You can pick the "BEST" keyword in the world - but if your blog is shit, people aren't going to stick around and read it - and if people aren't reading Google are gonna push your blog right down their list.
• Pinterest is just a tool. It's not the Holy fucking Grail.
• Affiliate marketing tends to trip people up - they're getting so excited about all the $$ they THINK they're gonna make from blogging - that they negate to actually y'know... get started and write a damned blog!
• There is NO perfect time of day to hit PUBLISH!

When they fall down a "keyword research" rabbit-hole, they find themselves using software which promises to offer up 100s of long-tailed keywords (i.e., the stuff people actually type into the Google search bar such as "where can I buy a pair of blue shoes with bunny rabbit ears near me?") - and instead get tossed up 100 dull-as-fuck varieties of the same ol' shit which is so damned generic that:

1) they're never gonna rank for it

2) is about 10 levels below the knowledge they actually ALREADY HAVE in their niche

3) is a lousy waste of time.

Personally I think point 2) is the most "dangerous".

In an attempt to become a serious content creator, they dial back all the knowledge they DO have - and instead opt to create mediocre gunk appealing to the lowest-common denominator... in this case a FUCKING COMPUTER!

TOP TIP: Computers don't buy your programs!

You know the KEYWORDS for your industry better than ANY clever algorithm - even if it's the most cleverest, clever computer programme ever written. It is NEVER going to compare to the knowledge that you yourself have about your niche - because you are a PERSON who is actually living it and those complex neural pathways between your ears hold more information than a lousy algorithm which is at best - guessing at your industry - EVER will! 

They then get caught in indecision and overwhelm - because they think that unless they've got the "perfect keywords" (which don't exist!) then they don't have ideas - and, because the damned "idea generators" kick up all the generic topics their creativity is harnessed and stifled... and then they get writers block.

If only they'd just pour the damned coffee!

Essential Blogging Tools for Female Entrepreneurs for Business Growth

1. A WordPress website (the easiest CMS (content management system) out there)
2. Your ideas
3. The unshakeable belief that YOU GOT THIS!
4. Big mug of coffee

OK, I understand if you were expecting something a little more profound.

Perhaps a list of secret tools - or perhaps essential plugins, grammar tools, story ideas or anything else - but the truth is - those things, whilst great and "useful" are not actually what's going to grow your business.

Fundamentally you need to TAKE ACTION - and that's where most people stumble - because it's the taking action which seems to be the hardest bit.

But honestly? Grab your keyboard, grab your coffee and get typing - because for every 1 YOU - there are 19 women out there in your industry posting "Monday Motivation" memes and boring the pants off their NON-clients! 

By choosing to blog - you are ALREADY WINNING THE RACE!