upstate blogger spartanburgWhile blogging is immensely popular in larger cities around the nation, there doesn’t seem to be too many professional bloggers here in Spartanburg or throughout the Upstate.  I have a feeling that once the word gets out on how ridiculously awesome blogging can be, it will become a commonplace for professional copywriters and freelancers alike.

What the Heck is a Blogger?

A blogger is nothing more than a writer that talks about a specialty on the Internet- like online marketing, professional football or collecting classic cars.  This person usually starts out as an amateur writer with no formal training, but they have a passion for what they write about and eventually other people take notice.  Before long, their website starts to get some traffic and a hobby suddenly becomes a business opportunity.

How the Heck Can Bloggers Make Money?

Here’s the sweet thing about blogging- you can write about absolutely anything on God’s green Earth and produce some income by doing it.  That’s because no matter what you decide to talk about, there are businesses that have products and services that your audience would be extremely interested in.  If our blogger is a Carolina Panthers football fan, for example, then he could create an affiliate account with the NFL or any sporting goods store to sell jerseys, ball caps and numerous other items through his website.

Why Do Businesses Hire Bloggers?

Like the example above points out, bloggers build a very personal bond with their readers and they usually have a very strong influence over their purchasing decisions.  Let’s say our Spartanburg-based blogger told his followers, “I just had a Chili Cheese a Plenty at the Beacon and it was awesome!”  Something like that makes others say, “Darn, I could go for a burger at the Beacon too!”  It may be the most powerful targeted advertising there is in the world today.

Should Businesses Have their Own Blog?

Absolutely!  If they live here in the Upstate and they want to bring the Spartanburg culture into their businesses, a blog gives multiple ways to do that.  I tell businesses to talk about everything from local gossip to upcoming promotions to humor and seasonal activities.  Tutorials on things related to your business are also great ways to gain exposure.  Because what it does is make “XYZ Corporation” a living, breathing entity that’s associated with dozens of fun things around the Upstate.  It is a very powerful marketing tool.

Do Blogs Help Businesses in Other Ways?

It just so happens that blogging is also the most powerful way to increase your exposure in the search engines and rake in new customers.  Blogs are social by nature, so they are great to share on social media like Facebook and Google+ to build up plenty of likes and shares.  Since people in the Upstate are friends with hundreds of other locals, it gives massive visibility while making your brand look good.  It’s a huge win/win scenario.

Can I Use Other Upstate Bloggers to Advertise?

Believe it or not, Upstate blog writers make a good portion of their income talking about local Spartanburg businesses.  They usually work in one of two formats- either by accepting guest posts (which you would write) or having them write a review of your business.  It is extremely cheap advertising too; there are several Spartanburg bloggers who have 10,000+ local followers and they’d charge less than $50-100 to brag about your products and/or services.

How Do I Start a Blog for My Company?

Contact your local web developer (or me…preferably me) and ask them to add a blog to your website.  In most cases, they will be able to install WordPress or a similar platform right on top of your existing site, and then all that’s left for you to do is to start typing away.  Even better, the formatting will be very similar to Microsoft Word so there are very few learning curves involved.

How do I Find Inspiration to Write a Daily Blog?

My small team usually gets together one a month and says, “What would our customers like to read about?”  Then we throw around a bunch of bad ideas, and then a few good ones, and eventually something that sounds like pure gold.  Once we have 4 or 5 themes we want to run with, then we get behind our keyboards and go to work.  Just make sure that you find a way to work some of your business’s main keywords into each article so it serves the dual purpose that we talked about earlier.

Can Web Synergy Teach Us to Write a Great Blog?

Definitely.  Just give me a call or reach out through the “Contact Us” page and we will help you do a little brainstorming.  My staff and I can also teach you all the search optimization basics to keep Google happy, plus show you about how to incorporate contests and giveaways to boost your readership quickly.  If you’re not feeling inspired, then you can also have your web content written by a world-class blogger and copywriter (that’s me)…since that’s sort of my specialty.  Just let us know what we can do to help.