Last week I had the chance to speak to Signature System Coach Kathy Mallary, and she asked me a very poignant question:
"If you could wave a magic wand and transform every business owner in Barrie into an effective business blogger, what would that do for your community?"
My blogging vision for Barrie's business community
If every business owner in Barrie was blogging effectively, we would see huge benefits – both as businesses and as consumers and clients of those businesses.
As business owners, we would have meaningful, relevant content to draw on as we participate in social media, networking events and in structured meetings with prospective clients. We would have a central message from which to build all of our marketing communications. This would harness our efforts, save time and stress, and give us more confidence about answering questions and following up.
Because we were being specific and authentic in our writing, each of our unique personalities – values, quirks, interests, hobbies, background and all – would shine through and our ideal clients would see that we're a good fit to meet their needs. We would spend less time negotiating with the wrong clients and more time working with the right clients.
Our "competitors" would become our colleagues who we mention, link to and share openly with. We would trust that their ideal clients are not the same as ours. We would have an open, collaborative and generous relationship with other businesses.
As consumers and clients, we would be able to seek out and find information that helps us make choices in our lives and our businesses. We could trust the people we choose to do business with because we would already feel like we know them.
When visiting a business's website, we would find regular updates that give us a glance behind the scenes, and reveal more about the people involved in the business; the culture of the company. We would know almost instantly if this is someone we want to take the next step with, keep following or steer away from. This would save us both time and stress.
A community of thriving businesses and confident consumers who are happy to spend their money locally – that is my dream for Barrie!
How to plant a blogging tree that will grow your business
If you're a business owner who wants to live out my vision and join the orchard of blogging trees in Barrie, here are links to six blog posts that will take you through the process of planning and planting your blogging tree:
- A Strong Blogging Tree Starts at the Roots
- A Blogging Plan You Can Wrap Your Arms Around
- Branching Out on Your Blogging Tree with Blog Categories and Feature Articles
- How to Decorate Your Blogging Tree to Attract Your Ideal Clients
- Spreading the Seeds of Your Blogging Tree
- How to Keep Blogging, Whatever the Weather
How would your local or online business community benefit from planting and growing an orchard of blogging trees?
Linda Dessau, CPCC, is the author of Write Your Way to More Clients Online and the founder of ContentMasteryGuide.com. She offers ghostwriting, editing, training and consulting.
