Is blogging for you? (Spoiler alert – it probably is!)
Imagine you’re researching a family holiday in Budapest, Hungary and you want to take a tour of the city. You narrow your search down to two tour companies. Both are similar in terms of the experiences they offer, their pricing, and the quality of their websites. But there is one significant difference.
The first tour company you come across has a static website with tour descriptions, itineraries and reviews. The second has these things too, but in addition publishes regular blog posts sharing hidden parts of Budapest, the best places to find Hungarian gulyás, top souvenir suggestions etc. Reading these blog posts, you get a strong sense of the tour company’s personality, values and the kind of experience you can expect.
Now, which of the two tour operators are you going to choose?
Assuming the blog content is of high quality, I’d bet good money on you opting for the second tour company.
You see, blogging really can make the difference between winning, or losing, a sale. If you’re not already blogging for your tourism business, then I’d strongly suggest you start!
If you’re not convinced, these statistics might change your mind.
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- Businesses with active blogs receive 55 % more visitors (BKA content)
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- Websites with active blogs have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. (Hubspot)
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- Businesses that blog consistently are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI than those that do not (BKA content)
Still on the fence? Well, here’s something else to add to the mix. If you want your tourism business to be more visible (and who doesn’t want to be seen?) blogging is great for SEO. We all know that Google loves fresh content. And each time you publish a blog post there are lots of little tweaks you can make to push your content higher up these rankings (I’ll go into this in a later post so stay tuned.)
And, last but not least, blogging can be a lot of fun! Blog posts can be a great place to share stories from your tours, show your personality and hone your writing skills.
Getting started on your blog
Okay, let’s say I’ve convinced about the value of blogging. But where to start? It’s probably a good idea to start thinking about your goals.
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- How often are you going to post? Successful blogs are ones that are updated regularly. Whether you want to post daily, weekly or monthly, pick a posting schedule that is manageable for you. Then stick to it. Personally, I find a weekly commitment comfortable – you may be different.
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- What kind of posts will your customers want to read? What are they likely to find helpful/entertaining?
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- Do you need help with blogging? For example, could grammar-checking software be useful? Can a friend or colleague proofread your posts to check for errors? Do you need someone to write your blog posts for you? (Be aware, though, that quality blog posts come at a price!)
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- Are you happy with the rest of your website? Blogging is likely to get you more visitors, so make sure your images, reviews and tour descriptions are all up-to-date and looking good.
Next week, I’ll post about where to find blogging inspiration and I’ll discuss the importance of planning ahead. In the meantime, think about the questions above. Once you’ve worked through them, you’ll be one step nearer to smashing your blogging goals.
If you need additional help in getting started, you might benefit from a 1-1 coaching session with me. Find out more about how I can help you.