Business Blogging
How A Blog Can Help Your Accounting Business
These days it seems everyone has a blog from the ‘Dear Diary’ type personal blogs to the corporate insight style blogs shared by the Big 4 . But if you run a small or medium-sized accounting practice, could a blog actually help you get more clients?
The answer is yes, and here’s how:
1. People buy from […]
These days it seems everyone has a blog from the ‘Dear Diary’ type personal blogs to the corporate insight style blogs shared by the Big 4 . But if you run a small or medium-sized accounting practice, could a blog actually help you get more clients?
The answer is yes, and here’s how:
1. People buy from people they know, like and trust
Your website might be state of the art with ticker-tape style updates, but once a prospective client has read everything there is to know about your company and they’re still not convinced, how do you get them to stick around and give you a chance to convince them?
A blog gives you a more open, interactive and often less threatening way of drawing in those prospects and giving them the chance to get to know, like and trust you. Use a blog to share some of your specialist knowledge, tips and information that demonstrates the value you’ll provide to prospective clients considering your competitors.
When the time comes to call upon the services of an accountant, who do you think will be foremost in their mind?
2. Improving client retention and adding extra value
As well as a tool for bringing in new clients, a blog can be a powerful tool to keep the clients you already have that little bit happier and more faithful.
Providing added value on your blog can be as simple as sharing tax tips and reminding clients of important milestones or requirements; the knowledge you share on a consistent basis with existing clients demonstrates an ongoing commitment to their success and the added value you bring to them or their business.
3. Changing client perceptions of your business
Perhaps you want to be seen as a stuffy, old-fashioned accounting business, but if not and if you’re trying to portray a more cutting edge, with-the-times, go-to-business for accounting services to your prospects, then having a blog and being up-to-date with latest business and technology developments can convey the right impression to your target market.
4. Helping people find you on the web
You may update your company website from time to time, but many accounting websites remain static which does nothing to help your ranking in Google. Having an integrated blog is a simple and effective way to add fresh content to a static website on an ongoing basis - therefore improving your search engine ranking and helping to drive more traffic to your website.
5. Industry positioning and building expert status
You may or may not be the ‘go to’ accounting firm in your local area or industry but with a smart blogging strategy, you can quickly position yourself as the ‘go to’ experts. Consistently blogging about a specific area of accounting or being seen to share the latest news in a way that makes sense to everyone else can elevate your reputation - not only locally - but to a wider market globally.
If you think people aren’t interested in financial, accounting and money tips - think again. Check out these financial blogs for proof of the number of people looking for sensible advice on finances:
In summary
With a professional looking blog and a little bit of blogging effort, a blog can allow you to not only retain the clients that you already have for longer, but in this internet savvy age, open you up to a whole new audience of prospective clients and build that all important professional relationship to secure their business for life.
Convinced? If you’d like to discuss further how a blog could help your accounting business, find out how we can help here >>> or contact us now.
Blogs vs Mailing Lists
What’s the difference between a blog and a mailing list? Why are they different? Do you need both if you’d like to generate more clients online?
Traditional internet marketing wisdom says that the “money is in the list”; every single email address you have is effectively someone’s permission to contact them - which is a powerful […]
What’s the difference between a blog and a mailing list? Why are they different? Do you need both if you’d like to generate more clients online?
Traditional internet marketing wisdom says that the “money is in the list”; every single email address you have is effectively someone’s permission to contact them - which is a powerful tool.
But let’s look at blogs…every subscriber you have is effectively someone saying “Yes, I like what you write so I’d like to be updated every time you do”.
So in effect you have 2 different sets of subscribers saying the same thing - “Yes, please I’d like you to keep in touch me”.
There are a couple of crucial differences:
- With mailing lists, you know the name and email address of the subscriber (as long as they’re being truthful); with blogs, you don’t always know the name and email address of the subscriber (unless they’ve subscribed via email and they’re being truthful)
- Many of the mailing list services enable you to get a rough idea of how many people actually open your emails; with blogs you have no idea whether people actually read each of your posts.
So does the name thing really matter other than being able to personalise an ezine or email sent from a mailing list, so that you address the subscriber personally? I’m not so sure it does now that most people know the emails aren’t written personally from you to them but are likely going out to hundreds or thousands of others.
The big benefit of mailing lists and ezines over blogs is that you do have far more accurate stats about whether people open and click on anything in your email.
But if both sets of subscribers are saying “Yes please do keep in touch” - you now have their attention. And that’s the crucial thing.
In both cases you have a subscriber who has paid enough attention to you, said “yes” to you on one level and is potentially willing to pay you more attention in the future. Do you want to divide that precious attention between two different mediums?
(BTW - a blog and a mailing list can be used very effectively to promote a business in combination but only if each has a clearly defined role and strategy).
What To Write About On Your Business Blog
Business owners often struggle to work out what and how to write on a business blog - that is, a blog that’s designed ideally to help generate more business.
3 of the most common mistakes are:
Blogs that are too personal and irrelevant to your target market
Blogs that are too sales-y and designed purely to promote your […]
Business owners often struggle to work out what and how to write on a business blog - that is, a blog that’s designed ideally to help generate more business.
3 of the most common mistakes are:
- Blogs that are too personal and irrelevant to your target market
- Blogs that are too sales-y and designed purely to promote your offers & services
- Blogs that are neglected and only written on every 3 months
A business blog should provide value - and demonstrate how you can provide value to your clients (i.e. if they give this information and advice away for free, imagine what we get if we pay them). You should also write on your business blog at least once a week - and if you can’t manage that, then at least fortnightly.
Here are some of the things you might want to write about…
Blogging For Accountants
- Advice on how to better manage and track finances simply
- Reminders about important deadlines and annual milestones
- Accounting tips to help save a business or individual time and money
- Top tips for improving financial management
Blogging For Private Health & Dental Clinics
- Health & wellness tips
- When a patient should and shouldn’t see a doctor
- Your professional take on the latest research, findings and studies relevant to your patients
- The most common myths on good and bad health topics
Blogging For Solicitors & Lawyers
- When to seek legal help
- Common myths about copyright, tax or other topics your target market is interested in
- How to protect oneself legally online/in the workplace
- How & when a lawyer can save you money
Blogging For Life Coaches
- Why Coaching Works
- Coaching tips you can try at home
- How to get the most out of working with a life coach
- Successful coaching stories
The key is understanding what sort of topics, information and articles your target market is looking for…and then give it to them.
