As coaches and consultants, marketing is about positioning yourself to ideal clients as an expert in your field and someone who can be relied on to help them resolve problems in their life, career, or business. Two components necessary for marketing success are consistency + visibility.

One of the most effective ways to achieve marketing success is by using blogs. So often I’ve seen blog articles on social media platforms that a few people ‘flock’ to, but then the blogs ‘die on the vine.’ Yes, it’s ‘out there,’ but when you share only the one time, you will likely wonder why you should bother writing content at all. You may feel it not to be worth the struggle to write your article, to refine your style to be so eloquent, to find the perfect image which echoes the message, to post to your website, to share on social media—only to ‘run the course’ just one time with slim to nil effect.

Your blog is your kingpin for inviting people to visit your website. If you provide your website visitors with the kind of information that they’re seeking, even if they don’t know it, you have the formula to win their curiosity in wanting to know more about you and your services.

The intention of a blog is:

1.)   To generate content;

2.)   To become known as an expert in your field;

3.)   To drive traffic to your website;

4.)   To get more clients signing up to work with you.

Imagine your ideal client is visiting your LinkedIn profile, and they find an article you’ve written that offers a solution to one of their problems, adding to your image as a professional who is knowledgeable about their subject matter. Start by describing a specific problem they may be having, then invite them to find the solution…over on your website. You could say something like, “If this is something you are experiencing, then click here to find out how to resolve this once and for all.”

Here are some quick tips for making your blog the most useful item in your marketing toolkit.

• Make sure that your blog content is evergreen. Remove the dates from your posts. If newly visited content is dated 2002, readers will feel it’s outdated and no longer relevant.
• Tell a Story. Offer a case study or success story from a client you have helped. Describe what they were experiencing before they hired you and then detail how the support you provided helped them to turn it all around. Be specific in sharing the outcomes (not how you got them there, but the measurable results). For example, ‘John worked with my company, and by implementing our suggestions, within six months, he was able to close ten new sales and increase his gross annual income by 20%.”
• Use bullet points. Make your blog content ‘easy to digest’ by using bullet points and bolding the most relevant statements.
• Include a call to action at the end of every single article on your website. Help steer your potential client to the next step(s) in consulting/working with you. At the end of every post, add a brief statement, and offer instructions to schedule a call, fill out a questionnaire, join your mailing list, etc.
• Grow your audience on all the major platforms. If you have only three followers on Twitter, then only three people will ever get the chance to read your content. You must consistently gain new followers for more readers to know who you are and how you can provide solutions to their problems.
• Post excerpts of your articles on a regular basis in a rotating fashion, on all your social media platforms.
• Measure Your Metrics. Make sure you know your numbers, especially Google Analytics, to measure website traffic sources and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Also, check your newsletter opt-ins and open rates. 

For all phases of systematizing the marketing of your business, be sure to “Do and Document.” Begin the process and take notes about what works well and what you will continue to do.

Remember, it all comes down to this equation: Consistency + Visibility = Marketing Success!