One of my followers on Twitter recently asked me: If I have a blog, do I still need a website? That’s a really good question, especially if you’ve ever heard me singing the praises of blogging as a powerful way to build your brand and promote your organizing business.

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Unless you’re just getting started with your business, you probably have a website already. If not, I suggest that you take a moment to read my earlier post, Do Professional Organizers Need a Website?

A traditional website can be a valuable marketing tool that allows people to access information about your business 24-7, but your brand is so much more than the services you provide or the products you sell. It’s more than just your logo and your tagline. Your brand is the way that people perceive you, and it’s reflected in everything that you do. It’s in your values, your personality, your talents and your skills.

A blog allows people to understand your brand on a completely different level. By posting tips, articles, product reviews, links to other people’s articles that you’ve read, or other information, you position yourself as an expert in your field. When you offer advice or comment on industry trends, it shows that you know your stuff, and helps you get noticed by the people that you want to attract.

Blogging is also a great way to keep your name in people’s minds. Posting quality content on a regular basis will bring people back again and again, so when they’re ready to do business, you’ll be the first one they think of. A blog can be a very powerful way to get your marketing message out, due to the fact that blogs are very search engine friendly, and because they encourage interaction with website visitors, making it more likely that they’ll return on a regular basis.

If you have an existing website, you may wish to set up your blog on a completely separate site, as I did for Daisy Wright of The Wright Career, or in a separate directory of your existing website, as I recently did for Hellen Buttigieg. In either case, you’ll want to take advantage of the regular traffic your blog will attract by including a prominent link to your main website.

On the other hand, if you’re just establishing your web presence, or you’re ready to update your current website, there’s no reason not to combine your blog and your business website into one. This strategy ensures that people reading your blog won’t overlook the fact that you offer organizing services and/or products, while providing what webmasters call “sticky content” that gives website visitors a reason to spend more time on your site, and increases the likelihood that they’ll return.

There are some excellent premium WordPress themes which were created specifically to give you a professional-looking business website-blog combination without putting the main focus on the blog. This can be especially advantageous if you’re unable to update your blog frequently, as this fact will not stand out as much as it will if your last post is the first thing people see when visiting your site. For an example, please see the recently revamped Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants Group site.

These days, I recommend WordPress to all of my clients looking for a new website, even if they have no plans to start blogging. Using WordPress as a content management system for your website means that you don’t need to rely on your website manager, or purchase and learn to use expensive website editing software, in order to make simple changes or additions to your website. In addition, it will be very simple to add a blog component down the road should you change your mind. If you’re worried that it will look too much like a blog, check out the site I designed for More Than Admin, then tell me what you think!

I do not recommend using a free blog site such as www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com as your business website. In my opinion, sending people to a URL like myorganizingbusiness.wordpress.com is the equivalent of using a Hotmail or Yahoo address for your business. Having your own domain name is not only important for branding, but it tells the world you are serious about your business. Many people will be reluctant to deal with a business that uses these free services, as they are often associated with spammers and here-today-gone-tomorrow operations.

In summary, you definitely need a professional website to promote your organizing business. If you enjoy writing, I highly recommend that you have a blog as well (but not instead). And for maximum impact, why not combine the two?

I’d love to talk to you if you’re thinking of starting a new website and/or blog or converting your existing site to WordPress! Feel free to drop me a line to schedule your free 30 minute consultation.