It’s the month of love, and what’s not to love about blogging? No one wants to be nagged by telemarketers, who always seem to call at the worst possible moments, right? Their canned talks inspire an immediate click on my phone. But what if you could chat with your customers when they’re ready to listen? A blog may be your new best friend.

I’ve been a writer all my life. I love nothing more than a fresh sheet of paper and a #2 Ticonderoga pencil. When I first heard about blogs, frankly, I was knee deep into writing a new book and was not interested. It took me a few months to jump on the bandwagon. When I did, when I really saw the value of a blog, I unashamedly took to my keyboard like a girl takes to a box of chocolates.

A blog is a simple conversation between you and your customer. Keep it short. Make it engaging. Tell a story. Fill it with value. Offer more beyond the page. Yup. It’s that simple. Yes, it takes a little time, but if time is not your friend, outsource its production. Just don’t walk away from the #1 tool to drive your business.

What makes a blog so valuable?

• It offers a cataloged index of all your content. Readers can scroll down the list and find the topic they want to read about, and boom! You just met someone’s need.
• Your blog content drives social media hits. Repost it often.
• It generates new leads to help your business grow.
• It offers you credibility as an authority in your field.
• It works while you snooze. Anywhere in the world, any time of the day, someone can google a topic you’ve blogged and find your words while you are busy doing something else, or even better, nothing at all.

How easy is it to blog? You need a website. You need a button to click. A platform like WordPress or Wix creates it all for you, so don’t let the mechanics become a stumbling block.

Words. You will need words. And pictures. If you don’t have pictures from your business, free graphics are available. If you don’t want to get bogged down with keyword density or landing pages, and the mystery of SEO boggles your mind, outsource the effort, but don’t throw the baby out with the dishwater. A blog is one of the simplest ways to grow your business.

Still not sure? The socialmedia examiner offers you compelling reasons to start a blog. Read this studyon the lifetime value of a blog. It’s a little hard to digest and part ofthe study must be downloaded, but the information is super valuable.

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, a friend I’ve never met. She lives in Colorado. We share a life occurrence, so as it turns out, we have something in common. We met via a blog. I blogged about my life event, and she blogs regularly about hers. I consider her dearer than a sister, and no, despite the years of conversation, we still would never recognize each other in a lineup. The connections that string our hearts together are the invisible threads of the internet and the words of our blogs.

That’s what a blog can do for your business. It's the month of love. Share some of it with your customers. Use words.