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According to Hubspot, businesses that prioritize blogging experience a 13X increase in ROI, year after year, and generate 70% more leads than those that don’t blog at all!

While most large businesses have impressive content marketing programs and blogs, it’s just as important for a small business or startup to incorporate a blog as well. A website alone doesn’t always offer enough current information, personality, or authority to truly stand out from the crowd.

Google’s love for blogs means that an interesting and regularly updated blog section can work wonders for search engine optimization (SEO). Why? Because blogs are often full of keywords and phrases that you or your business want to rank highly for in internet searches.

This is where a company blog can shine.

Here are seven reasons why your company needs a blog.

1. Keep your audience updated about your business.
   A blog is the most flexible tool to keep your audience in the loop about your business. It lets you share updates in a way that shows who you are, not just what you do, and talk in-depth about your products and services.
   
2. Great for building long-tail keywords and driving traffic.
   Every company needs a blog to increase its visibility. The more blog content you create, the more opportunities you’ll have to show up in search engines and increase organic traffic to your website.
   
3. Helps improve internal linking.
   Unlike inbound linking, internal linking is something that is completely within your control. It helps visitors with site navigation, pointing them to the most important pages on your website. The more relevant links, the better you’ll rank, meaning more traffic and potential leads.
   
4. Get feedback from your customers.
   Good business websites do a solid job of giving customers the information they need, but it is usually a one-way street. There’s no room to ask questions, comment on content, or start a conversation.
   
   This is why a blog is so powerful. It creates a two-way conversation with customers, leads, and industry peers. With a more personal tone and an interactive platform, you can encourage feedback and discussion in the comment sections of your blogs.
   
   Build trust and authority in your brand. Plus, see your business from your audience’s point of view and make changes to improve your services.
   
5. Helps you build your email database.
   Email marketing is still a great marketing strategy. But it’s not easy to get people to sign up! This is where a blog can help.
   
   If people find your blog content informative, relevant, and engaging, chances are they’ll trust your email newsletters. To push them towards signing up, include internal links in both your blogs and newsletters.
   
6. Teach and explain more about products.
   Blogs allow for in-depth explanations and teaching about what your products and services can really offer.
   
   The more your company produces content like this, the more it will be seen as an authority in the industry.
   
7. Easier to get social exposure with blog articles.
   Every time you write a blog post, you’re creating content that people can easily share on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. . This helps expose your company to audiences you don’t even know.
   
   In this way, blog content helps fuel your social media output, strengthening your social media presence and bringing in new visitors.

If you’re looking to reach new audiences, build your brand and stand out from the competition, start a business blog! Take inspiration from the reasons above and get started on a business blog.

Need some help? Contact Marcia to discuss your business blogging needs.

Helpful Resources

All entrepreneurs want their businesses to succeed. Unfortunately, many small business owners don’t know which steps they should be taking to achieve their business goals. If you want your small business to be profitable for many years to come, focus on improvements that will help you save costs, avoid legal issues, reach more customers, and improve the quality of your customer service. Here are some resources to help you out!

Tackle Administrative Tasks

The administrative side of your business is admittedly boring but essential for your growth. Good business management will lay the groundwork for your success!

• Learn how to manage your employees properly to avoid legal trouble and reduce turnover.
• Revisit your business plan regularly and make adjustments to better fit your business goals.

Prioritize Customer Service

Great customer service will set you apart from your competitors. Many customers will choose to buy their products from you because of your customer service alone!

• Encourage word-of-mouth referrals by providing unbeatable customer service.
• Make impactful improvements to your customer service strategy.
• Train your staff on best customer service practices.

Try New Promotional Strategies

Modern-day digital marketing is all about leveraging influencers, personalization, and partnerships with other brands. You’ll get a lot more customers with these strategies than you would with traditional offline marketing techniques.

• Connect with J&M Group to revamp your website and deliver custom digital marketing solutions.
• Do cross-promotions with businesses that complement yours.
• Reach out to social media influencers and ask them to promote your products.
• Add elements of personalization to your business website and marketing materials.

Monitor Your Finances

Keeping a close eye on your financials will help you avoid cash flow issues that could sink your small business before you even get a chance to grow.

• Keep track of your expenses and cash flow so you can identify problem areas quickly.
• Review your major costs regularly and look for discounts on supply purchases.
• Consider converting to a home-based business if you don’t need a storefront.
• Earning an online master’s degree in a business-related field can improve your business acumen and understanding of operations and cash flow.

Small business owners have to overcome countless obstacles on their path to success. Following small business best practices like the ones outlined in this article will help you steer clear of potential pitfalls and drive your business towards your goals!

Tired of wasting time and money on marketing efforts that don’t attract the right clients? Consider these home services lead generation sites to make certain your website finally brings home the bacon for your home services business.

With more than 20 years of history, Angie’s List is one of the most well-known free lead generation sites for home services. More than six million households use Angie’s List. Users can look for service providers in their area for a variety of services.

There is no lead generation fee. The only time you pay is when you advertise on Angie’s List.

Angie’s List features five categories for its services — house, auto, health, pets, and services. With these categories come more than 700 different services, which is excellent for companies in a niche market.

As Angie’s List is free for businesses to join, it’s worth claiming or listing your company. While you may not generate an excessive amount of leads from this platform, you at least have a presence on it. That can help your business earn a few leads and close some sales — without any financial investment.

Bark features more than 20 million users worldwide. The platform adopts a different approach to lead generation. It allows you to pick and choose your leads, versus accepting any lead that comes your way.

On Bark, people post what they’re seeking. They provide Bark with all the details, from the location to the deadline, and then Bark finds matching businesses. Only five companies may contact a lead.

If you receive a lead from Bark, you have the option of contacting the person. To connect with them, you need to spend a credit — each credit is worth $1.65, and each lead is worth a certain number of credits, generally between 1 and 20.

Once you spend your credit, that’s all you pay for that lead.

Pros and Cons

Bark provides a money-back guarantee, a favorite feature for businesses. This guarantee becomes available when you spend all your credits without closing a lead.

Bark features more than 2000 services. People can search for lawyers, painters, plumbers, and more. If you’re in a niche market, this service specialization can help you reach high-quality leads fast.

HomeAdvisor is a pay-per-lead staple when it comes to lead generation websites for home services.

HomeAdvisor operates by connecting companies with quality leads. To provide your company with relevant matches, it gathers several essential pieces of information from shoppers, such as their project timelines and locations.

When HomeAdvisor delivers a lead, you pay for it. After HomeAdvisor connects your company with a lead, it’s up to your team to convince that lead to partner with your business.

Companies must pay to join HomeAdvisor. In addition to paying for each lead, your company must also subscribe to a service plan that costs almost $300 per year.

Your business can expect to pay $15 to $60 per lead. The price of a lead depends on a few factors, including the predicted cost and scope of the job. A lead that’s looking to spend more costs more.

Pros and Cons

HomeAdvisor provides a well-known and trusted platform. Consumers know the platform and trust it, which is why HomeAdvisor receives so much traffic. That additional traffic can help your site reach your target audience.

But some companies feel conflicted when it comes to using HomeAdvisor. If you’re on Angie’s List, you may receive identical leads.  And, of course, Angie’s List is free to join.

Houzz is a snazzy, go-to website for users looking to remodel or redecorate their homes. For companies in the home services industry, it’s a trusted platform for generating high-quality leads.

Houzz is both a lead generation and design inspiration website. Users can browse photos of kitchens, baths, patios, and more. Also, they can shop for home products and browse service professionals.

A user can find your Houzz profile by searching for a professional or using the drop-down menu, “Find Professionals.” If you advertise on Houzz, they can also reach your profile that way, though you pay for the click.

Creating a profile on Houzz is free.

The costs for Houzz Pro+, as well as advertising on the platform, vary. Rates depend on your location, as well as industry. For example, some companies have paid $1500 per month for Houzz Pro+ while others have paid $250 to $300 to advertise on Houzz.

Pros and Cons

Free to join, Houzz connects you with high-income users.

With Houzz, your company can become not only a paying member but also an advertiser to increase your lead generation efforts.

A standout feature of Houzz is your profile which includes a “Projects” tab, You can use this to highlight your work. This feature can help your company persuade a user to contact your company.

Like other free lead generation websites for home services, it’s worth creating a free account on Houzz. That way, your company at least has a presence on the site. Your profile on Houzz also makes it easy for users to contact you by phone, which saves you from checking your account 24/7.

NextDoor is a private social media network for neighborhoods. It lets users connect with their neighbors — including local businesses. The website features more than 180,000 neighborhoods.

NextDoor focuses more on connecting neighborhood residents than with businesses. The website, however, has helped companies generate new leads and brand awareness.

You can advertise with Sponsored Posts. These posts appear in user news feeds. Your organization can claim its business page. With your business page, you can provide users with valuable information about your company, as well as interact with users that engage with your page.

If users request recommendations, like for a plumber or a house painter, your company can respond to these requests. You can also post a comment on your personal account, though NextDoor requires that you disclose your affiliation to your business.

NextDoor is free. It costs nothing to generate leads — your company doesn’t have to advertise on the site. If you do promote your business, the CPC varies and depends on factors related to your audience and area.

Pros and Cons

With NextDoor, you reach your ideal service area. This feature lets your company target a city, as well as connect with the residents in that area.

 If you want to generate leads, plus build brand awareness, NextDoor is an excellent platform.

While you may not use NextDoor to generate all your leads, it’s at least worth claiming or creating your business page. That way, other users on the platform can recommend your business to others, which can lead to users contacting your company.

Thumbtack features more than 1000 services and more than 10 million users, which makes it a viable lead generation option for companies in the home services industry. It’s also a useful site for businesses looking for an alternative to saturated websites like Angie’s List.

Shoppers tell Thumbtack what they’re looking for, whether it’s a house painter, electrician, or landscaper, and then Thumbtack provides a list of relevant search results.

When a shopper decides to connect with your business, you pay Thumbtack. You receive a refund if the client’s request changes significantly, if their first message declines your service, or if they’ve matched with you more than once in the past 72 hours.

With Thumbtack, prices vary.  Companies have reported paying $15 to $70 for a lead — Thumbtack automatically charges these rates to your credit card on file. You can, however, view the cost of leads in the “Jobs” tab of your account. Businesses can also set a budget, which also controls how many leads they receive.

Pros and Cons

Thumbtack offers discount prices for leads. You also can decrease your lead costs by 20 percent. The risk, however, is that you generate a tremendous amount of new leads, which can offset your savings.

Thumbtack also includes a shareable review link. For companies that find success with this platform, Thumbtack’s shareable review link is a bonus. With this link, you can easily direct users to your profile to leave a review. Based on your reviews, you can encourage more users to contact you.

Like other lead generation websites, Thumbtack favors companies that respond fast to user messages.  It forces your company, however, to have a dedicated team member always at the ready.

If your business doesn’t mind experimenting with lead generation websites for home services, it’s worth trying Thumbtack. You can create your account, set your budget, and see what happens.

More than 30 million unique visitors turn to Yelp each month. The lead generation website, known for its restaurant reviews, also provides home services companies the chance to generate and connect with quality leads.

Yelp features customizable profiles for businesses. On your profile, you can upload images, respond to reviews, accept reservations, highlight deals, and more. You can also advertise your business across the platform to appear at the top of search results.

Yelp is free to use. You can create your account and  interact with reviewers for no charge.

The only paid feature of Yelp is advertising. The cost for advertising operates on a CPC model, meaning you only pay when a shopper clicks on your advertisement. In most cases, the competition for a keyword influences your CPC the most.

Pros and Cons

Free to join, Yelp makes it easy to adopt as a lead generation website. It also provides your company with an additional outlet to reach and interact with current customers and potential leads.

Yelp is one of the most popular sites for finding a service, whether a plumber, restaurant, or cleaner. The fact that it’s well-known increases your company’s chances of reaching its target audience and turning them into a lead.

With Yelp, users can also schedule appointments or request quotes via your profile. This tool allows your business to save time, as well as provide a seamless user experience. It also helps you close a lead in an instant.

Instead of wasting time and money on marketing efforts that don’t attract the right clients, the J&M Group will work to understand your business and design a custom plan designed to reach your best prospects online.

Right up its alley … the J&M Group knows local businesses and what they need!

Are you interested in learning more about how you can use home services marketing to grow your business? Get in touch below!