“Why” and “How” to Start a Blog

This is David Moya with thecarmelvalleylife.com. I’m excited to announce a new program that we’re doing here with small businesses in Carmel Valley.  I’ve got Drew Burks with me on this Hangout here.  We’re going to talk a little bit about the actual program.  It’s a free program.  We really noticed while working with a lot of businesses that a lot of businesses don’t have a website or a blog.  I personally know the power of a blog and a website, because that’s what The Carmel Valley Life is.  It’s a content driven blog and website.  So, I figured why not pass on the information, the knowledge I’ve learned and that Drew knows, to small businesses in Carmel Valley.  Drew, tell me, what is that statistic that you were reading to me earlier about the  power of content and blogs?

Drew: Yeah.  Hey, David.  You know, a couple of stats actually.  I’ve heard Google has reported that 50 percent of small businesses don’t actually have a website, which is staggering.

David:  That’s amazing.

Drew:   Another statistic that’s a little bit alarming is towards the end of last year, the fourth quarter, I personally reviewed about 750, maybe 800, small business websites, companies of probably 40 or fewer employees.  I found about 65 percent of those didn’t actually have phone numbers and emails on their websites.  They had like a contact form, like a contact us page.

David:  Right.

Drew:  Which I just found staggering.  Then, today an infographic came out that said 61 percent of consumers feel much better about purchasing a product from a company if they have a blog on their website.  I think at the end of December ‘Forbes’ came out with an article that said content marketing, or content directors, were going to be the next high six figure positions in corporate America. Because companies are finally grasping that content is so, so important.

David:  What’s important… Thankfully, I heard you give a talk.  I was in the audience when you were giving a presentation way back.  You talked about the importance of having your site or your blog on a WordPress site, wordpress.org specifically.

Drew: Right.

David:  The websites that we’re going to help these businesses with, it’s going to be wordpress.org based.  Correct?

Drew:  Absolutely.  Yeah.  If you currently are looking at building a website… Let’s say you’re working with a web firm and you want to design a new site.  Absolutely I feel very committed to say if you’re not building on WordPress you’re making a huge mistake, number one.

The reason is this.  Think of WordPress as your iPhone or your Android.  WordPress has what’s called plugins.  Plugins are like the apps on your iPhone or your Android.  Plugins add functionality to your site. WordPress works off of a framework that’s SEO friendly right out of the box.

David:  Right.

Drew:  So, for those of us who aren’t coders and SEO geniuses, it works for us.  There are thousands of templates or designs you can choose from, some free, some paid.  I always give people this analogy.  Think of the best book you’ve ever read or the best movie you’ve ever seen.  Ask yourself how many times you’ve read that book or saw that movie.

David:  Yeah

Drew:  You know, most people tell me half a dozen times, two dozen times.  Well, your website, the websites we all used to have – static online brochure type of website – are like that really great book.  Why would Google or a consumer come back more than a half dozen times if there was no new content?

David: Right.

Drew:  A blog post is new content.  That’s what makes The Carmel Valley Life so phenomenal.  You have amazing content – video, written content.  You have multiple contributors.  So, it ranks extremely well for everything Carmel Valley related, right?

David:  Yes.

Drew:  It’s the content that does it.

David:  Yes.  And, obviously, a big part initially when we started was written content.  Now we’ve incorporated video which is taking it to a whole new level.  That’s a different conversation, but you’re right.  Content is key.  For us, having that WordPress site and having content continually pumping through the publication has allowed us to rank very high on almost any topic.  Figuring all this out in the last three years or so, I really feel like I should say it’s something that anyone can really do as long as they have some basic instructions, some help.  There are things, obviously, that not everybody can do.  That’s where I needed help myself.  Luckily, I had good people surrounding me, so we were able  to take the site to another level.  It’s something that we can walk these business owners through and not be this crazy process.

Drew:  Absolutely.

David:  I’m excited about that.  I think if we start there with these websites it’s a good foundation that a lot of this other marketing that they can add to later would just plug into their website. They’re not building, let’s say, a marketing campaign that is not connected.

Drew:  Right.  We want to give them the foundation.  I think that’s kind of where you and I came together and said there’s no reason a business owner in 2014 shouldn’t have this.

David: Right.

Drew:  It takes minutes to do.  There’s minimal expense in terms to the business owner.  I mean they need to buy their own domain, $10 or $15.  At the end of the day, if you don’t have $15 for a domain you’re really not in business.

David:  Right.

Drew:  Let’s just get that out of the way.  Because I know someone’s going to tell us that they don’t have that.  Beyond that is get your domain, and then we want to set the WordPress site up for you because it’s a framework.  It’s the same platform that your site’s built on.

David:  Yeah

Drew:  You can run a multi, multi million dollar business on WordPress.  You know, when we talked about it I was just like it’s so easy and so quick, let’s just kind of donate some time of ours…

David:  Yeah.

Drew:  …to get Carmel Valley businesses set up with a free website.

David:  Yes.

Drew:  Then, I think we talked about it before.  But, just to be clear for everyone, we want to give them the platform they need and some basic instructions so that they can create content and start to get new leads to their business and build trust with their audience.  But, we also want to extend them six months of access to a mastermind marketing kind of online marketing membership training coaching program where they have access three Fridays every month to attend an online training if they want to.

David:  Yeah.

Drew:  Where either themselves or their staff could attend and learn more stuff to take their sites to the next level.  Again, that’s all compliments of The Carmel Valley Life to Carmel Valley businesses.

David:  Perfect.  Anything else you want to add as we close?  I mean I would just say, before maybe you want to add something, it’s free support.  We’re really here just  to help you get your website up.  If you do have a website up and you’re interested in maybe potentially transitioning to a wordpress.org site, we can still help you with that as well.  We’re just going to share with you what we’ve learned.  I think it’s valuable.  Take a look at thecarmelvalleylife.com.  It’s gotten to where it is now because of some of the things that we’re going to teach you.  So, I’m excited personally to assist any business owner out there that’s interested.

Drew:   Well cool, yeah.  I don’t have anything to add except for if you don’t have a site, take advantage of this.  Opportunities don’t knock every day.  So, take advantage of it.  Let us help you.  It’s 2014. Let’s get your business a better web presence.  We’re willing to help you out with that.  David, thanks a million for having me on here.  I look forward to seeing the post on your site.

***Email info@TheCarmelValleyLife.com for more information or support regarding this FREE local support.

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David A. Moya is a Carmel Valley San Diego community contributor and influencer for positive change.  As founder of The Carmel Valley Life he focuses on education, transparency and helping others find a voice for their passion.  During his earlier years, he fed his entrepreneurial spirit and founded a company focused on helping kids committed to peak performance.  David went on to pay for his BA in Finance through his real estate business and after graduating flew more than 30 flights to over 10 countries in order to master the art of communication and business.  Today, he enjoys creating value for his community by leading a movement of responsibility – one of sharing knowledge, stories and a helping hand.