5 Reasons Designers Should Blog

You’ve got rock star design skills, a winning personality and a portfolio to match. But how will clients looking for your particular set of talents discover you? More importantly, who else will they discover first? Maintaining a blog might seem well outside of your niche, but it’s a necessity. You must blog to elevate your digital presence and gain more paying clients.

1. Designers Should Blog to Showcase Their Talent

Creating a blog involves more than publishing your thoughts for the day; it’s also very much about design. How attractive and meaty your blog is (or isn’t) will speak volumes about your professional abilities.

As a web designer, your understanding of page build, SEO and design elements is what differentiates you from competitors. Ultimately, landing a new client will take less convincing because you will be your own success story.

2. Develop a Loyal Audience

Another reason designers should blog is to develop a loyal audience.

As a web design professional, you have opinions, experiences and ideas for which you need a sounding board. Share your thoughts with others via your blog, be responsive to comments and update content regularly to create an audience of loyal, engaged followers. Between maintaining a conversation with your audience and promoting your blog on social media, you’ll gain more followers and attract better leads.

3. Gain Industry Insight

Regardless of your professional focus, an engaged, loyal audience is gold to your business, as they can clue you in on the current design challenges in their industry. Paying attention to what your audience members say provides you with professional insight into what customers need and want. Use this information to perfect your service offerings, target a new market or build a companion business to complement your design specialty.

4. Become a Thought Leader

Creating an active blog can eventually position you as a thought leader in the web design space, as readers will begin to look to you for insight, strategies and suggestions for living in the digital world. Publish blogs focusing on top web design issues and trends to establish your brand as an authority and enhance trust in your professional expertise. As your readership grows, blogging presents new opportunities to network with other professionals and cross-promote your business.

5. Give Google Something to Talk About

Okay, Google doesn’t talk about you, but neither will your potential customers if you can’t be found with a simple search. Blogging on a regular basis elevates your position in search results, as search engines are more likely to view your content as relevant and valuable to users. Connecting your blog to social media or promoting it via forums is a great way to boost your website’s position in search engine results and attract more viewers.

What is preventing you from blogging regularly? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!