Blogs can be a great way for contractors to help build their brand and expose their products and services to their target audience. Too often, however, it ends up being a short lived, poorly thought out endeavor that amounts to little more than a big waste of time. You know you’ve seen the small business websites where the last blog post was four years ago. Needless to say, that blog isn’t doing anyone any good.
So how do you turn your blog into something that can actually help your business? Here are a few ideas:
- Be consistent. Come up with a plan on how often you can realistically update your blog, build out a content calendar and stick with it. Thinking you’re going to post every day or even every week can be unrealistic. Start out with a plan to do it once a month and then budget the time to do it.
- Write about your experience. You know your craft as well as anyone, what are the important questions you find yourself asking for customers? Are there new services that your company’s providing that can increase the value of someone’s home or save them money? Tell them about it!
- Model it after things you see getting shared on social media. People love to read lists (“Top five ways to lose money on a remodel”) and sensational questions (“How did this guy cut his heating bills by 95%?”). Keep your eyes peeled for content that’s getting a lot of activity and take note.
- Be active on social media. Your blog should have share buttons which make it easy to use, but you’ll want to participate within your local community and within your industry on a regular basis to make sure your blog has a better chance of getting you traffic and shares.
So all of this sounds nice in theory, but what would a blog post like this look like? Well, if JobFLEX were a contractor, we’d probably try something like the following. It uses a list styled headline, it explains some of the problems contractors often fix from DIY projects gone wrong, and it helps explain the value of hiring a contractor.
Thinking About DIY Carpentry & Home Improvement? Here Are 3 Reasons To Hire A Pro
Who doesn’t love to save money? Most people will admit that saving money is on the top of their priority list when it comes to any home improvement project. At JobFLEX we know all about carpentry estimating software, and we also know that carpentry work and home improvement is harder than most people think. If you are thinking about doing your own carpentry work to save a little money you may want to consider the potential costs of screwing up because there’s ample evidence out there showing just how badly these projects can go.
Something seemingly as simple as installing hardwood floors by yourself can turn into a pretty daunting task. Not only will you have to purchase certain tools you may only use once in your life, flooring projects often come with problems throughout the project that you never would have considered. If you’re not an experienced pro, what do you do when you get half way into the project and realize you have termite damage or rotting floor boards? You’ll start realizing very quickly that your dreams of being a carpenter have turned into a nightmare.
The perils of DIY hardwood flooring are real.
Another project too many people underestimate when doing home improvement is demolition. Of course you think you can knock down a few walls and you won’t run into any problems, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Wouldn’t you hate to accidentally knock down a load bearing wall and not even realize it? That is going to be a costly mistake.
Don’t be like this redditor who posted: “I may be an idiot, I knocked out a load bearing wall in my house.”
Or maybe you think you can install some wood shelving in your closet to give your significant other some extra space for their favorite pieces of clothing. This task may be simple enough, right? It’s just a few shelves. If you’re a rookie, even something as simple as trying to get shelves leveled can be much more difficult than you anticipated. After you install some shelves, don’t be surprised if a few favorite items find their way onto the floor and you find your way into the dog house.
Uneven shelving always ends poorly.
Unless you know what you’re doing you can really get yourself in trouble trying to take on the work of a carpenter. If you need a professional you should just hire a professional. In most cases the amount of time, stress, and hassle you saved will be worth the extra cost. So try and stick with just decorating your new kitchen or bathroom when it is all finished and ready for the amateurs to add the finishing touches.
Image credits:
- http://www.uptownfloors.com/problems/avoid-guidelines.htm
- http://macgyverisms.wonderhowto.com/how-to/fix-crooked-uneven-wall-shelves-with-piece-paper-0149975/
