Unless you’re already a super-famous millionaire consultant, you’re probably pretty keen on ideas for marketing your services and getting new clients in the door. Ditto for speakers and coaches. And authors. Also anyone who’s trying to sell products online. But I digress.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with several dozen clients over the past few months through The Blogging School and many of them have been consultants (or aspiring consultants) who seek to market their services online. I usually offer up one or more of the following five reasons for why they should have a blog and, more importantly, MAINTAIN IT.

Here are the main five reasons why every consultant should have a blog:

1. Your blog is a billboard for your expertise.

For potential clients who don’t know you from a stick of gum, your blog can show them who you are, what you know and how you can help them. It’s the “front door” to your personal brand and the first opportunity you have to make a splash. A plain ‘ol static website, on the other hand, makes it hard to distinguish yourself from all the other consultants out there in the same niche.

2. Your blog will help you get found faster on Google.

Blogs typically get more visitors than static websites. Why? Because of frequently updated content and search engine traffic. People are searching for answers to their questions online, and if the solution to their problem is in your blog post, they might find it – and you. Google loves blogs so much, they even has a special Blog Search function. In short, blogging makes it easier for your site to rise to the top of the search engines and get you in front of more leads for your business.

3. Blogging can connect you to other consultants, a.k.a partners and collaborators.

I’ve been fortunate to meet other consultants and entrepreneurs over the last few years through my blog and we’ve worked together on projects. Sometimes, it makes sense to partner with others in your industry instead of going it alone, and your blog can be your calling card for attracting like-minded consultants to your network.

4. Your blog can get you noticed by traditional media.

Because of the knowledge I share on my blogs, I’ve been featured on local and national TV, radio and print outlets such as JET Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, Fox 5 News and WPPR 1680 AM in Michigan. And the more people see you in the media, the more they perceive you as an expert in your area of consulting.

5. Your blog can be used for market research to figure out what your potential clients need and want.

With a blog, your readers have the ability to give you feedback on your posts and ask you questions. You might even host a survey through your blog where you ask them what problems they need help solving. Then, when you see a topic coming up frequently, that’s a good clue that your services would be welcome in that particular area.

I’m just gonna keep today’s post short and sweet. If you’ve been following my online journey for a while, then you already know that I have three blogs in three different niches. Obviously, you’re reading one right now – frombloggertoentrepreneur.com  - that’s all about using social media to build your brand and grow your business. The other two are rosettathurman.com (leadership development and career advice for nonprofit professionals) and happyblackwoman.com (personal development and business advice for black women). Obviously, I like helping people. I love giving advice and I love it even more when people use it to become successful! Although I give away advice on my blogs all the time, I also earn money through my sites as well. Whenever I tell people that though, they always give me a blank look. How do you “make money” with a blog? I really think people still have images of someone stealing credit cards through a website from the early days of internet scams or something.

The truth is that there are a lot of different ways to make money with a blog, and lots of people – from stay-at-home moms to hobby bloggers to small businesses to nonprofits to big corporations – are figuring out how to use this social media tool to add more dollars to their bottom line. But the guy in the photo above? The guy who makes “millions” online while sitting on the beach just by setting up a website? He is a myth, people. Blogging for your business takes lots of time, planning and yes, WORK.

It may seem mysterious how this all works, but there really are no secrets here, folks. As a broad overview, the only two ways anyone really makes money with a blog are the following:

1. Use your blog to sell your own products and services.

2. Use your blog to advertise and market other people’s products and services.

That’s it. That’s the big guru mastermind formula in a nutshell. If you can figure out how to do #1 or #2 or both, then you have the beginnings of an effective plan for monetizing your blog.

Is it time to monetize your blog or use it more effectively for your business? Does this spark any new ideas for you to start expanding the potential for your site?