I talk about blogging a lot because I strongly believe it’s an incredible marketing tool for businesses. Yet, I hear the same gripes over and over: Nobody’s reading my blog, I don’t have time to keep up with it, I’m not sure it’s doing anything for my business.

The fact is that some of the benefits of blogging do take time to show up. It takes persistent effort to build an audience. But all of that effort isn’t wasted in the meantime because your blog has the power to impress site visitors.

When a prospective client visits your website, discovering your blog can help with the sales process. If yours is up to date and shares relevant and thoughtful content, it can make an impression on a potential client and increase the chances of you doing business together.

For example, if you’re a life coach and a prospect visits your site and finds your great blog filled with nuggets of wisdom, that discovery is going to have an impact on their decision to hire you. And if that prospect is investigating your competitors and they don’t have blogs with impressive content, yours will really stand out.

The same is true for nearly every service profession: consultants, coaches, health professionals, business brokers and advisors, attorneys, financial professionals, etc. A blog provides you with the opportunity to dazzle prospective clients and can actually shorten your sales cycle. It’s also a way to establish a rapport with clients before you even meet because you have the opportunity to let your personality come through.

So if you’re stuck in a place of wondering about whether or not blogging is impacting your business, take a six-month challenge. Commit to blogging two or three times each week for the next six months and watch what happens. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.