Yes, I do believe the most important work from home tool you need is a blog. It doesn’t matter if you plan to work a at home phone job, opening shop as a virtual assistant or blogging your heart trying become the next seven-figure blogger.

A blog has a variety of benefits. You could say it’s your calling card, a way of introducing yourself to the world. It’s a networking tool that lets you make friends around the world. You can even use it to help keep yourself accountable to the goals you’d like to achieve.

While those are nice benefits, for the work from home mom (or dad) a blog is essential and here’s why.

A Blog Introduces You to the World

No matter what your work at home goal is, it’s important that you put yourself out there in front of the world to see. It’s a way to attract customers to a small business. Or if you just looking for an employee-type job it’s your online resume.

After all, you don’t want Facebook and Twitter to be the only way the world sees you, especially potential employers or customers.

If you are in a writer or an artist a blog is your online portfolio. And for small businesses of any kind, it’s a way of letting everyone know your open for business.

Content is King Even for a Non-blogging Blogger

Blogs are all about content and the information sharing. If you’re working from home, no matter what that choice is, there’s probably information that you want– and need– people to see.

If you’re at home business is something like direct sales then a blog is your catalog. It’s also a way to get potential customers excited about your product. You can show them different ways to use the product, why it’s beneficial for them and why they just can’t live without it.

For service businesses, such as bookkeeping or proofreading, it’s a way to let others know what you can do for them. But it’s also a way of providing information that will benefit them. And that’s a good thing because you’re much more likely to get clients when you give them something first.

A blog even comes in handy if you are only searching for a job. Writing about things that you find important gives you a step up from the crowd. As I said you don’t want the only introduction to you to be your Facebook page. Write about things such as budgeting or how you organize your home and your family. Employers will see a whole different picture of you then what just on your resume.

Blogging is a Way to Earn Extra Money

Even if you don’t intend to be a blogger there’s no reason why you can’t monetize your blog and make a few extra dollars. If you’re that writer who’s using the blog as your online portfolio, then why not recommend writing products that you’ve used and you love. It might be a grammar checking program or maybe it’s an online writing class you took.

A pet sitter might want to offer some books about how to care or train for their pets, while a bookkeeper might recommend some tax books or spreadsheet programs that would make their potential clients’ lives a little easier.

There are lots of affiliate programs and you can find one for almost any niche.

Just because you don’t intend to blog for a living doesn’t mean that you can’t benefit from it, in all of these ways. Setting up a blog is simple and it doesn’t even have to be expensive. A little while ago I wrote about starting a blog on blogger. That’s free and easy to use.

The point is, if you’re working from home you need a blog. Keep it simple and low cost, but don’t go without one.

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon,