Many times I wonder if people realize that blogging is a business. Because I’ve had several people say that they saw my latest Instagram or Facebook post but they did not comment or like the photo. A lot of time and energy goes into running a blog. It's frustrating because blog engagement is what influencers like myself thrive on. And having a strong community is even more important. Bloggers are business owners and we want your support too!

I also have a freelance marketing consulting business where I support clients with content marketing, social media, and pr strategy. As my creative business expands, I’ve started to get questions from people asking, “how can I support your small business?” Running a small business is hard, and for us to succeed, we need help from friends and families. How do you support someone who runs a business? Supporting your friends creative small business is easier than you think, and today I’m sharing easy ways you can help support your friends small business without investing money.

Read their blog content

The easiest thing you could do to help support your friends small business is to visit their blog or website regularly. By taking the time to visit their blog or website, you're helping improve their Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which helps increase their visitability on the web.

Subscribe to receive their blog post via email or RSS feed

Taking the time to visit your friends blog or website is great and definitely appreciated. If you want to stay up to date on the latest happenings in their business, I highly recommend subscribing to their newsletter or RSS feed. This will ensure that you never miss an update.

Comment on their blog content

If you really enjoyed reading their blog content, comment to let them know. Comments are very hard to come by these days and I know they would be surprised to read your positive comments on their blog. Comments are also a great way to help boost traffic to their blog or website. Google loves comments on blogs!

“Like” and comment on their social media content

If you are following your friend’s business on social media, make an effort to like their post and comment on the content. This is something that takes 2 seconds to do and you would get some major “brownie points” for doing so.

Share their content

If you see a blog post that you think could be helpful for others, share it with someone. I’m always emailing or texting my friends articles and podcast interviews that I think they will enjoy.

Refer their services

If your friend has a consulting business like mine that you think would help someone, recommend their services. My friends and family are my biggest referral sources. I recently gave a seminar on social media at one of the local chambers of commerce in the area. That referral came from a friend who reads my blog and knew I could help small business owners with their social media.