It seems like everyone from your accountant to your teenage daughter has a blog these days. But should you?

Starting a blog may be the last thing you want to do.  After all, you have cold calls to make, interviews to schedule, and deals to close.  And for a blog to be of any value, you need to post content regularly.  You're not a writer, you're a recruiter, right? Why should you take on all that extra work and stress?

Well, a blog can be an excellent marketing tool. While it doesn't replace traditional marketing tactics, such as cold calls and sending marketing documents via email, there are a few advantages to adding a blog to your marketing mix:

1. Be an expert. With a blog, you can share all the knowledge you have accumulated through your years of recruiting.  By doing so, you set yourself apart from your competition by establishing yourself as an expert in your field or niche.
2. Engage in "Inbound Marketing" - Traditional marketing methods require you to reach out to (and often interrupt) prospects when they may or may not be ready to hear your message.  With Inbound Marketing tactics, such as blogs, prospects come to you for information when they need and want it.  Which technique do you think your prospets are going to be more receptive toe?
3. Website traffic. As those prospects use the search engines to find your information, your website traffic will increase, which in turn will help improve your Web site ranking with the major search engines.  That will make you more likely to be found and increase your traffic even more.
4. Referrals. Blog posts make it very easy for clients to forward your information to friends and colleagues.
5. Strengthen client and prospect relationships. Blogs provide an easy way for potential clients to interact with you by commenting on your articles.

You don't have to be a Pulitzer Prize-caliber writer to start a blog.  The most popular blogs are often more casual and conversational in nature. And because you already know about the niche you are writing about, you don't need to spend a lot of time researching topics for your blog. Just tell people what you already know.

Many recruiting firms already have blogs, but not all of them offer contract staffing, so there is a huge opportunity for you as a contract staffing recruiter to differentiate yourself and establish yourself as an expert in your niche. 

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.