Is starting a blog from scratch today still an effective marketing tool? Or another suggestion?

Yes! In fact, when working with my startup clients, I regard the blog as the backbone of an inbound marketing strategy and a must-have for businesses looking to accelerate growth. Here's what having a blog can do for you:
- Attract the right kind of prospective clients through targeted posts that answer their questions/address their issues.
- Create an educated buyer (buyers today prefer to do their own research, spending as much as 90% of the marketing funnel doing so before wishing to speak to a sales rep). The good news here is that the more educated a prospect, the less time the sales rep needs to spend educating he/she on their challenges when they do connect...making the sales cycle quicker and more efficient).
- SEO: creating helpful, substantial and keyword-optimized blog posts helps to drive organic search traffic.
- Get more leads. The first step to increasing lead gen through your website is to attract visitors that can later convert as leads. Your blog is your lever to attract these visitors. The more you blog, the more success you will get and more quickly. That's good news - it means you have control over your success.
- Your blog is also an opportunity to establish your company/founders/execs as thought leaders in your industry.

One thing to keep in mind, however, if you are going to start a blog. Your ability to be effective with blogging hinges on consistency and quality. Also, remember that it takes 3-6 months to *start* seeing results. Many people start blogging and then quit around the three month mark. It is certanily true that blogging in the early stages can be extremely lonely, but quitting too soon is the most common reason that companies don't achieve blogging success.

Blogging isn't the newest or sexiest marketing tool out there, but it is certainly one of the most effective.

I've had a personal blog and a biz blog for over 10 years. For me, aside from the SEO I think it's a great way for customers to validate your position in the marketplace. Even though it looks like one or two posts now, in time it can be quite impressive. I say this as a consultant because folks are buying a more personalize version of what they see on my blog.

Hello
A blog is still a good tool to share content with your audience and build reputation for your brand. But as you mention in your question a blog cannot be an isolated strategy and have to be part of a more holistic approach in your content strategy. (social media marketing, SEO)
I can help you to build your inbound strategy for your idea if you want.
Regards
Zulimar

Blogging isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Meghan makes a good point about being consistent with writing and posting blogs to start seeing results over time. One suggestion I can make is to go to a blog subscription service such as www.boxofbusinessblogs.com so you get the blogs you need at regular intervals and can edit and post them based on your individual style.

A blog also acts as a comprehensive database of all your work. If you don't do this you it will get lost posting on FB, LinkedIn, Medium, etc.