Blogging for Business

 

Blogging is really hot and yet many people still have no idea

what it is or what it’s for.  I usually get one of two

responses when I tell people that I recently launched a blog:

‘A what?’ or ‘Great, where can I find it?’ 

 

It seems people are either completely aware and involved with

blogging or unaware of its existence.  Don’t be left behind and

miss out on a fabulous opportunity to connect with more

potential clients and partners.

 

Some people have heard about blogs and have a negative

impression of them.  Yes, there are people who have blogs that

consist of nothing more than an on-line diary that documents

their ordinary, daily life activities.  This is NOT what I am

talking about.  I want you to use blogging to promote your

business!

 

Highly respected business leaders and writers like Debbie Weil,

Tom Peters, Seth Godin, and Malcolm Gladwell as well as large

corporations have blogs, so why not you? 

 

How blogging benefits your business:

 

* Gain additional exposure to prospective clients and the media

 

* Drive traffic to your website

 

* Positions you as an expert and your business as the solution

 

There are several ways to get involved with blogging.  Start

where you feel comfortable and choose any, or all, of these

options:

 

1. Start reading interesting blogs

 

2. Comment on others’ blogs

 

3. Begin your own blog

 

READING BLOGS

Think about authors of books you like and see if they have a

blog.  What about your industry, who are the leaders?  Do they

have a blog?  You can search technorati.com which is a search

engine similar to Google which is  specifically for blogs. 

 

So how do you know when the blogs you like have new information

for you to read?  You can download software to your computer

although I recommend two other options.  One is a web based

‘reader’ which simply entails going to a website (newsgator.com

and bloglines.com are examples) and signing up and then

selecting blogs you are interested in.  The other option is to

receive notification of your favorite blogs via e-mail by

signing up at each blog you like.  You can always do a

combination of both.

 

COMMENTING ON BLOGS

After each entry on a blog there is usually a link at the end

that says, you guessed it, ‘comments’ and if you click on it

you can type in your thoughts on the topic.  Some blogs allow

you to post your comments immediately and others preview your

comments before posting.

 

When you write interesting comments to blogs, you gain exposure

because you ‘sign’ your comment by adding a link to your

website, your e-mail address, or to your own blog.

 

START YOUR OWN BLOG

There is a ton of free information on the internet about how to

start a blog so I won’t go into the details here.  Trust me,

I’m no technical wizard so if I can do it, you can too.  You

don’t have to design anything, most blog hosts provide a wide

selection of templates you can choose from.

 

You can choose a free blog host like blogger.com or

wordpress.com.  I chose an inexpensive paid blog host,

Typepad.com, because it is important for me to have access to

technical support. 

 

It is critical to decide on the focus of your blog and stick to

it.  I love Typepad.com's tag line, “Inform. Influence.

Inspire.”  What could the purpose of your blog be?

 

Ideas for the focus of your blog:

 

- Specific aspects of your business that are not covered on

your website

 

- Case studies, tips, or articles

 

- Trends in your industry

 

With a blog, it is super easy to add new entries whenever you

want.  For a blog to be effective it is important to post

frequently, at least once a week.  Think about it, how often do

you update or change the information on your website?  Probably

not often even if you are able to make changes yourself.  Many

business owners rely on a webmaster to make changes which makes

the process even more complicated. 

 

When your blog is ready, be sure to tell people about it and

add it to the blog search engines which are easy to find on the

internet.  You can also add a link to your blog on your

website, e-mail signature, and business cards!

 

Are you starting to catch the blog fever?  I caught it, here’s

my blog http://successtipsforlife.typepad.com.  Don’t delay,

get out there and start reading blogs, adding comments to

others’ blogs, and hopefully launching a value packed blog for

your business in the very near future!

 

(c) 2006 Stephanie Ward

 

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