Blog Partnerships: How To Have A Ghostwritten Blog For Less $$

In a downward moving economy like today’s companies begin to look for ways to scale back on the budget. It’s a shame because one of the first things to go is marketing and there is no more important a time to market your business than when business is slow or declining. If you find yourself in the situation where you have to cut your marketing budget and you think your blog is going to be one of the things that you cut, let me tell you three reasons why you don’t want to do that:

• Search engine marketing – A blog is one of the most powerful search engine marketing tools you can have. One blog is far more effective than five static websites with no blog promotion. Yes, it’s a monthly expense, but it also keeps you in the forefront of search queries and without a blog your static site will just slide into oblivion.
• Branding – A blog is not only a good search marketing tool. It’s also a great branding tool. There is no other tool on the planet that can do as much to brand your company for less money than a blog.
• Credibility and Authority – A blog also gives you greater authority – with the search engines and with your human visitors. It’s a shame you might consider throwing that away for a few measly dollars each month.

But, hey, a budget’s a budget, right? We understand that. We really do. That’s why I have a suggestion for you. Instead of cutting your blog out of your budget altogether, why not take in a couple or three partners? By sharing the expense of the blog you can also share the benefits and your blog still will get posted to every day. It costs less than one dedicated blog, but it will still provide you with most of the benefits of a daily blog. Each blog post can be optimized for and link to either you or your partners and all of you can have sidebar links on your blog. It’s a win-win for all.

If I were to go the partnership route on a blog I would make sure of two things:

1. No. 1, don’t partner with your competition. Instead, choose complimentary services and products that can benefit by sharing the marketing expense.
2. Get your agreement in writing. Plain and simple. All parties should understand the nature of your contract.

Another way to go about the partnership plan for your blog is for you to take care of all expenses and seek sponsors. Ask your sponsors to pay a few dollars (RE: $10, $15, $25, or even $50 or $100) per month for the privilege of placing a banner on your blog and an occasional promotional post. I’ve done this on my blogs and it works like a charm. You don’t have to stop blogging altogether.