All Entries Tagged With: "business blog"

Should You Start A Business Blog?

Blogging seems to be the buzzword of the decade. Everyone seems to want to get in on the action. Presumably, business owners who are just showing up at the blog party are doing so because they’ve heard somewhere that blogging is a great way to market their business. Well, it is, but only if you do it the right way.

There are many things to think about when starting a new business blog. It’s not all cupcakes and roses. You have to consider how often you’ll blog, whether you’ll do the actual writing yourself or hire someone to do it for you, and what you’ll write about on your blog. Too many new business bloggers start out writing then find out they have nothing to write about. Either they’re not focused or they haven’t thought through completely what they want their blog to be about.

At Blog Content Provider, we take a multi-strategic approach to blogging. First, there’s SEO. Why blog if you aren’t going to target your blog posts to search engines? You want your blog posts to rank for specific keywords related to your business so that you attract the type of readers you want. But focus entirely on SEO and you’re likely to write boring content that no one wants to read.

If you focus your blog posts on a conversational style of writing instead of “marketingese” then you’ll make people feel more comfortable about reading your blog. They want to see a real person, not some stuff shirt talking down at them. It’s a different kind of marketing than what most people are used to.

Thirdly, social media has become a strategy of its own. You’ll have to decide to what extent you want your blog to be socially motivated.

When it comes to blog marketing, think it through before you do it and when you decide that it’s time to start your company blog, learn the right way to do it before you jump in and ruin your marketing plan before you implement it.

Have You Calibrated Your Blogelator Lately?

If you’re new to blogging you might be wondering what that blogelator thingie is. Oh, and by the way, how do I get one?

Well, the truth is, I made it up. There’s no such thing as a blogelator. Trust me, I Googled it. But what if there was?

In electronics, calibration is a word that is often used to describe a process of adjusting the accuracy of something. Say, a tool. A measuring instrument. Something of that nature. Well, blogging is definitely a tool and you should think about calibrating your tool from time to time. You should treat it like it’s an instrument for measuring because that’s what it is. It’s a great measure of your ability to attract a targeted market and hold its interest.

If you think about blogging in those terms then the idea of a blogelator makes sense. Your blogelator is that built in instrument for measuring your reach, or your ability to reach your target market through your blog. Are you doing that effectively? If not then it’s time to calibrate the blogelator.

To learn more about how you can use a blog to reach your target market more effectively, contact the Blog Content Provider consultant now.

Why A Blog Is A Necessity For Marketing Online

Here’s a great article on why you should have a blog if you own a business and do business online.

Why Blogging is No Longer Optional If You Do Business Online

By Christine Gallagher

I know, I know. I can hear some of you groaning now! Many of you already have a blog and understand its importance in gaining visibility for your business. But I know many others are still resistant to the idea. You believe it takes too much time and effort, you don’t think you are a great writer, you don’t know how to set one up, you don’t know what to write about….I understand all of the reasons that may be holding you back.

If you already have a traditional, “brochure” style website for your business that’s great. You should keep that as a place for prospective clients and customers to visit to find out more about you and what you offer. I use my blog as my main site, meaning I don’t have a separate, static website. That’s a personal choice. Many people choose to have both, with the blog being linked to from the main site.

If you don’t currently have a blog, there are several important reasons why you should consider it:

Visibility: If you are doing even just some of your business using the web then you obviously need to have an online presence. Having a blog that you post to regularly is a wonderful way to capture and keep the attention of your prospects. When they see that you are posting consistently updated content, they are more likely to return to your site.

Search Engine Optimization: This doesn’t mean you need to study up and implement a ton of SEO techniques yourself. But blogs by their very nature are dynamic, meaning the content is updated often. In Google’s eyes, this is a very good thing-it shows that their users are getting fresh information. A blog is a great way to get your business to rank well in the search engines.

Community Building: By allowing comments on your posts you are promoting conversation and encouraging feedback. It can even help you to perform “market research” and find out what it is your target market needs from you. This feedback can also be helpful for coming up with ideas for future posts.

Positions you as the Expert: Something interesting happens once you begin posting useful content regularly and attracting subscribers. You become seen as a thought leader in your niche. This leads to more opportunities, more relationships and more business. It’s a terrific way to communicate the value of what you have to offer to prospective clients and customers.

Personality Sharing: Blogging gives you a chance to be seen as a real person and not just a business. Be willing to express opinions and let your true self shine through. This will go a long way towards humanizing you in the eyes of your readers.

In my opinion, the best thing about blogging is how simple and quick it is to publish a post at the push of a button. It’s also wonderful to be able to track exactly how many people are coming to your blog and where they are coming from. Just install Google’s free Analytics tool and you can see detailed statistics on your visitors and traffic.

Just begin and get it going. Aim to post once a week. They don’t have to be long posts and they don’t have to be earth-shatteringly brilliant. As with anything, you’ll get better at writing the more you do it. Jot down any ideas that come to you for posts as you go about your day. I keep a file of topic ideas that I think of and I find this helpful to look at if I get stuck for what to write about.

Blogging should be something you carve out time for just as you would any other marketing activity. If you really feel you would have nothing to say to people who may want to hire or buy from you, then perhaps it is just not for you. But I encourage all small business owners who are doing business online to at least give it a try. You never know, there may be people out there just waiting to hear your voice.

Christine Gallagher, MLS, MSIS, founder of CommunicateValue.com, teaches solopreneurs and small business owners how to use online marketing and social media to communicate effectively and authentically and attract more business. For FREE tips on how to build profitable relationships, leverage technology and create your own successful online business, visit http://CommunicateValue.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Gallagher

If you feel like you can’t write or you don’t have time to write your own blog then you might be a prime prospect for a ghostwriter. The fact is, however, that a blog is the best online marketing tool you can have. Bar none. I firmly believe. Even a poorly SEOd blog is better than a static website with no promotional efforts at all. But if you’re going to have a blog it’s best to learn how to write a blog post that is search engine optimized.

Blog Content Provider not only will write your blog content for you, but if you want to write your own blog content we will consult with you and teach you how to write search engine optimized blog posts.

If you are doing business online, there is no reason not to have a blog. You should write to your blog daily, but once a week is better than nothing. The important thing is to start a blog and start posting as often as you can. The longer you wait the longer you are putting off your own success. Learn more about how to get premium blog content today.

Should You Discuss Current Events On Your Business Blog?

There are two minds regarding current events on your business blog:

• Stay away from it.
• Embrace it.

I’m for exercising caution, but I’m also for going forward if there is a good reason to do so. The pros to discussing current events on your business blog are these:

• Potential for reaching a wider audience
• Achieving a different level of interest by rounding out your blog
• Can give you a more human appeal if done the right way
• Potential for ranking well for non-niche related keywords, which could lead to business through a “back door” marketing approach

The primary con to addressing current events is that you could alienate a part of your audience by taking a strong stand on a political issue. Of course, current events does not necessarily mean political. It could mean just about anything. For instance, if you write about a sports blog and you decide to write a few posts on a famous athlete’s dating life then it could add an additional flavor to your blog and help you reach a different audience. Could that help or hurt you?

It depends. Before deciding whether you want to take on current events writing with your blog, ask yourself these questions:

• What do I hope to gain by doing so?
• What are the dangers to doing so?
• Can I effectively gain what I want to by addressing current events?
• How can I avoid the dangers and still address current events while providing my blog readers with benefit?
• Can I tie the current event to an important topic related to the subject of my blog?

That last question is very important. If the answer is no then you should probably not write about current events on your business blog. But if the answer is yes, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. You must also consider the other factors. Will you alienate a part of your readership by addressing current events? Will the controversy (if it controversial) help you or hinder you? Can you avoid potential dangers while providing benefit to your readers?

These are all important questions. At the end of the day, it is your decision, but you can gain some readership advantage by addressing certain current events on your business blog. Proceed with wisdom and caution.