In my opinion, you need a business blog.  Below are a few reasons why they are valuable and worth the investment, as well as my recommended blogging platform.

1)  Blogs are a way to gain extra visibility on the internet and to share industry information that positions you as an expert.  Each blog post is a page on the internet that will potentially be found by prospects when they search on keywords (again, that apply to your industry).  Think of it like this, if you write 10 blog posts…you have 10 extra “searchable/findable” pages on the internet and each page is linked to your bio & contact info.  Wow!  But what happens once you’ve written 50 or 100 or 500 blogs?  Let your mind soar my friend!

2)  People typically use the internet to find information.   My opinion is, give them what they are looking for.  Present them with useful, inspiring, educational or entertaining blog posts.  Do it repeatedly and they will look to you as a trusted resource and potential provider.

3)  From a long-term prospective, I recommend having a Wordpress “self-hosted” blog.  This means YOU own the blog and control whether or not it remains on the internet.  You can move your blog to a different internet provider any time you want.

If you use a blogging platform that is not self-hosted, the blogging platform provider can…at any time…decide that you are not abiding by their terms & conditions and they can shut down your blog without warning.  Ouch!

4)  A self-hosted blog is like “owning” a house and it is your central “hub” for all of your online activity.

Posting content to a blog that is not self-hosted or to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc… is like “renting” a house.  You never know when you & your content may get evicted.

5)    Oh, and did I mention that Google and other search engines love blogs?  They do.  Since blogs are typically updated regularly, blogs give search engines fresh, new content to index and they love that! Static websites eventually move further and further down the search engine results because the search engines have no way of knowing if anyone is home or if a company is still in business.  Regularly updated blogs say “I’m here, I’m in business, I provide useful info to internet visitors”.

Why do you think blogs are valuable for businesses?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

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My personal choice for free blogging software is www.wordpress.org. With Wordpress.org:

• people linking to your blog help drive traffic to a domain that you own
• you need a domain name (about $10/year), your blog URL would be www.yourdomain.com
• you need a hosting account (about $50+/year)
• you can find a lot of free Wordpress templates on the internet (or even buy a template for under a hundred dollars) to customize the look of your blog
• you can install free 3^rd party plug-ins/applications to add functionality to your blog
• you handle your own blog installation on your server/hosting account
• you are responsible for upgrading to new versions of Wordpress when they are released (Wordpress made this very easy with the release of version 2.7)
• you are responsible for upgrading to new versions of any plug-ins/applications that you use (this is also very easy to do)
• you control where you have your blog hosted, you can easily move your blog to another company as long as you have a back-up of your blog

If you don’t want to pay for a hosting account, you can use www.wordpress.com.   With Wordpress.com:

• people linking to your blog are in essence driving traffic to Wordpress.com instead of a domain that you own
• if you move your blog all of your incoming links (from other blogs, websites or blog directories) will no longer work
• you don’t need to buy a domain or pay for a hosting account
• your website URL would look like this www.yourname.wordpress.com
• you CANNOT use 3^rd party design templates
• you CANNOT use 3^rd party plug-ins/applications
• you do not need to install anything
• Wordpress automatically handles version upgrades, spam control and back-ups for you
• your blog is hosted for free at Wordpress.com which means they have the power to shut down your blog (if they think you are not abiding by their policies)

Both Wordpress platforms are free and blog posts from both can be imported into Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc…  Once your blog is set-up, the process of creating content on your blog is almost identical on either blogging platform.

I prefer using Wordpress.org because I am able to personalize my blog with my chosen template and because of the flexibility of using 3rd party plug-ins.  The plug-ins that I use add functionality, search engine optimization features, analytics, spam control, automatic back-up capability and more to my blog.  I also really like the idea that I am branding my company and my blog by using my own domain name and that I am driving traffic to my domain instead of to a Wordpress.com domain.  And then of course there’s the fact that I have control over whether or not my blog gets shut down…not someone else!

If you use Wordpress.com, your blog will not be as flexible or customized but it is an okay place to start and a much better option than Google’s Blogger/Blogspot (in my opinion)!

Happy Blogging,

Kimberly Yow
Marketing That’s Easy.com

Blogging can be fun and it can also be a chore at times.  However, once you make the decision to start a blog for your business, you really need to stick with it.  A few things you want to avoid in your blogging are:

• Long gaps in time between posts (I struggle with this one at times)
• Writing blogs so long that no one will read them
• Writing about too many topics
• Writing about only one topic

Now here are some tips relating to the above:

• If possible, post 2-4 times per week for maximum impact and so that you don’t overload your blog subscribers.
• Vary the length of your blog posts between 150 – 500 words and make most of them in the middle of that range.
• Occasionally post a very short sentence or two with a link to a resource or a blog written by someone else but don’t over do it.  You want to make sure that your blog represents your thoughts and knowledge so that your readers will look to you for answers and help.
• Decide ahead of time what you want to blog about and keep your focus somewhat narrow.  Writing about too many topics will confuse your readers and you may loose them over time because your blog is not focused on their interests.  For instance, I do not write about traditional marketing, trade show tips, business collateral, print media, etc…  I focus only on social networking and internet marketing.
• Write blogs about more than one topic so your blog has variety and keeps your readers interested.   For instance, I write about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, business networking, internet tools, etc… instead of just writing about Twitter.

I hope these tips help you with your business blogging!  As always, questions and comments are welcome.

Happy Blogging,

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

P.S. – FOR PERSPECTIVE, THIS BLOG POST IS 311 WORDS INCLUDING THIS SENTENCE.

Web content is anything on the web whether it be on your blog, your website, on social networking sites or anywhere else you add or post information.  It can include text, photos, videos, slide shows, audio files, polls, links, etc…

Providing useful, informative, interesting or inspiring content is critical to successfully promoting your small business on the internet.  People do not want to constantly see your advertisements, coupons, special offers and promotional text.  Many people use the web to:

• look for market or industry information
• research products or services
• solve a problem
• find information on marketing or running their business
• discover resources or tools that will increase their efficiency and save them time or money
• stay current with industry trends

These are just a few of the many reasons that people use the internet.  One of the best ways to promote your business on the internet, is to give people what THEY are looking for by providing great content.  That means your content must be useful, informative, interesting or inspiring.  If it is, you stand a greater chance of having that person contact you for more information, bookmark and frequent your website, subscribe to your blog posts, sign up for your newsletter, invite you to connect with them on a social network, etc…   And this is what YOU want!

Even if that person is not ready to buy what you provide right now, you want them to “opt-in” to receiving information from you.  This allows you to “drip” information to them periodically and create “top of mind awareness” with them.  When they are ready to buy, you are at the top of their mind…they think of you.  If you continually provide great content, you will eventually win over some of these “opt-in subscribers” and they will become customers.  This is because you will have gained their trust by providing them with great content and NOT pushing your product/service down their throat.  They will see you as an expert in your field and as a resource.  When this type of person contacts you, they are ready to buy what you have to offer.

Always strive for great content.  It will win you customers in the long run!

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

P.S. – Have you subscribed to our blog posts yet?  You can receive our new blog posts via RSS Feed or Email.  (See right column of blog to subscribe.)

P.S.S. – Posting great content that uses your keywords is one of many search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

I am frequently asked, “what is a blog?” and “why should I have one?”

A blog is basically a journal on the internet where you share thoughts, ideas, information, videos, photos, etc…  What you are reading right now is a single blog post that is on my blog.  Blogs are extremely important for a business because they allow you to share “useful” information about your:

• industry
• products & services
• events
• specials or sales
• rate changes
• & more

Maintaining a business blog gives you the following benefits:

• greater visibility in search engines
• increased traffic to your website
• a place where you can receive & respond to customer’s comments or questions
• a way to humanize your company by having employees post blogs & respond to customers
• a forum for sharing your expertise and helping others

The key to having a successful business blog is sharing information that is timely, interesting, relevant to your industry and helpful to your customers.  If the information you share does not help them or educate them in some way, they will stop reading your blog.  One thing you can do in your blog, is answer a Frequently Asked Question…like I’ve done in this post.

Before you start blogging, you should read my blog post titled “10 Questions to Answer Before You Start a Blog“.

Do you have a friend that has been talking about starting a blog?  If so, please click “Share” at the bottom of this blog post to send it to them.

Kimberly Yow
MarketingThatsEasy.com

There is an ever increasing number of blogs that are started and then abandoned within a very short time frame.  This is typically because the company or person that started the blog didn’t have a blogging plan and/or they didn’t have a passion for the blog’s main focus.

Before you start a business blog, you need to have a corporate blogging plan.  It should include answers to the following:

1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
2. Who in your company likes to write and would enjoy blogging?
3. Will multiple employees produce blog posts?
4. How many times per week will you post a blog?
5. How long will your blog posts be?
6. Will you always write original content or will you also post links to useful information?
7. What topics will you write about?  (Get a notepad and actually brainstorm a list of blog topics that you can always draw upon.)
8. Will you place advertising on your blog once it is established?
9. Are you committed to maintaining a blog on a weekly basis?
10. Do you have the resources in-house to maintain your blog or do you need to outsource it?

Business blogs are pure content.  And that content needs to attract your target market, get and keep them interested, inspire or inform them and keep them coming back for more.  Ultimately, you want your readers to subscribe to your blog’s RSS Feed so they are automatically fed your latest blog posts.  (No relying on them to bookmark your blog and remember to return to it.)

A successful blog can increase your visibility on the internet, establish you as an expert in your field, drive traffic to your website, increase your sales leads and provide you with an additional means of promoting your products or services.  Increase your chances of a great pay-off by developing your blogging plan BEFORE you start your blog.  Once you have your blogging plan, all you need to do is produce great content on a consistent basis and your blog will be off and running.

Happy Blogging,

Kimberly
MarketingThatsEasy.com

If you’re looking for a free theme for your Wordpress blog, check out www.amazingwordpressthemes.com.  They have a very large selection of nice themes.  Most of them appear to have been uploaded in 2007 but they are still worth looking at.  You can also do an internet search for “free wordpress themes” to see what you can find.