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If you've been too busy running your business
these past few years to make the most of online marketing, it's understandable. When you spend
every waking moment helping current customers, ordering inventory, handling paperwork, paying
the bills, etc., you don't have much spare time to teach yourself about search engine optimization, paid
advertising, press releases, social media marketing, etc.
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Of course, if you want more customers and more
business, you have to do something
online these days. Even if you're paying someone else to handle Web
design and online marketing, you can do your part in building your online presence with blogging.
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In addition to costing next to nothing, blogs
provide benefits you can't get any other way (unless your marketing budget is unlimited).
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-Blogs done right can attract tech savvy readers
to you, and readers can turn into customers. The more readers you can attract to your
blog, the
more opportunities you'll have for eventual sales.
-Blogs can make sales reps out of your readers
too. When you write a post on your blog, you "open it up for discussion," inviting
participation from your target market. When readers comment on your blog, they spread the good news
about your products or services.
If handled right, blogs can be great for
customer feedback. Instead of expensive market testing and surveys, you get real time responses
from
real people.
-Finally, blogs can function as central hubs.
Since they're a stable venue in a world of fickle social media marketing, they can be your
business's home base. From your blog, readers/customers can venture off to any social
media tools you use, like Twitter, Facebook,
forums, Digg, etc., and your Website. They can
see how involved you are and what you're about.
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When you choose a blog, make sure it can grow
with your business. Whether you create a custom blog or use a hosted blog (Blogspot, Wordpress), you
will want it to be able to accommodate features like comments, archives, feeds, widgets, plug-ins and
anything else that the tech geniuses come up with down the line. One piece of advice encourages businesses to host the blog on their domain, in a
sub-folder or page, since this is most direct and
makes the most of SEO benefits.
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Here are some things you want to consider before
your write your first post.
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1. What are your goals for this blog? - This is something you may want to flesh out even before you
look for blog hosting. Having clear
goals helps your blog stay consistent in
its messaging and provides useful topic parameters for the blogger.
2. How will you brand your blog? - Look at the competition and differentiate yourself. Make
sure your
blog's appearance mirrors your
website and other visual projections of your
company.
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3. How often can you commit to adding posts? - Regular posting will keep readers coming back.
A stagnant blog reflects poorly on your
business since readers might assume the worst about your company
if you haven't posted in a while.
4. Who else will be on the blogging team? - Many hands make light the work, and more than
one "voice"
is refreshing.
5. What will you put on the "About Us" page? - You may be surprised to learn that the "About Us"
page is one of the first places readers
look when they arrive at a new blog.
Make sure yours is
ready to go (see below for help on this).
6. Did you provide a way for readers to contact you? - If your readers can't reach you, that's a missed
opportunity. Make sure to provide an
email address or phone number.
7. What about post delivery? Is there an RSS feed tool available to those who want it? Is
there also (this
is important) a way readers can
provide their name/email address so new posts
can be sent
directly to their inboxes, in case they don't want to bother with RSS?
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The One Rule: Your Blog is not Your Website
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One of the hardest things about blogging is >getting your head around the genre. Lots of very accomplished business persons have blogs that
just don't do what they should.
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Understanding what blog readers visit blogs for
is half the battle. Blogs are supposed to be a place where real conversations can take place. They
should always be about:
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Open dialogue (must go two ways)
The chance to network and share valuable
information
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This is important to know, because if you have a
blog that isn't about these two things, you won't really have a blog. You'll have another website, set up
to sell and visitors will click away from your blog fast.
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Elements Common to Good Blogs
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1. Open to readers' thoughts - You can turn off
the comments feature on a blog, but "on" is
preferable. It establishes the back and forth,
transparent feel
essential to engage your readers. (Don't
worry: You can review comments before letting them onto your blog to make
sure they're
not offensive, spam-ish or irrelevant.)
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2. Relationship-centered - Posts should invite
readers to join in on the conversation. Think in terms of
building relationships. Selling must
always come second. Always. If it doesn't, your readers will
smell it and leave your blog.
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3. Transparent - Your "About Us" page identifies
the authors and provides the basics about your company. Include information that builds
your professional
credibility. Include pictures of the authors.
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4. Chock full of delicious, nutritious content -
A good host serves up attractive, substantial posts that
don't look too good to enjoy:
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-Provide new information that is relevant and
timely (old news makes you look uninformed about your industry)
-Let your readers know that you're listening and
interested in their thoughts. Invite them to respond. Be direct and ask,
"What do you think?"
-Make your posts easy to look at (break up text
with sub-headings and add images, etc.) And never shout (all caps).
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-Take the plastic off the couch: Don't subject
posts to the editorial department's red pen. Fresh content in sentence fragments and
run-ons is preferable to dry, grammatically correct corporate-speak.
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5. Reciprocal - Another part of blogging is
commenting on other people's blogs in your industry. Make
sure your comments add value to
the blog. You can include a link to your blog
in the comment
if what is on your blog adds to the conversation, but don't be a "user."
Also, you can add a
summarizing type of comment on someone else's blog and then continue that
thought on your own
blog.
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As you start posting, remember #1 in the Blog
Startup Guide. Though you will want to stay within your area of expertise, you can and should infuse
your posts with information and references to events, trends and information outside your industry.
This keeps things fresh and connects your business to the
bigger world in the eyes of your readers.
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Also, for the most part, be concise. Sometimes
you'll need to write a longer post. But usually it's best to remember that most readers are busy and will
appreciate something that is short and sweet.
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Here are a few ideas for posts:
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-Create a helpful guide related to your industry
-Conduct a poll or write about a recent poll
-Report on an event or conference you've recently
attended, including what you found helpful, comment-provoking thoughts
-Host a guest writer: invite an industry notable
to write on your blog
-Review a related book/article/document/film
-Embed podcasts or video clips, and add value by
providing informed comments or transcripts
-Provide lists of helpful info, how-to, etc.
Readers like lists.
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As you read this, you may be thinking, "If I
didn't have the time to take care of my online marketing, I certainly don't have the time to create a
perfect blog for my business." But that's the beauty of blog, and maybe it's why so many small business owners
have started them and kept them going: Blogs are like pencils; they come with erasers.
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You can get started, add posts when you have a
free moment here and there, and edit, delete, tweak and build your blog gradually. You don't have to
open it up to the public until you feel it's ready. Once you are comfortable with what you have going on
your blog, push it out into the world and watch what happens.
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getFound on Google, Yahoo, Bing, Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, Wordpress Blog, Craigslist and Yelp.
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