Blogging - An Essential Part Of The Marketing Mix
Monday, November 09, 2009
It seems as though I get more and more questions about Blogging. Should my web site also have a blog? What type of blog content should I publish? How often should I publish to my blog? Can I make money with my blog? These are all really good questions and the topic of today's post.
First, let's start with my definition of a blog. A blog is a content rich site that allows you to post updates on a regular basis. If blogging for you is an arduous process, then you're doing it all wrong. Blogging should be fun and should be related to your business. For example, this blog (The Marketing Blog) is all about marketing with a focus on Internet marketing. Why? Because I love it. I don't need to get paid to write about Internet marketing because it's a true passion.
Okay, so now you know what to blog about, let's respond to the question "Should I have a blog?". If you've met the criteria above and have something to blog about, my answer is an emphatic "YES". Blogging is great, it's fun and easy to do. I've found that it's also a two-way street. Your followers interact with the content via comments and suggest great topics for future posts. The benefit of blogging is both personal as well as marketing-focused. By talking about your business on a regular basis you can generate positive awareness and make your offerings more appealing to your target market.
After starting your blog with Blogger or WordPress, make it accessible from your main web site. This helps in search engine placement and can drive a considerable amount of traffic to your blog. Have a clear goal in mind for your blogging with one caveat. Always use your blog to provide value. Whether through market information, content, or resources, your blog needs to give before it gets. Once you've set a goal for yourself commit to that goal and work towards it each and every week.
Blogging can be a great experience but you have to be willing to set specific goals and deliver value on a regular basis. If you do, over time you'll find that blogging provides significant value to both you and your readers. Happy Blogging!!!
Marketing Blog founder and top-selling author Michael Fleischner has been featured on The TODAY Show, ABC World News, and Bloomerg Radio. 
5 comments :
I prefer using Blogger over Wordpress because it's free. While WordPress does have all the bells and whistles, Blogger can be made to be just as aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
Also blogging is a great way to reach out to your readers or in general, just to get ideas out into the air, relieves stress :)
I prefer Wordpress because of all the extras and customization features.
Not only is blogging something you should do, but it's something you should do often and regularly. You want your readers to keep coming back right?
Wordpress is also free and can be accessed at wordpress.com. If you want to host wordpress on your own site (i.e. www.yourdomain.com/blog) than you are paying for your own hosting but you still are not paying for the wordpress software.
I definately agree with your entry that blogging is beneficial and should be incorporated into any business. Not only will a business receive first hand and honest feedback from prospective customers but will create a venue for a maaa majority to view your business and gather information about it. Online communication continues to be a requirement and success when conducting business due to our fast paced society. blogging is an easy and free way for people to voice their opinoins and experiences openly. Having a website open to blogging and forums are only a few innovated milestones to consider in this day and age.
Jaime Lowery
The first sentence of the last paragraph says it all - setting goals and committing to provide value. I've seen so many blogs that are a simply a monologue used for outright promotion, rather than fostering discussion and a relationship with your audience. I'm going to pass along these guidelines to every new/hopeful blogger I encounter.
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