Does your business need a blog?
A blog is a Web log, an online journal. Blogs started out as online diaries, a form of revelatory writing in which diarists shared their everyday lives with the world. From their beginnings as a weird web fad in 1998, blogs have moved on, and are well on the way to becoming a standard business tool, often as content management systems and instant publishing tools.
In February 2003 Google.com bought Pyra Labs, the company which owns the Blogger weblogging tool and blogging began to take off. Blogger.com, one of the main sites providing blog software and hosting, boasted a million hosted web logs in early 2003, and now has tens of millions.
Blogs are mainstream. Many businesses are starting to see the value of a blog: instant communication with their customers, and for new businesses, and better Internet visibility with faster indexing in the main search engines, like Google.
A blog help your business in many ways, depending on whether you create a private or a public blog. Blogs are so useful that you'll want to create both.
=> Your business's private, internal blog
These days, no one works alone. Even if you're a solo business operator, you have colleagues --- partners, contractors, and suppliers with whom you communicate daily. A private blog makes working with a group easier, because you can streamline your interactions, saving time and energy.
A private blog can contain notes to yourself, or to colleagues. Its a place to store information and tips that might not warrant a special email message. You can post information like meeting notes, project tasks and summaries, and updated price lists. You can also post links to large files --- no need to email, fax, or mail them to and fro.
Your blog is more useful than email, because blog postings are dated, and easily searchable. You can post a message you want everyone to read, and the message stays on the blog. With email, you read and delete, or read and forget.
If you've worked on a project with someone in another state or on the other side of the world, you've blessed email, because it makes sharing information so easy. Using a blog to share information is even easier than using email.
=> Your business's public blog
A business blog is a marketing tool. A blog can add value to your Web site, or it can take the place of a Web site. Look on it as a combination "What's New" Web site page, and an online journal. Because of a blog's freewheeling nature, it's friendly and relaxed.
If you dont have a site, your blog's a place to put your online CV, portfolio and client list. You can, and should, use your blog to express your personality and expertise.
If you have a Web site, your blog page builds loyalty, because if you provide interesting content, your visitors will return to your site. And because it's a Web page, your blog will appear on search engines, attracting new clients.
Google has been treating blogs differently from other Web pages for a couple of years. Whereas it takes a standard Web page/ site a month to be indexed by Google, blogs are indexed daily. This means that your blog is mega-cheap advertising. You can post something on your blog and have it indexed by Google within a day.
Note: As of late 2005, Google is somewhat warier of new blogs, because of splogs (spam blogs), so it might take a few weeks for Google to index your new blog.
So go ahead, blog your business!
Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business, copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard), WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com
How To Blog On Your Niche Topic And Build A List Of Loyal Readers And Prospects For Your Business
Blogging on your niche topic will help you to quickly build a following of loyal readers who will form the basis of your online business. Once you have set up your blog you will want to blog daily for at least a month so that your blog has more of a chance of standing out from the other million or so blogs that are not read by many people, if at al...
Business Blogging: Where Do I Start?
The new hot commodity is a blog for your small business so you've decided you must have one.Before you begin think about it long term. Where do you think
the blog is headed? What is the objective? Do you want it to be
found by the search engines for specific terms? How often
will you post? Who will the audience be? What will it look like
a year...
Turn Your Personal Blog Into A Money Making Machine
Have you been blogging for some time now? While you already enjoy the personal satisfaction that you get from maintaining your blog have you ever considered that you could also be making money doing what you enjoy? Of course there are many that like to keep a blog simply because they are happy doing so, but if you are in the group that would like t...
Five Reasons You Should Be Blogging for Business Right Now
Although web-logs (called blogs) started out as personal online diaries, todaysblogger can be anyone from a stay at-home-mom to a corporate mogul. Andeven the stay-at-home mom is likely to be blogging for business, not simplysharing her personal life with the online world.If you're a small business owner, here are five reasons you should be bloggi...
Blogging for Business
Business blogs are primarily used to improve a company's communication both internally and externally. Business blogs are a type of communication channel that could be used effectively in product launches, team interaction internally within the company or interaction between clients and company. With the level of interactivity blogs provide, client...
Poker Affiliates and Blogging: The Importance of Blog Design
Blogs have enjoyed increased popularity over the past few years and if you are a poker affiliate and aren't using blogs as a tool to build your business, now is the time to start. Blogs can be a tremendously effective way to promote poker rooms through affiliate programs.As you you're setting up your blog, there are some important things to keep in...
Post Friendly Comments on Blogs
Why we need to post friendly comments of blogs? Before you answer this question, there's a prior question for you to answer it first. This is your purpose why you need to comment on such blog post.So, what is really your purpose why you need comment on such blog post. If that particular blog post is about language learning, maybe you to post a com...
