Your business requires marketing.
If there is no marketing of your products and services, your sales slump. That is not healthy for your company's bottom line. A lack of sales does not pay the bills.
Okay, you know that already. It's easier said than done, right?
What exactly can be done, especially if your marketing budget is....well....zero.
A business blog can help you.
To use a blog for marketing purposes, you need to discuss the problems your products and services address, in your regular posts. You must not blatantly advertise them, however.
I know that sounds like a contradiction, but really, it isn't one.
An example of a bad marketing post, in your business blog, would be to simply describe your product. The great features of your product might be entirely fascinating to you. You might enjoy writing and talking about them constantly. Unfortunately, they aren't at all interesting to your readers.
In fact, simply describing your products and services is not really marketing at all. It's an exercise in ego. Yours!
Marketing your product has to be customer based. Your focus has to be on the needs of your clients and shoppers. They don't care one iota whether your revolutionary new widget slices, dices, and tells time on every continent in fourteen languages, all at once.
Customers care about what the product can do for them.
They want to know if it will solve their problems. They desire happier lives, and whether your products can do that for them. It's not all about you. I know that sounds a wee bit harsh, but it's true.
Enter your blog.
In your blog, you can discuss the issues that cause pain to your clients and customers. You can objectively review various solutions to those problems. You can describe how life could be if some of those incoveniences of modern living were removed.
You can tell people about what your company is doing to research those very ideas. You can discuss news that is important in your industry. Without talking about your products directly, you can build a friendly relationship, with customers present and future. People enjoy buying from other people, who they know and trust.
Your clients will know you from your blog entries. Since you provide all sorts of useful information to help them to enrich their lives, your products, by extension, can do the same for them.
By blogging, you are marketing your business as a long term relationship. The last thing you want to do with a business blog, is turn it into a non-stop sales sheet. Should you ever do that, your readers will be long gone. They are assaulted with sales pitches every day.
Don't let your blog become a sales flyer!
Informative posts, written as a friend to a friend, are much more effective for the business blogger. A blog is part of relationship marketing. Since any relationship is built over time, and based on trust, that's what your blog is doing for you and your potential customers.
It's longer term marketing, but is marketing built on a firm foundation.
Best of all, a business blog costs very little in the way of budget.
A business blog can be a great free marketing device for your company.
Start one today!
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Three quick ways to more visitors in one week
You just started a new blog. Perhaps you've had a blog on the go for awhile.
In both cases, you likely feel the need for more visitors to your blog.
If you think not enough people are reading your blog, you need to increase your visitor traffic levels. After all, you want everyone to read your brilliant posts, right?
Well, here are three ways to give your blog visitor counter a quick jolt.
Post messages on forums.
All you have to do is find some message forums that are related to your field of interest. If you are writing a travel blog, enter "travel forums" in your favourite search engine. Several good forum options should appear in the returned search results.
Go to a few that you find informative and read around a bit. Join a couple of the forums, that you find interesting and are of value to you, as a member.
Be sure to check out two things before joining any forum.
A forum must be indexed by the search engines, particularly by Google. If it's indexed, your posts will appear as backlinks to your site, raising your blog's ranking in the search engines. You can gain search engine traffic as a result.
A forum must also permit the use of a signature file. By creating a signature, that includes your blog URL, you have a link that brings forum members back to your blog.
In your member profile, be sure to use a "signature" that includes a link back to your blog. Make certain the signature appears on all of your postings. Without that link, no new traffic can fnd you.
In a few days, your visitor counter logs will show traffic originating from your forum posts.
Place your link on your e-mails
When you send out any e-mails, either personal or business, be sure to add a link to your blog to each and every one of them.
With a quick and easy to click hot link back to your blog, many of your e-mail recipients will drop by for a look. While not everyone will check out your blogging activities, a few will. Another source of new visitors has been added, with minimum effort.
Tell everyone you know about your blog
When you go out for business or pleasure (and leave your computer behind)suggest to everyone you meet to visit your blog.
This old fashioned networking technique will bring a fresh batch of visitors to your blog. As you become more comfortable with talking to people about your blog, your traffic numbers will take a jump. Many of them will surf to your blog, to read what you have to say.
As you can see, there are a few very quick and easy way to get a boost in your blog's visitor traffic.
These three quick and easy methods of adding visitor traffic will pay off very quickly. You should see a new group of readers in just a few days.
By carrying out these very simple methods, you can double or triple your visitor totals in a week.
Don't forget to keep your posts interesting, informative, and up to date.
You want those new visitors to keep returning for more!
In both cases, you likely feel the need for more visitors to your blog.
If you think not enough people are reading your blog, you need to increase your visitor traffic levels. After all, you want everyone to read your brilliant posts, right?
Well, here are three ways to give your blog visitor counter a quick jolt.
Post messages on forums.
All you have to do is find some message forums that are related to your field of interest. If you are writing a travel blog, enter "travel forums" in your favourite search engine. Several good forum options should appear in the returned search results.
Go to a few that you find informative and read around a bit. Join a couple of the forums, that you find interesting and are of value to you, as a member.
Be sure to check out two things before joining any forum.
A forum must be indexed by the search engines, particularly by Google. If it's indexed, your posts will appear as backlinks to your site, raising your blog's ranking in the search engines. You can gain search engine traffic as a result.
A forum must also permit the use of a signature file. By creating a signature, that includes your blog URL, you have a link that brings forum members back to your blog.
In your member profile, be sure to use a "signature" that includes a link back to your blog. Make certain the signature appears on all of your postings. Without that link, no new traffic can fnd you.
In a few days, your visitor counter logs will show traffic originating from your forum posts.
Place your link on your e-mails
When you send out any e-mails, either personal or business, be sure to add a link to your blog to each and every one of them.
With a quick and easy to click hot link back to your blog, many of your e-mail recipients will drop by for a look. While not everyone will check out your blogging activities, a few will. Another source of new visitors has been added, with minimum effort.
Tell everyone you know about your blog
When you go out for business or pleasure (and leave your computer behind)suggest to everyone you meet to visit your blog.
This old fashioned networking technique will bring a fresh batch of visitors to your blog. As you become more comfortable with talking to people about your blog, your traffic numbers will take a jump. Many of them will surf to your blog, to read what you have to say.
As you can see, there are a few very quick and easy way to get a boost in your blog's visitor traffic.
These three quick and easy methods of adding visitor traffic will pay off very quickly. You should see a new group of readers in just a few days.
By carrying out these very simple methods, you can double or triple your visitor totals in a week.
Don't forget to keep your posts interesting, informative, and up to date.
You want those new visitors to keep returning for more!
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Blogs as publicity: getting your voice heard
Is your blog getting your business any free publicity?
In the past, the road to free publicity was heavily dependent upon having your company press releases turned into news articles. While the press release is still a tremendous promotional idea, which I highly recommend, the business blog has been added to the list of free publicity outlets.
In much the same way, as a press release presented your business to the waiting media, a blog showcases your thoughts and ideas to the world. A press release focusses on one newsworthy angle of your business. A daily blog entry can do much the same thing.
As you post in your business blog, you are telling your readers how you feel your business should be working. The idea is to show your readers, how you are solving their problems for them, as your clients and customers.
When you think about it, your business is really about helping people solve their personal and business problems. By doing so, you are making their lives easier and more enjoyable.
As the visitors to your blog read of the ways your business is operating now, and its plans for the future, you are creating a relationship with those readers. When they read of a great new plan for your company, they become part of that future. Your blog, as a publicity and public relations medium, makes that transition possible.
While your very important press releases are sent to the various news media, your blog speaks directly to your clients and customers. Both communications channels are important for your business. Press releases provide an external vehicle for your message. A blog provides an internal medium for your voice to be heard.
The more ways you can reach your current and potential customers, the better. Your company communications have to get out to your target market. If your message fails to be heard, above the almost overwhelming noise of the modern marketplace, your business can't reach its fullest potential profitability.
By adding a blog to your publicity and public relations efforts, you are creating one more voice speaking on behalf of you and your business.
Like another marketing and public relations representative, your blog is working on your behalf.
Add the business blog to your existing press release efforts.
You will get even more free publicity that way.
In the past, the road to free publicity was heavily dependent upon having your company press releases turned into news articles. While the press release is still a tremendous promotional idea, which I highly recommend, the business blog has been added to the list of free publicity outlets.
In much the same way, as a press release presented your business to the waiting media, a blog showcases your thoughts and ideas to the world. A press release focusses on one newsworthy angle of your business. A daily blog entry can do much the same thing.
As you post in your business blog, you are telling your readers how you feel your business should be working. The idea is to show your readers, how you are solving their problems for them, as your clients and customers.
When you think about it, your business is really about helping people solve their personal and business problems. By doing so, you are making their lives easier and more enjoyable.
As the visitors to your blog read of the ways your business is operating now, and its plans for the future, you are creating a relationship with those readers. When they read of a great new plan for your company, they become part of that future. Your blog, as a publicity and public relations medium, makes that transition possible.
While your very important press releases are sent to the various news media, your blog speaks directly to your clients and customers. Both communications channels are important for your business. Press releases provide an external vehicle for your message. A blog provides an internal medium for your voice to be heard.
The more ways you can reach your current and potential customers, the better. Your company communications have to get out to your target market. If your message fails to be heard, above the almost overwhelming noise of the modern marketplace, your business can't reach its fullest potential profitability.
By adding a blog to your publicity and public relations efforts, you are creating one more voice speaking on behalf of you and your business.
Like another marketing and public relations representative, your blog is working on your behalf.
Add the business blog to your existing press release efforts.
You will get even more free publicity that way.
Monday, November 24, 2003
Blog marketing helps the bottom line
A business blog has been added to your company's marketing tool box. How can it possibly help you with marketing your business?
First of all, you must realize that marketing is a long term process.
Marketing doesn't just pop up out of nowhere one fine afternoon and say, "I think we should do some marketing today."
It doesn't work like that. Marketing is an ongoing activity, that never has a real beginning, and never truly has an end. The process of marketing, via a business blog is no different from any other marketing tools.
Your marketing goal, for your business blog, is to help the company bottom line.
That's all well and good and motherhood and apple pie and all of that, but how can a blog possibly help the business revenue stream?
For one thing, steady posting on your blog gets your site ranked higher in the search engines, like Google, for example. Your regular posts will provide keyword rich pages for search engine spiders to crawl when they visit your site. The more your chosen keywords appear, the higher your blog will sit on the search returns.
High search engine placements mean more people become aware of your business. That equals more potential customers for you.
Another way you can receive more business from your business blog is from your posted articles themselves. If you provide high quality information, that helps other people solve their problems, you will find your posts being linked to by others.
As more incoming links are added to your site, traffic will flow through those links to your site. Another large pool of potential customers is created. Once again, your bottom line will benefit.
A third possible revenue source will result as many people will regard you as an expert in your field. As someone who is knowledgeable about your business area, and who is helpful and informative to others, people will grow to trust your opinions. They will also trust your business to deliver the same high quality of product as your blog.
As your trust factor grows, so too will your business.
Using a blog as a marketing tool is an never ending process, as you can see quite clearly. A business blog is not something that you can expect to produce immediate results.
A business blog is not something for the short term. You don't just start blogging about business issues and ideas; and then suddenly stop. That defeats the purpose of the blog, and how it can help your business to grow and prosper.
As a low cost marketing assistant, your business blog will pay off over the longer term.
That is not a bad thing.
After all, you are in business for the long haul, right?
First of all, you must realize that marketing is a long term process.
Marketing doesn't just pop up out of nowhere one fine afternoon and say, "I think we should do some marketing today."
It doesn't work like that. Marketing is an ongoing activity, that never has a real beginning, and never truly has an end. The process of marketing, via a business blog is no different from any other marketing tools.
Your marketing goal, for your business blog, is to help the company bottom line.
That's all well and good and motherhood and apple pie and all of that, but how can a blog possibly help the business revenue stream?
For one thing, steady posting on your blog gets your site ranked higher in the search engines, like Google, for example. Your regular posts will provide keyword rich pages for search engine spiders to crawl when they visit your site. The more your chosen keywords appear, the higher your blog will sit on the search returns.
High search engine placements mean more people become aware of your business. That equals more potential customers for you.
Another way you can receive more business from your business blog is from your posted articles themselves. If you provide high quality information, that helps other people solve their problems, you will find your posts being linked to by others.
As more incoming links are added to your site, traffic will flow through those links to your site. Another large pool of potential customers is created. Once again, your bottom line will benefit.
A third possible revenue source will result as many people will regard you as an expert in your field. As someone who is knowledgeable about your business area, and who is helpful and informative to others, people will grow to trust your opinions. They will also trust your business to deliver the same high quality of product as your blog.
As your trust factor grows, so too will your business.
Using a blog as a marketing tool is an never ending process, as you can see quite clearly. A business blog is not something that you can expect to produce immediate results.
A business blog is not something for the short term. You don't just start blogging about business issues and ideas; and then suddenly stop. That defeats the purpose of the blog, and how it can help your business to grow and prosper.
As a low cost marketing assistant, your business blog will pay off over the longer term.
That is not a bad thing.
After all, you are in business for the long haul, right?
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Blogs as brand names
You are all familiar with brand names.
Everywhere in our lives we are confronted by the Nike swish, the Pepsi ball, and everything about the auto industry.
People wear brand names on their clothing. They proudly announce the purchases of their favourite brand name products. In short, brands are everywhere.
Blogs are beginning to become brand names as well.
Well known bloggers like Dave Winer, Doc Searls, and Andrew Sullivan, among others, are already well known. Their names are their brands. Their blogs are the carrier of those brand names.
Some other blogs are establishing some solid brand names.
Professor Bainbridge, Jeremy Wright's Ensight, and Deb Yoder's The Accidental Jedi spring immediately to mind. Many other rising brand name blogs are on the horizon.
How do you establish a brand name for your blog?
First of all, you must provide regular postings. If your blog is not updated on a regular basis, it will not be regarded as a reliable brand. In many ways, a brand is a promise. The brand promises reliable consistent quality, each and every time.
That brings us to our second branding requirement. Your blog must provide constant high quality posts. When writing your daily blog articles, you have to give your readers some help in solving their problems, or provide something to give them some interesting reading. Your information, whether personal or general, must add to their lives.
Your links to other blogs must not only be to helpful information, but also provide some insight into the thinking of the linked blogger. It goes without saying (okay I said it) your links have to work. Few things are more frustrating than broken links.
A third way to build your brand is to market it. You don't develop a name brand by hiding it. Use the name of your blog everywhere. Let people know who you are and what you offer to them.
Large companies understand the need to market their brand completely. Their brand names and logos are everywhere. They cram into our subconscious as to become part of our thinking. We don't think fast food. We think McDonalds, Burger King or Wendy's.
By working continually to provide a consistent reliable blog for your readers, you are developing your brand name.
Who knows, maybe your blog will be mentioned as a blog leader.
That's when you know your branded blog has arrived.
Everywhere in our lives we are confronted by the Nike swish, the Pepsi ball, and everything about the auto industry.
People wear brand names on their clothing. They proudly announce the purchases of their favourite brand name products. In short, brands are everywhere.
Blogs are beginning to become brand names as well.
Well known bloggers like Dave Winer, Doc Searls, and Andrew Sullivan, among others, are already well known. Their names are their brands. Their blogs are the carrier of those brand names.
Some other blogs are establishing some solid brand names.
Professor Bainbridge, Jeremy Wright's Ensight, and Deb Yoder's The Accidental Jedi spring immediately to mind. Many other rising brand name blogs are on the horizon.
How do you establish a brand name for your blog?
First of all, you must provide regular postings. If your blog is not updated on a regular basis, it will not be regarded as a reliable brand. In many ways, a brand is a promise. The brand promises reliable consistent quality, each and every time.
That brings us to our second branding requirement. Your blog must provide constant high quality posts. When writing your daily blog articles, you have to give your readers some help in solving their problems, or provide something to give them some interesting reading. Your information, whether personal or general, must add to their lives.
Your links to other blogs must not only be to helpful information, but also provide some insight into the thinking of the linked blogger. It goes without saying (okay I said it) your links have to work. Few things are more frustrating than broken links.
A third way to build your brand is to market it. You don't develop a name brand by hiding it. Use the name of your blog everywhere. Let people know who you are and what you offer to them.
Large companies understand the need to market their brand completely. Their brand names and logos are everywhere. They cram into our subconscious as to become part of our thinking. We don't think fast food. We think McDonalds, Burger King or Wendy's.
By working continually to provide a consistent reliable blog for your readers, you are developing your brand name.
Who knows, maybe your blog will be mentioned as a blog leader.
That's when you know your branded blog has arrived.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Sometimes you have to take a chance
In business, planning is very important.
A company needs to have an action plan in place to map out its future.
The same is mainly true for people. We need to have some idea what we ar doing on a daily basis. There is an entire industry built up on such concepts as time management and personal organization.
Sometimes, things drop out of the sky.
I have had a couple of writing jobs land in my lap. All I did was respond to some requests for writers, and suddenly, I had paying writing contracts. I never planned on them. I hadn't actively sought them out in a really serious way.
How then did I get the contracts?
I had a blog.
In fact, I have two blogs. There is this marketing, public relations and search engine optimization site, where you are reading. There is also my daily roller derby news and commentary site. Both are blogs that have new posts every day.
When I applied for the writing jobs, I merely pointed to my blogs for writing examples. The editors weren't concerned with the topics of my posts. Instead, they were interested in the fact that a) I write daily b) I showed a degree of committment to the writing craft and c) that my writing style was good enough to hire.
Had I not had a blog, I would not have been able to have applied successfully for those writing contracts.
Keeping and maintaining a blog often has unexpected side benefits, like earning money!
Making money from blogging is often a challenge for writers. Attempts have been made to sell advertising space, to get donations, and to add searches and affiliate sales features, to name a few. Some income ideas have worked for some bloggers. Different revenue concepts have worked for others. A few bloggers have gained income from almost all of them.
I'm happy to have gained some writing income as a result of my blogging activities.
Sometimes, you just have to take a chance and start blogging. You can never be certain where it might lead.
Occasionally, it leads to some added income!
A company needs to have an action plan in place to map out its future.
The same is mainly true for people. We need to have some idea what we ar doing on a daily basis. There is an entire industry built up on such concepts as time management and personal organization.
Sometimes, things drop out of the sky.
I have had a couple of writing jobs land in my lap. All I did was respond to some requests for writers, and suddenly, I had paying writing contracts. I never planned on them. I hadn't actively sought them out in a really serious way.
How then did I get the contracts?
I had a blog.
In fact, I have two blogs. There is this marketing, public relations and search engine optimization site, where you are reading. There is also my daily roller derby news and commentary site. Both are blogs that have new posts every day.
When I applied for the writing jobs, I merely pointed to my blogs for writing examples. The editors weren't concerned with the topics of my posts. Instead, they were interested in the fact that a) I write daily b) I showed a degree of committment to the writing craft and c) that my writing style was good enough to hire.
Had I not had a blog, I would not have been able to have applied successfully for those writing contracts.
Keeping and maintaining a blog often has unexpected side benefits, like earning money!
Making money from blogging is often a challenge for writers. Attempts have been made to sell advertising space, to get donations, and to add searches and affiliate sales features, to name a few. Some income ideas have worked for some bloggers. Different revenue concepts have worked for others. A few bloggers have gained income from almost all of them.
I'm happy to have gained some writing income as a result of my blogging activities.
Sometimes, you just have to take a chance and start blogging. You can never be certain where it might lead.
Occasionally, it leads to some added income!
Friday, November 21, 2003
Free Business Ideas
Jeremy Wright over at his tremendous Ensight blog, offers some great free money making ideas.
Jeremy offers a LAN party idea, for gamers to get together, and do whatever it is that gamers do. I am guessing they game. The LAN party idea is sound though.
Jeremy also suggests creating a Mid Market software directory. By charging reasonable fees, good yet relatively unknown software companies could list their products. Sounds like a winner.
A real estate agent promotional service is Jeremy's third strong idea. Since the highly competitive real estate field practically demands constant marketing, this concept might pay some real dividends as well. There is no shortage of real estate professionals. They all need some publicity and advertising.
Jeremy says all of his ideas are free for the taking, and none are under copyright protection.
By offering possibly very profitable business ideas, at no charge, Jeremy is providing a great public service.
And a chance for some of you to make a few dollars.
That's always a good thing!
Jeremy offers a LAN party idea, for gamers to get together, and do whatever it is that gamers do. I am guessing they game. The LAN party idea is sound though.
Jeremy also suggests creating a Mid Market software directory. By charging reasonable fees, good yet relatively unknown software companies could list their products. Sounds like a winner.
A real estate agent promotional service is Jeremy's third strong idea. Since the highly competitive real estate field practically demands constant marketing, this concept might pay some real dividends as well. There is no shortage of real estate professionals. They all need some publicity and advertising.
Jeremy says all of his ideas are free for the taking, and none are under copyright protection.
By offering possibly very profitable business ideas, at no charge, Jeremy is providing a great public service.
And a chance for some of you to make a few dollars.
That's always a good thing!
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Feedster RSS added to this blog
Hi everyone.
I just added a Feedster RSS link to the home page of this blog.
The Feedster button is found between the links section and the blog archives.
For those of you who aren't fully up on RSS feeds. RSS stands for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. I prefer the latter definition!
RSS allows you to read what I wrote about without having to visit the site. If you like what you see, then you can drop by and read the rest of what I had to say.
I had to use a third party add-on RSS link as Blogger doesn't provide it to we humble Free Blogger users. On the other hand, I can't upgrade to Blogger Pro, as that system has been discontinued.
I'm caught in RSS No Man's Land!
While I would really like to use Blogger's RSS feature, it's simply not available. I have had requests for an RSS feed from this site too.
If you can accept an RSS feed, please let me know if you can access one from Blog Business World.
I also have added the same RSS feed to my other roller derby site.
I'm not sure if either one works!
I'd really appreciate your assistance on whether the RSS feed works on one, the other, or both sites.
Thanks for your help.
I just added a Feedster RSS link to the home page of this blog.
The Feedster button is found between the links section and the blog archives.
For those of you who aren't fully up on RSS feeds. RSS stands for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. I prefer the latter definition!
RSS allows you to read what I wrote about without having to visit the site. If you like what you see, then you can drop by and read the rest of what I had to say.
I had to use a third party add-on RSS link as Blogger doesn't provide it to we humble Free Blogger users. On the other hand, I can't upgrade to Blogger Pro, as that system has been discontinued.
I'm caught in RSS No Man's Land!
While I would really like to use Blogger's RSS feature, it's simply not available. I have had requests for an RSS feed from this site too.
If you can accept an RSS feed, please let me know if you can access one from Blog Business World.
I also have added the same RSS feed to my other roller derby site.
I'm not sure if either one works!
I'd really appreciate your assistance on whether the RSS feed works on one, the other, or both sites.
Thanks for your help.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Blog content: your blog type
What type of business blog are you writing?
You could one of the online journal bloggers, who keeps a daily online diary of your daily business and home activities. Your company and personal lives may be so entwined, as there may not be a discernable difference. Perhaps your personal life events help to put your work life into perspective.
Perhaps you maintain more of a filter type blog, where you provide a lot of links, to other great blog posts around the internet. You spice the links up (or not) with some of your own commentary. Your readers will enjoy reading your take on the opinions and ideas of other noted writers.
A third type of business blog, may be what amounts to daily essays and articles, on various topics and issues. Instead of relying heavily on outside blogs for linkable posts, you write almost all of your own material. It turns into an essay blog. Your readers will turn to your blog specifically for new ideas and thoughts about business issues in general, and your area of expertise in particular.
A business blog can also contain elements of all three types of blogs, creating a fourth or hybrid blog. While perhaps being more of an online journal, or maybe a more essay oriented blog, the elements of all types of blogging practices are present.
Some days you write about your personal life, on others you compose a longer post about a topic you know well. On another day, you may link to and comment on some other blog articles you read yourself. The blog becomes all three types of standard blogs.
So what does all that have to do with you?
I'm glad you asked that question, despite my heavy hinting!
Your own business blog has to feflect your own personal style and voice. It is not a good idea to copy the format of your favourite blogger. Their technique and writing style is theirs. It's not yours.
Develop your own blog, your own way.
That doesn't mean you can't borrow some good ideas from the best bloggers on the internet. Strong and proven concepts are easily transferrable to your own articles and posts.
You simply don't want to be a clone blog. Instead be your own blog.
Find your own method of posting. Your writing and ideas should be from you. Even if you rely heavily on a filter blog, your own comments and reactions to the articles are equally important, if not more so to your readers, as the well known A List famous blogger your are referencing.
Your regular readers are visiting your blog because they value your opinions and insights.
As time goes on, and you become more comfortable with writing your own daily posts, your own writing will become stronger as well.
Trust me on that one!
Practicing writing will make you a better writer stylistically. It will also make your analysis and opinions stronger journalistically. The more you write, the better you'll write.
Period.
Which ever style business blog you choose - personal journal, filter blog, essay blog, or hybrid bog - make the voice your own.
You alone make your business blog say something meaningful.
Soon people will be linking to your articles and blog.
You might not be A List, but it's better than being No List!
You could one of the online journal bloggers, who keeps a daily online diary of your daily business and home activities. Your company and personal lives may be so entwined, as there may not be a discernable difference. Perhaps your personal life events help to put your work life into perspective.
Perhaps you maintain more of a filter type blog, where you provide a lot of links, to other great blog posts around the internet. You spice the links up (or not) with some of your own commentary. Your readers will enjoy reading your take on the opinions and ideas of other noted writers.
A third type of business blog, may be what amounts to daily essays and articles, on various topics and issues. Instead of relying heavily on outside blogs for linkable posts, you write almost all of your own material. It turns into an essay blog. Your readers will turn to your blog specifically for new ideas and thoughts about business issues in general, and your area of expertise in particular.
A business blog can also contain elements of all three types of blogs, creating a fourth or hybrid blog. While perhaps being more of an online journal, or maybe a more essay oriented blog, the elements of all types of blogging practices are present.
Some days you write about your personal life, on others you compose a longer post about a topic you know well. On another day, you may link to and comment on some other blog articles you read yourself. The blog becomes all three types of standard blogs.
So what does all that have to do with you?
I'm glad you asked that question, despite my heavy hinting!
Your own business blog has to feflect your own personal style and voice. It is not a good idea to copy the format of your favourite blogger. Their technique and writing style is theirs. It's not yours.
Develop your own blog, your own way.
That doesn't mean you can't borrow some good ideas from the best bloggers on the internet. Strong and proven concepts are easily transferrable to your own articles and posts.
You simply don't want to be a clone blog. Instead be your own blog.
Find your own method of posting. Your writing and ideas should be from you. Even if you rely heavily on a filter blog, your own comments and reactions to the articles are equally important, if not more so to your readers, as the well known A List famous blogger your are referencing.
Your regular readers are visiting your blog because they value your opinions and insights.
As time goes on, and you become more comfortable with writing your own daily posts, your own writing will become stronger as well.
Trust me on that one!
Practicing writing will make you a better writer stylistically. It will also make your analysis and opinions stronger journalistically. The more you write, the better you'll write.
Period.
Which ever style business blog you choose - personal journal, filter blog, essay blog, or hybrid bog - make the voice your own.
You alone make your business blog say something meaningful.
Soon people will be linking to your articles and blog.
You might not be A List, but it's better than being No List!
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Search engine optimization: keywords in content
You want your business blog to rise to the top, of the Google searches, for your chosen keywords, right?
If you aren't sure what a keyword is, it's simply a word or phrase someone would enter into Google's (or any other search engine) search box. For example, if you are in the travel industry, your main keywords would revolve around travel, destinations, airlines, cruises, etc.
To go back a step, high rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs) are the end product of what is known as an algorithm. It's simply a mathematical formula, that varies from search engine to search engine. The algorithm focuses heavily on your incoming links, your blog title and description, and your on page written content. While there are a lot more factors than that (Google says over 100), we are looking today at keywords in your written content.
Search engines love content. Period. The more content in your blog, the better the search engine spiders will like it, when they come a-crawlin'. To make your content even tastier for the spiders, you need to use your targeted keywords fairly liberally on the page. In other words, sprinkle your content with the terms people might be searching for, and they will find you!
You can go keyword overboard and keyword all over by keyword plastering your keyword page, but that keyword idea is a bit of keyword overkill.
It also might backfire as keyword "stuffing" is frowned upon by the search engines, and you might be penalized. A penalty is never a good thing. Being sent to the back of the search results, or banned entirely, is not something you want to happen!
Use some logic and common sense in your approach to using keywords.
It's thought by some experts that about 3% of your words, should be your various keywords, for good search engine optimization. That is simply a guideline, and you don't have to strictly follow that rule. What you do need, however, is to optimize your search terms throughout your page content.
If possible, fit your chosen search terms into your blog title, blog description and blog URL. After that, place them in the headlines of your regular posts whenever you are able. If you can put them in bold lettering, that emphasises their importance to the search engines as well.
When you write your posts, be sure to use your keyword(s) in your post. In longer entries, you can slip them in as phrases two or three times. The search engine will calculate them to be important search terms for your business blog. As a result, your blog will rank much higher for those words.
The higher on the page the important words appear, the better. Don't neglect placing them throughout the page text, to multiply their effect.
For really competitive keywords, where the search results return over a million entries, I would recommend optimizing for only one keyword. Don't spread your page too thinly in highly competitive searches. Focus your efforts!
Use your chosen search keywords often.
Your business blog will rise higher in the various search engines.
If you aren't sure what a keyword is, it's simply a word or phrase someone would enter into Google's (or any other search engine) search box. For example, if you are in the travel industry, your main keywords would revolve around travel, destinations, airlines, cruises, etc.
To go back a step, high rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs) are the end product of what is known as an algorithm. It's simply a mathematical formula, that varies from search engine to search engine. The algorithm focuses heavily on your incoming links, your blog title and description, and your on page written content. While there are a lot more factors than that (Google says over 100), we are looking today at keywords in your written content.
Search engines love content. Period. The more content in your blog, the better the search engine spiders will like it, when they come a-crawlin'. To make your content even tastier for the spiders, you need to use your targeted keywords fairly liberally on the page. In other words, sprinkle your content with the terms people might be searching for, and they will find you!
You can go keyword overboard and keyword all over by keyword plastering your keyword page, but that keyword idea is a bit of keyword overkill.
It also might backfire as keyword "stuffing" is frowned upon by the search engines, and you might be penalized. A penalty is never a good thing. Being sent to the back of the search results, or banned entirely, is not something you want to happen!
Use some logic and common sense in your approach to using keywords.
It's thought by some experts that about 3% of your words, should be your various keywords, for good search engine optimization. That is simply a guideline, and you don't have to strictly follow that rule. What you do need, however, is to optimize your search terms throughout your page content.
If possible, fit your chosen search terms into your blog title, blog description and blog URL. After that, place them in the headlines of your regular posts whenever you are able. If you can put them in bold lettering, that emphasises their importance to the search engines as well.
When you write your posts, be sure to use your keyword(s) in your post. In longer entries, you can slip them in as phrases two or three times. The search engine will calculate them to be important search terms for your business blog. As a result, your blog will rank much higher for those words.
The higher on the page the important words appear, the better. Don't neglect placing them throughout the page text, to multiply their effect.
For really competitive keywords, where the search results return over a million entries, I would recommend optimizing for only one keyword. Don't spread your page too thinly in highly competitive searches. Focus your efforts!
Use your chosen search keywords often.
Your business blog will rise higher in the various search engines.
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