Blogging for BusinessThe Least Expensive
EFFECTIVE Marketing Tool For Your Business Today
What Is Blogging?“Blogging is freeform publishing without limits. You are free to publish your words in your voice, without editorial overview. You are the writer, editor, photo editor, graphic designer, advertising manager, and publisher. It’s your blog, your publishing empire.”
-Blogging Tips, Lorelle VanFossen
Blog Stats 133,000,000 – number of blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002
346,000,000 – number of people globally who read blogs (comScore March 2008)
77% - percentage of active Internet users who read blogs -Source: The Future Buzz
Why Blog?Define YOUR Why
“If you don’t know what you want out of blogging, you WON’T get it.”
-Blogging Tips, Lorelle VanFossen
Why Blog?Become the “Expert”
Customer Relationships
Media Relations Recruitment Test Ideas or Concepts Source: CorporateBlogging.info
Why Blog?Search Engine Optimization (SEO) –
Getting the “Google Juice”
Especially for Long-Tail SEO
Why Blog?
FOR FUN or as a Hobby
Why Blog?For Profit
Paid SponsorsGoogle
AdwordsTo Promote a
Product or Service
Other Reasons?
Where to Blog? Blogging PlatformsWordPressBloggerTypepadActiveRain & Outside Blogs (real estate, mortgage,
video, stagers, marketing professionals, personal coaches, business consultants, SEO consultants, photographers, insurance, property management, and others!)
Platforms are everywhere! Merchant Circle, Internet Providers, +
Within Your Website
Anatomy of A BlogBlog Post Title – Headline
“Tantalizing Titles Are Tantamount!”
SideBar
Categories
Recent Posts
Comments
LinksWidgets
RSS Feeds
Subheading – Good for SEO & Organization of Blog
Blog Post Content• Content IS King (350+ words for SEO)• Show Your PASSION for the Subject•DON’T BE A WALKING BILLBOARD• Include Links, Graphics, Information• USE Photos (Be aware of copyrights)• AVOID Funky Formatting• REMEMBER TO INCLUDE a CALL TO ACTION• Create a Useful Footer – Info about you, links
Comments
Meta Tags – Tag Your Post for SEO Success!
What Do I Blog About?Your “Why” will help give you direction.Who is Your Ideal “Customer”? What do they want
to read about?Keep An “Inspiration File” and a List of Possible
TopicsPotential Blog Topics:
Customer Q&A’sListsInterview Someone in Your FieldVideos, PhotosSolutions to Problems
Stuck? Just “Google” Blog Topics & Get 100’s of Ideas!
Measuring ResultsWhat is Your “REACH” – how many
people subscribe to your Blog?Website Traffic: See how many people
are coming to your website because of your blog, the terms they searched to get there, the sites they came from, and more.Tools To Measure Results
Google Analytics (Free) MyBlogLog (Free) GetClicky
Client Calls, Emails, Or ContactsTrack Funnel – Total Visitors, # Leads, # Customers
Success
Getting StartedRead Other Blogs – Seth Godin, ProBlogger,
HubSpot, Industry Blogs (View a list at Technorati.com, Memeorandum.com, Techmeme.com, Google Blog Search)
Check Out the CompetitionChoose a Platform - Within your website or
outside?Form a Strategy – Why & How will you
measure success?Design Your Blog’s “Look” – Header,
Template, Fonts, WidgetsJust “Do It” – Get Started!
Social Media Integration & Blog PromotionPost Links to Your Recent Blog Posts on Facebook,
Linked In, Twitter, FriendFeed, Plaxo, Other SitesInclude a Link to Your Blog On Your Website,
Emails, Business CardsSubmit Your Post t0 Digg, Delicious or Other
Bookmarking SitesSubmit Your Blog URL to Google Blogs, Technorati,
and other Blog DirectoriesSet Up an RSS Feed for Your Blog so People Can
Subscribe – Make It Easy & Visible on Your SiteComment on Other Blogs – Especially those that
provide a link back to your blog.
Questions & Discussion