Blogging has become a way of life on the internet but a small business owner might question what benefits the business will receive from blogging. There are lots of books out there telling you how much it will help your business but is that real or just a lot of – well – blogging?
The whole point of business advertising is to get your message out to those who will purchase your product or your services or whatever you are selling. Therefore blogging is just another marketing tool that will tell people that your product is the best one to purchase and the reasons why. The problem is that bloggers “blog” about everything from the rainy day that kept them from going to the ball game to their opinions about the latest scandal taking place in their hometown or in the world at large.
Your first reaction is that it seems like a waste of time and yet It stands to reason that if so many businesses are blogging about their products and services and selling them because of it – that it must be working. Therefore why not give it a shot? It’s certainly worth some time to see if it can generate business in these troubled times. So why not take a chance and start blogging? Go for it!
Here are a few reasons why blogging may be a wise choice for your publishing needs.
Express yourself.
Have you always wanted to express yourself in business, politics, religion, family, music, arts, video… basically, a slice of life? Now you can – easily. Whether it be in text, photos, audio, video or hieroglyphics, you can enjoy the freedom to do so.
No waiting on your webmaster.
How much time have you wasted waiting on your webmaster? With blogging, you don’t have to punish yourself anymore. Imagine a blog to be a platform that was designed by people who hate to waste time as much as you do. Just login from anywhere in the world, write a new page, and publish. It’s now live for all the world to see. Get a blog – it ought to save you some time and your sanity, too.
Full speed publishing.
Have you tried to publish website pages the ‘old way’? if you do, you know it involves your HTML publishing software, an image editing software and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software – then you’ll begin the endless process of create, save, upload, view, tweak, save, upload, view – ad nauseum. Heaven forbid you accidentally override another team member’s work on your host – been there done that – (head slap) “DOH!”
With blogging, you can say good bye to the above ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. After a superman-quick install and some fun customization, simply login, write a new page, and publish. Voila! And your team member and you can be friends again. Web publishing using blogs is really the new black!
Be “findable” on the search engines.
I’m sure you’ve already figured this out on your own, haven’t you? If you haven’t, here’s a tip. A website that is positioned well on Google, MSN and Yahoo is like owning the food court in your local mall. It doesn’t matter which mall you’re in, or what cuisine you serve in the food court, you’re going to have ‘walk-in traffic’ and visitors coming through ‘hungry’ for what you have to offer – in droves.
This is a hot to pic on the internet – how to be found. This is achieved in much easier fashion with blogging than not. A clue to why this works like a charm with blogs? It attracts search engines and blog directories (through its built-in notification features) like ‘white on rice’ – and also because blog owners continually add new and fresh content to their blogs. (In addition, I offer other insider strategies to be easily “findable” – included ‘backstage’ in my membership section).
Dialogue with your visitors, effortlessly.
Would you like your prospects and customers to share their comments, feedback, ideas, and concerns with you? What would your business look like if you created a whole new successful product line from a prospect’s ingenious idea, or retain a segment of your customers through an honest concern expressed?
You can accomplish this efficiently through feedback forms on your blogs. This ‘feedback loop’ can be worth thousands or millions to your business. Of course, if you’re concerned about irrelevant comments, they can be moderated prior to publishing.
Leadership through blogging.
If you blog regularly and consistently add value to your readers, you’ll begin to develop a readership that likes and trust your style, perspectives, rants, thoughts and opinions. This is where you can build your platform for being the thought leader or expert in your specific field or market. With this leadership comes influence and power… use it wisely.
Podcasting and videocasting, simplified.
Podcasting is the distribution & syndication of media files – be it audio o r video, or both. This technology made simple can be used for business, sports, politics, religion, family, and even silly homemade videos. Basically, any topic of your choice can be delivered through audio & video podcasting, published on a blog, easily and effectively.
Showcase photo and image galleries.
You can easily showcase product shots, pictures of staff servicing happy customers, and even business location pictures.
Or if you’re using your blog for personal reasons, you can showcase family snapshots, baby photos, special events pictures like your child’s birthday or graduation.
Imagine the possibilities. Think it, do it. How about offering your photos in a gallery or offer your blog visitor to view it in a slide show. Yes, it can be easily accomplished with a blog.
Imagine the possibilities…
Blogging can also be fun and personal. Think connecting families abroad, via text, audio, video, photos – even Grandma Bertha from England can see Little Johnny bat his first home run hit in Little League Baseball in Small Town, USA. She may even send $10 to Little Johnny through your Paypal account through your blog. Imagine that!