7 Secrets To A Successful Business Blog
By Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. and Denise Wakeman, Mon Jan 2nd
Today's software makes it so easy to set up a blog that it seemslike everybody and their neighbor has a blog. Yes, they are afad right now. And yes, they are a great business tool for anybusiness, large or small - and they're here to stay.
Especially for the independent professional, a blog is an easycommunication tool to build credibility and trust. Mostimportantly, make it easy for people to find you on theWeb.
But 9 out of 10 created will be abandoned because they cantake up a lot of time in a busy professional's life, and resultsmay not be evident right away.
There are several keys to making your blog work for you, insteadof the other way around. Once you learn and integrate thesesteps, it should take you only 10-20 minutes per post. It'srecommended that an additional 20 minutes a couple of times perweek should be spent reading and commenting on other andsites on the Web so you can bring valuable information to yourreaders.
7 Secrets to a Successful Business Blog
1. Write valuable content and share stories to showcaseyour knowledge and expertise. Don't forget to explain how youwork with clients and let readers know how to contact you, hireyou, buy a product or register for your services.
2. Write 2-3 times a week, short articles of 250-350words each time. Occasionally, a longer article can be shared,using the extended post feature.
3. Link profusely to other resources on the web. This isessential for building traffic and enlarging your readingaudience. Spend some time, 2-3 times a week researching yourarea of expertise on the Web. Leave comments on other blogs.
4. Submit to blog directories and ping each timeyou post. If you don't know how to do this, get a blog coach orbuy and read an instructional manual, such as the ebook atwww.BuildaBetterBlogSystem.com.
5. Track and monitor your visitor stats. Install acounter on your blog so you know what's happening. For example,a free counter can be found at www.SiteMeter.com.
6. List all your products and affiliate products and makesure you have the landing pages properly linked. Use youraffiliate links and ad-tracking features if you have a shoppingcart.
7. Don't forget to link to your own website and viceversa! This is one reason we prefer to have the blog separatefrom your website, rather than installing blog softwareincorporated into your website. It's like having two fishingpoles in the pond.
Like any marketing effort, persistence pays off. In six monthsof regular blogging, assuming you are providing valuablecontent, you should see a significant increase in your web sitetraffic, the client leads, and overall total revenue for yourbusiness.
If not, you're not blogging smart!
About the author:Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman work with professionals tomaximize their marketing strategies by implementing blogs,ezines and ecommerce tactics. They have co-authored "Build aBetter Blog", "Confessions of a Reluctant Blogger" and "Secretsof Successful Ezines" Get The Blog Squad's free report on the"Top 10 Reasons to do an Ezine and A Blog" Snipurl.com
