Blogging For Your Small Business

written by Quired
05-07-2009
2091 views | 1 comments

Written by J. Paul Duplantis

All Quired websites built for our clients come with the ability to write and share blogs. As we bring on new clients, I am met with a general enthusiasm for the concept but a lack of understanding on how blog articles will benefit their business.

The intention of this blog is to provide an overview on the types of articles businesses could write about their products, services, events or ideas and how these articles could benefit their business.

First of all, the word blog tends to confuse the average small business owner. They have heard the word used in news and social networking arenas but fail to see how something like this would affect them. A blog is simply an article that can be read on the internet. The difference between an article and a web page is that the article is usually more of a conversation than a simple presentation.

To help illustrate the concept of a blog let's talk about a business newsletter. A newsletter for your business is used to communicate with your clients on product and company updates, current events and interesting articles from other sources, etc., etc.

Once the articles have been written for the newsletter they are compiled and produced into a conventional paper newsletter to mail out or an e newsletter that can be emailed or attached to a website. Same concept for a blog but the articles are not contained into one published piece rather they are made available as a stream of individual articles that can be linked to from your site or emailed just as with a newsletter.

The power behind a blog is the ability for each individual article to be able to be shared by an individual reader or syndicated through a network of related blog networks. Blogs also promote what is happening now allowing the reader to engage in product releases and events that are happening at the moment. Readers like it and search engines love it.

Now the question is - what do you blog about?

One of the biggest complaints I hear from our customers is the amount of time it takes to write a blog. This is a biggy indeed so the consideration of time affects the type of blogs you should write.

If you are a business owner who has the time to write compelling articles to share with your prospects and clients then by all means take the time. Well thought out blogs can help attract readers to your blog without a doubt. If you are the type of business owner who does not have the time then there are a few options to consider.

First and foremost, try to identify somebody in your operation who may be a perfect candidate to write your articles. Maybe somebody in marketing or even an intern. You never know, maybe you have a perfect candidate right under your nose. As with anything, don't be shy to set parameters. Set time limits and expectations for the writing of the blogs just as you should with everything else within your business.

If you don't have someone in mind, here are a couple of simple ideas to help create interesting articles that require little effort.

• Find interesting articles on the internet that are written about your industry or something you are passionate about for your business. Write a brief summary of the article in your blog then create a link to the article. Note: always make sure you put the title of the linked article in your hyperlink. Never just label the link "Click Here or Read Article".



• Find articles on the internet that have been written about your business. Have you been written up in a trade magazine, a business magazine or a civic organization. Most publishers distribute their articles online as well as in print. Find the article, write a summary in your blog then create the link.



• Ask a satisfied customer to write a testimonial on your business or dig through your stack of letters of recommendation and copy the text into a blog. This is an incredibly simple yet effective method to share your message.



• Announce an upcoming event your business is sponsoring or involved with. Simply write a summary and create a link to the page where the event information is displayed.



• Link to a press release you have written on your business.



• Copy a memo you had sent to your staff talking about a job well done on a certain project.



• Copy the text from an email you have received from a supplier talking about a new update that could positively affect your clients.

You see the idea here. I can't give you all the ideas because there are probably hundreds of blogs related to your business that I could never dream of. The overall concept is to share your message with your prospects and customers.

Now will this assure you a spike in traffic on your website and guarantee you infinitely more leads? Probably not. But it will help engage your prospect and client base in a conversation which is ultimately what is best for your business anyhow.

Blogging is not a short term sales strategy. It is a long term approach in how you communicate with your prospects and clients. It is simply a way for your audience to get to know more about you and what you offer. Consumer choice has been infinitely empowered with the advent of the internet. Ask yourself how you are inspiring their choice before they pick up the phone to call you or email you?

With 80% of consumers using the web, how you communicate with your market before the purchase is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.

I encourage your comments on this topic which is one of the main selling points of a blog.

"A two way conversation with your clients"