Guest post by James Adams
If you have an online business then you know the challenges you face. They include first and foremost, bringing traffic to your site. No traffic, no business, no joke! You also need to manage the message about your business and create as much buzz at as low a cost as possible. With those tidbits for starters, let’s look at 7 ways a well-developed blog will benefit your online business. It will:
1. Enhance your site’s search engine optimisation: this is marketing 101 in the online age, as you know. Search engine spiders probably read your site more often than you do, and when they encounter fresh content with an effective use of keywords your site will get a boost. Search engines like Yahoo will list more pages and Google will re-index your site more frequently so your new pages will appear in searches more quickly. This is central to being found, which, in turn is the first step in making a sale to a new visitor.
2. Engage social media users: online businesses continue to underplay this card while the competition uses it to take accumulate market share. Savvy business owners know the power of relational interaction with existing and potential visitors/customers. MySpace, Facebook, Digg, and other hot communities produce traffic. This is a proven technique, and even blog posts that don’t achieve full-blown “viral” status can produce an impressive stream of visitors.
3. Establish relational credibility: old school salesmen who don’t “get” the internet preach a lesson worth listening to – sales is about building relationships. Your blog is your online personality, the one your readers relate to, feel connected to, and trust when it comes time to make a purchase. Learn that and prosper! Give your readers the opportunity to offer feedback and multiply the advantage.
4. Make you the expert: well-written, good-looking blogs build trust in many ways. They have the ability to give you expert-level credibility with your readers. Make every effort to produce a quality, attractive blog that offers real help and real insight to your readers. They will buy from you if you do. Who do you want to buy from? The online seller that clearly knows their stuff and exudes professionalism? Or the web retailer that offers inferior English, information, graphics, etc.? That’s how we feel, too.
5. Build your brand: your blog is your soap box to communicate your unique message and create the image you desire, to craft a “persona” for your business that will attract like-minded individuals who will become loyal readers and eventually customers.
6. Provide cheap but effective marketing: building and maintaining a blog is very affordable. And when compared to other forms of marketing it is downright cheap. But the real value is that it is also more productive than many forms of paid marketing. Since it is so inexpensive and has the potential for really good returns there is simply no reason not to have an active blog presence.
7. Set you apart from the crowd: whatever business niche you’ve chosen will have stiff competition – or there won’t be a market for your products or services. You need something to differentiate your business from your competitors, and a blog is one of the most effective ways to do this. Tailor your blog message to speak to the needs/desires of your readers and craft a message that lets them know you understand, and that you have what it will take to satisfy them.
Producing a blog may seem daunting at first. You should know that there are many resources that will ease the discomfort of getting started. There are even writing services to help you turn your thoughts into successful blog entries. Blogs are increasing in importance as a means of succeeding online. The sooner you tackle the learning curve and get a quality blog going, the greater the competitive advantage you will have.
Tom Walker is a blogger and designer who works with a UK based online store who offer cartridges next day. He is a contributor and editor of their blog about advertising and printed media.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0923e6a4-1e81-4de5-bd2f-0b088f09beb5)
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post I can’t add to this, it’s all there, thanks.
I really agree with with the importance of fresh content I update my sites daily and my posts get indexed in minutes.
Great post…I found interesting from begining to the end…Good explanation with points…
Gonna share it on facebook..
thanks for good share…
Nice post Tom. I’d love to read more on blogging as a form of branding some day. Not so much as personal branding but for products.
Yes, a blog to your business is probably more important than most people realize. The most difficult thing I find, though, to blogging is the time. You need constant fresh content to keep your readers interested. I have found that plan 2-3 posts a week and work it into your schedule is a good way to get it done.
Hi guys, glad you liked the post! Blogging is quite an effective way to help your business…it’s all about giving people what they want: a little entertainment, information and an opportunity to have a conversation. So I tried to get that all when writing this article.
Your 4th point is key. A blogger establishes him/herself as an expert in a field. Potential customers want to feel like they can call on an expert to help them when they need it and look to an expert for valuable advice.
That’s why all bloggers should put their audience before themselves. Yes, we blog because we enjoy writing. But we also blog to help people. When people know that you’re genuinely concerned about them, they will trust you and, in most cases, buy from you.
Today Social Media is one of the fastest way to promote your business online you can get more exposure on social media website likes facebook, twitter and other websites. Because today world is the world of challenge and you have to find more options
{ 1 trackback }