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, LorelleVanFossen

Blog Stats133,000,000 – number of blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002346,000,000 – 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, LorelleVanFossen

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 ProfitPaid SponsorsGoogle AdwordsTo Promote a Product or ServiceOther 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!”SideBarCategoriesRecent PostsCommentsLinksWidgetsRSS FeedsSubheading – Good for SEO & Organization of BlogBlog Post ContentContent IS King (350+ words for SEO) Show Your PASSION for the SubjectDON’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 Meta Tags – Tag Your Post for SEO Success! Comments

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

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 ProblemsStuck? 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 ResultsGoogle Analytics (Free)MyBlogLog (Free)GetClickyClient 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