Blogs - Do You Need One for Your Business?

Do entrepreneurs need a blog? Sure you do! A blog, or Web log is an incredibly low cost form of marketing that can result in a high rate of return on your dollar for dollar investment.

An entrepreneur needs a blog. Entrepreneurs who maintain a blog in addition to their business website enjoy higher Google rankings. For most entrepreneurs, your success is based on your efforts more than the efforts of a paid marketer. You could hire a direct marketing firm, use a mailing list, or contact a professional service to do your promotional for you. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs are on a shoestring budget and a promotional firm is quite probably out of reach economically. Blogging is cheap, has staying power and builds upon business men and women do best…talking (or in this case writing) about their passion…their business!

What can you do with a blog?

• You can be creative, mission oriented, innovative and demonstrate how your company is different from the rest.
  
  
• Your company can create a uniquely branded profile that promotes you as an authority in your industry.

Think about all the possibilities! You can show the world how your company is a cut above your competitors.

  The great thing about blogging is that it is so easy to do and the learning curve is minimal. Blogging requires little or no programming/html knowledge. Basic writing skills and a commitment to writing 100-200 words 3-5 times a week is all it takes to create a visible blog that search engines love.

Blog content can be updated frequently and distributed quickly. This immediacy results in a highly engaged audience who can quickly respond with comments and feedback. Creating a community of readers who are comfortable with you and who genuinely like you before they ever make a purchase of your products or services is critical to a business’ success. It creates that needed emotional bond required to establish brand trust.

Blogging can be a terrific community resource for your customers as well as a great way to provide something of value to them that does not cost them a dime. When you demonstrate that your business model is different from the typical business model and you offer valuable information to the customer just for participating, then you begin to create a branded community.

Blogging is branding. Branding allows your audience to see your expertise through your own unique blogging personality. It also shows your business' uniqueness in the market place and clearly demonstrates how your company is different.

The value of blogging:

* Builds a sense of community

* Positions you or your company as informed about the community and their unique needs or perspective

* Provides a great platform for introducing new ideas or products

* Gets your name and contact information out there in yet another visible location

* Provides a forum to present all your great ideas about your market and your products/services

When customers become familiar and comfortable with a particular brand they gravitate toward it when in need of that good or service. By creating this helpful community in your blog, your company and your name become known for its value. People buy from those whom they know, recognize, and can make an emotional connection.