"What's blogging?" you ask.
"Where have you been?" I reply...just kidding, of course. Blogging has been around for quite some time, but there are still a few of us who are just getting started on it. A blog, which is a shortened version of the words "web log," is basically an online diary, resource and commentary. It generally contains links to other blogs, websites and informational resources. And it has the ability to "ping" sites to get you more exposure.
I've been doing a blog for Marketing Idea Shop for a few months now. In it, I give my readers various resources, information to help their businesses, and links to websites that I find interesting. I also link to other people's blogs whenever it makes sense. And I answer P.R. and marketing questions that my readers submit. Occasionally, I include complete articles I have written on marketing topics. You can take a look at the Marketing Idea Shop blog here: http://www.marketingideashop.com/blog/
I literally set this blog up in 5 minutes. I'm using the software "Blogger," and my blog is being hosted at Blogspot and connected to my own website.
The Blogger software, which is owned by Google, is free and so is the hosting. A couple of people have recommended "Moveable Type" as the best business blogging software, and I have found it's much more confusing so I eventually abandoned that idea. If you want to have more control over your blog, you will want to own the software and host your blog yourself.
Moveable Type is a software program that you can purchase; it resides on your own computer. Blogger is software that resides on someone else's computer. Currently it's free, but who knows what will happen to it later. There are several other choices, too.
Bloggers (as the folks who write blogs are called) have many reasons for starting and maintaining a blog. Here are the top 10 reasons for blogging:
1. It's good for business.
2. It improves your search-engine ranking.
3. It makes you more valuable to your customers and prospects.
4. It will generate more traffic for your site
5. It will improve your sales.
6. If you participate in Google's Adsense program, you can make some big bucks, even if your visitors don't buy directly from you or they go to your competitors.
7. It can get you and your company noticed.
8. If you add RSS news feeds to your blog, you can get loads of content without working so hard AND you can easily distribute your blog's content to other bloggers and websites. (RSS means Really Simple Syndication)
9. You can invite your readers to comment on your posts, thereby creating a better relationship with them (and increasing the possibility that they will buy from you).
10. You can have fun writing about your company, products, industry, competitors, conferences you attend, just about anything!
Lois Carter Fay, APR, is a 30-year veteran in the P.R. and marketing field. She works with women businesses and small businesses to improve their marketing and business success. She now produces three marketing ezines, Brainy Tidbits, Brainy Flash, and Success Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs. All are free. She's also the co-author with Jim Wilson of "Sales Success! Strategies for Women," a quick-to-read ebook containing 52 easy-to-implement sales tips. The ezines and ebook are available through her websites.
Visit http://www.MarketingIdeaShop.com or http://www.WomenMarketing.com to learn more sales ideas and subscribe. Claim your free special report when you subscribe.
Businesses that are not using feeds today, as part of... Read More
There's a lot of blogs out there on the Web,... Read More
There are many advantages of running a blog, on top... Read More
Creating ContentNew websites are being launched daily. In order to... Read More
Most of the "rules" about writing for ezines and newsletters... Read More
Writing?Blogs?Blogs are on-line journals where people express themselves through writing.... Read More
While syndication has many applications, we will deal specifically with... Read More
Blogs are extremely hot right now. Everyone is starting them,... Read More
In this article I am going to cover some tools... Read More
Marketers have found that blogs are excellent tools for communicating... Read More
One of the main problems with the Internet these days... Read More
The future of RSS Feeds and internet marketing is looking... Read More
According to Technorati, there are over 15 million blogs as... Read More
Blogging is a time consuming process. It involves... Read More
I've sure you've heard before that it's a possibility to... Read More
Your favorite thing about having a blog may soon be... Read More
After many requests from wordpress users, the latest version of... Read More
You've got your blog set up and you've started posting... Read More
... if not months to come.At a distinctive and stable... Read More
This article is intended as a guide for webmasters who... Read More
An RSS news feed can be used to communicate with... Read More
Technorati reports that 30,000 - 40,000 new blogs are being... Read More
The popular blogger.com owned by Google, Inc. has been around... Read More
Choosing the right blog software for your new blog requires... Read More
Niche marketing is an old and very successful marketing strategy... Read More
What in the world is up with the world of... Read More
A brand new marketing tool predicted to replace email is... Read More
(Continued from Blogging Your Way To Success Part 2)You have... Read More
Microsoft recently announced that they will be releasing a new... Read More
Blogging is easy, blogging is fun. And what's more?it can... Read More
Are you new to RSS? If so here is a... Read More
Today we see the Internet as a global catalog of... Read More
Blogs are an unbelievable way to achieve success on the... Read More
1: Building Trust RelationshipsBlogging allows bloggers to share their expertise... Read More
Weblogs or Blogs as they are more commonly referred to,... Read More
Blogs are more permanent than posts to an online discussion... Read More
Although Blog was the most requested word of 2004 as... Read More
It seems like Blogs are everywhere these days. You can't... Read More
As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More
What is RSS? To begin with, it's one of those... Read More
RSS is rapidly becoming a "must have" for a proper... Read More
People start blogs for all kinds of reasons. Ego. Political... Read More
A brand new marketing tool predicted to replace email is... Read More
Blogging is the latest buzzword in online marketing and PR.... Read More
It seems no matter how much information comes available online,... Read More
It seems like everyone is talking about RSS Feeds. They've... Read More
Of all people in the world I was easily one... Read More
Benefits of Writing Articles:1. Every Webmaster would like to publish... Read More
There is no doubt in my mind that RSS is... Read More
In the first three parts of this article series on... Read More
Business blogs are primarily used to improve a company's communication... Read More
Bloggers blog. That's what they do. A blog is short... Read More
According to Technorati, there are over 15 million blogs as... Read More
To better understand how RSS is changing the way companies... Read More
Most People who Blog and Ping only use 1 Method... Read More
A merchant I was talking to the other day asked... Read More
Quick question... do you publish 'Articles' on a regular basis?I'm... Read More
Blogs were originally only meant to be 'Web Logs', or... Read More
So, you have a blog! Do you have traffic? Do... Read More
In this article I am going to cover some tools... Read More
'Blogs' or 'Blogging' have existed for several years and there... Read More
Marketers are constantly asking if RSS marketing works and if... Read More
Think of a product or a service that your business... Read More
The items covered here are:1) Don't Wait before Blogging.2) Using... Read More
Even though I've had several personal blogs for years, I've... Read More
Out of many of the free RSS and blogging services... Read More
Blogging, RSS & Feeds |