Blogging - an effective marketing tool when done correctly

Blogging is a surefire way to get your ideas, products, and content into the data stream that makes the internet what it is - a data superhighway.

For a business, blogging is a 'must have' in the marketing portfolio, especially with the growth of social marketing and its' integration into all aspects of the devices we use today.

A "blog" (derived from the term "web log") is basically just a website with two key differences: First, it's extremely easy to add information to it. A blog is like an online journal, so you just log in, type what happened today, post it, and you're done! Second, you can add a simple little feature that automatically tells a whole bunch of other websites that you've made an update to your blog--every time you make a change.

In fact, two of the most popular platforms for small business blogging, blogger.com and wordpress.com, are designed to have the look and feel of editing a Microsoft Word document.  Because blogging is so easy, and most blog platforms are free, there is no excuse for a business not to be using this marketing tool.

#1 Blogging helps drive traffic to your web site

This is the priority of every business, have 'strangers' learn about the products and services you offer. Blogging accomplishes this very easily when used with social media outlets. There are many tools and resources, some are free, that allow you to distribute your blog posts to a number of social networks like FaceBook, Google+, and Twitter.

 #2 Blog distribution tools are plentiful

The material in your blog establishes you as an authority. And, this is not a hard sell. By that I mean, you don't have to have a degree in marketing to write a blog post. Just be your self. Most successful blog writers use a conversational tone in their blogging.

The majority of the social platforms out there have a widget to post your blog.

Really, the hardest part - for many of the people I have worked with - is just getting comfortable with regularly writing blog posts. You do need to be consistent with your blogging. When you stop writing then the visitor stream tends to slow down, until you have a blog with several hundred posts that people can randomly find in the search engines.

 #3 SEO your blog posts

One aspect of blogging is making sure your content is presented in the best possible way for search engine comprehension. The better the search engines understand what you re offering, the better they can categorize it, thus the more it will show up in search engine results.

Learn more about these three topics and much more in my FREE Marketing Guide: Ten Secrets To Effective Blogging. Click here to get a copy now.

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