Your Guide For Blog Marketing
January 26, 2011 by admin
Filed under Blog, Blogging, Blogging, Internet Marketing
Blogs also known as web logs are the latest thing on the internet. With there being so many blogs out there on the internet, how do you make yours known and get people to read it. How do you have the most often read blog on the market that you are promoting? Because there are so many people that are trying to all accomplish the same thing, how are you going to stand out?
There are several things that you can do to make your blog marketing a success, and we are going to cover some of them right here. The first thing that you should know is that you should have a domain name for your blog that identifies it with your target market or keywords. For example, if you are trying to promote and sell sunglasses from your blog, you want your URL to say www.sunglasses.blogurl.com. Doing so will give you an extra advantage.
The next step would be to customize your blog. Rather than having the same old blog interface like everyone else has, make your unique and interesting to look at. This will also help anyone from getting your blog confused with others that look just like it. There are so many types of blog software on the market that having your own look should not be that difficult to accomplish.
Keyword research is another very important part of blog marketing. If you are not using the keywords that people search on, then chances are no one is going to find your blog. Have a variety of keywords in your blog as well. Not just the same one over and over. Not everyone just uses the term ‘sunglasses’ when they are searching for shades to keep the sun out of their eyes. Keyword research is an important factor to remember.
Using SEO on your blog, which stands for search engine optimization is a great idea as well. SEO will help get your blog out there and read, and will also help you get a better ranking with Google. Being as high as you can be in the Google search engine results is something that you want.
Find other sites and blogs that are in the same market as yours, but not in direct competition with you to exchange links with. This will help you out a lot as well, especially if you can get some good exchanges with high authority sites. The higher the page rank of your link exchange, the better for your blog.
Many people do not realize this, but having a different title tag in the HTML code on each page makes a big difference. If you have given the first page on your blog the title of ‘sunglasses’, you need to be sure that none of your other pages are named this. Doing so will make Google think that you are spamming that keyword, and that will result in them punishing your blog URL.
Once you have done your keyword research, you will want to write content based on the research you have done. Using one or two keywords, make entries into your blog using the keywords will make it easy for your blog to be indexed under those terms. That will also result in people searching on those particular terms able to find your blog.
Pinging your blog frequently is another good way to get your blog seen. Every time that you update it, use the ping tools to ping it. This will let all of the blog directories know that you have added something new to your blog. This also brings you in some more traffic.
Blog marketing is pretty much the same as website marketing. However, if you have never had a website, and are not familiar with marketing these great tips will help you get started. Be sure that you put new entries into your blog on a regular basis as well. This will help keep you up to date and current and also will keep your readers coming back for more.
If you would like to discuss a blog strategy for your business please complete the form below and a member of our staff will get back to you for a consultation.
Tips for Keeping Your Blog Up to Date
Keeping a blog up to date is one of the most important aspects of blogging. This is so important because regular blog visitors expect new postings on a regular basis. Not all visitors expect to see a new post as often as once a day but most blog readers expect the content on the blog to be updated on a regular basis. In most cases visitors expect new content on at least a weekly basis. However, depending on the subject matter the visitors may expect updates on a basis which is either more frequent. Similarly visitors may not be interested in receiving this type of information more than a few times a year. Blog owners should be aware of the frequency of which readers expect new posts and should make an effort to oblige the readers with updates this often. This article will discuss methods for keeping a blog up to date including scheduling a regular time to post blogs, using publishing tools wisely and hiring guest bloggers when necessary.
Finding Time to Post Daily
One way to help to ensure a blog remains up to date is to schedule time to post blogs on a daily basis. This is especially important when blog readers expect new posts on a daily basis or at least several times per week. Bloggers who allot a specific block of time each day to researching, writing and publishing blogs are more likely to have a blog which is up to date than bloggers who plan on accomplishing tasks when they find time to do so. There may still be days in which the blogger is unable to publish a new post on the blog but these days will be less frequent than if the blogger does not have a block of time strictly dedicated to keeping the blog up to date.
On days in which the blog is unable to devote time to blogging, the blogger may wish to at least publish a short message explaining why it was not possible to post a new blog entry. This will let readers know you are aware of their desire to read more information but are simply unable to publish a new blog post. As long as this does not become a regular occurrence, blog visitors are not likely to stop viewing a blog simply because the blogger skips a day or two.
Taking Advantage of Publishing Tools
Some blog publishing tools enable bloggers to write blog posts ahead of time and specify when each post should be published. This is an excellent feature for bloggers who want to publish new posts daily but are unable to dedicate time each day to writing blog posts. This way the blogger can dedicate a block of time each week to write blog posts and have the posts published throughout the week. This is often an easier method for many bloggers because they are able to be more efficient this way.
Hiring Guest Bloggers
Bloggers may also want to consider hiring guest bloggers to assist them in keeping a blog up to date. This can be a worthwhile method for bloggers who are not only having difficulty keeping their blog up to date but are also interested in providing readers with a little variety. However, blog owners who opt for this message of keeping their blog up to date should carefully consider how the dedicated blog readers will react to this change. This is important because some readers may not be interested in reading blogs written by a guest blogger. Therefore the use of a guest blogger can actually be more detrimental to the blog than not updating the blog regularly. Bloggers can gauge reader reaction to the use of guest bloggers in a couple of different ways. The simplest and most straight forward method is to poll the readers about the use of guest bloggers. This can be done by asking readers to comment on the issue and tabulating the comments received. Another method to gauge reader reaction is to introduce a guest blogger and compare the traffic the guest blogger receives to the traffic the blog owner receives.
Why Your Marketing Plan Should Include A Blog, Starting ASAP!
Why Your Marketing Plan Should Include A Blog, Starting ASAP!
Blogging is a great way for a business to effectively market their product or service without spending a lot of money. There are many benefits of business blogging. Businesses that keep up with a blog can introduce their products or services to consumers and can better communicate their customers. In addition, businesses that blog can understand what their customers want and serve them better.
A blog, sometimes called Weblog, is defined as a web page that serves as a journal or diary for individuals. Most blog writers update their blog on a regular basis and writers often share what most interests them. Individuals are not the only ones that have found blogging beneficial. Businesses have learned that this new way to communicate is a good marketing tool for their products and services.
Every company should have a blog for their businesses. Larger businesses may opt to hire a several special writers with certain areas of expertise to update their blog. A smaller company may have one writer that can effectively write about their product. The idea of blogging for any size business is to get the word out to readers. A reader who frequents a certain blog is more likely to share the blog with others. Also, blogging is a great marketing tool because it allows consumers to be better informed.
When a business chooses to blog, it allows them to introduce their product or service to consumers. Keywords and search engines help consumers quickly find the blog they are looking for with ease. For example, if a company specializes in making handmade jewelry and keeps a blog that is on a search engine, then that search engine would list their blog on a search. Blogging allows customers to research the product they are looking for with ease.
Companies can also use their blog to communicate with their readers and customers. There are many features that a blog can offer that will allow a reader to enter comments and contact the writer. Companies that encourage their readers to leave comments can take the comments and improve their services and products. In addition, companies can email their customers back and let them know that they are interested in what they have to say. In addition, a company that uses blogging to market their service or product should always rely on an experienced writer to update the blog. Business blogs should be polished and easy to read.
Another good reason why businesses and companies should include a blog in their marketing plan is because a blog provides a unique way to understand what customers want. Companies that are in tune with their customer’s needs and wishes can better serve them. Keeping an updated blog will initiate more customer communication that can help a company know right away how to improve. Blogs provide good public relations and are generally much cheaper to maintain than a regular web site. Also, a business that keeps a blog can reach out to other complimenting companies and link those blog sites together. This will help build readership and customers.
When setting up a blog for business purposes it is important to look for a blog-hosting site that can offer the right kind of features. Most businesses will use a site that can offer them more search engines and options to add links and URLs on their page. Free blog sites may not have the capabilities to offer as many features as the ones that charge a monthly fee. The search engine option is very important for a company that keeps a blog. This will ensure that readers can easily locate the company’s blog page. Also, a company setting up a blog should always keep the links and contact information within the blog current. A customer will not want to continue using a blog page that is full of broken links or outdated contact information. If a company relies on their customers to read the blog, then those customers will always rely on the company to make their blog experience a positive one.
Blogging can be a great marketing tool for any size business. It is important for businesses to realize that blogs are not a passing fad, but a unique way to interact with customers and gain recognition in a particular field.
If you need assistance getting up and running with a blog for your business SourceOne Technologies can assist you with your blogging needs.
Reasons Why Blogging Will Boost Your Business!
Reasons Why Blogging will Boost Your Business !
Building your business can be a difficult task. You can put hundreds of hours of effort into the business, but if you still don’t have important components, you will not be successful. Today business owners are realizing that blogging boosts business. Blogs are typically only seen as personal places to express yourself and your views. The truth is however the blogs are also great places to reach people about your business or your products. There are several ways to do this type of blogging.
The best way a business can use blogging to boost their business is by taking part in the blogs of others. You can easily create quality posts with your business in mind without needing to set up a blog of your own. Try finding blogs that pertain to the area of business you are in. This will help you get started. With millions of blogs out there, you should be able to find some with no problem. Choose to post on all of them, or choose the few that get the most activity. Then begin posting. When you do, you will see positive results come in. If you are still curious about how this can boost your business, check out these three reasons blogging boosts business.
Quick Name Recognition
The fastest way to get your business’s name out in the public is to make it known to your targeted marketing group. If you want to get your company’s name out to men who like fishing, then you can find a blog that is about just that. When you find the blogs pertaining to this marketing group, post useful and intelligent information about topics that pertain to your company. You might not want to sound like an advertisement. Think about responding to another comment and simply tagging your signature with your company’s website. This is a subtle way to get their attention. The more you post on blogs, the more widely known your company’s name will become with the select marketing group. When they tell their friends and family about the site then your consumer group will have grown even more. This is a fast way to get started. You will have to invest some time however. At least an hour a day can be used for this type of task.
Consumer Testimonies
Your company might even think about hiring professionals to blog for your company. You can offer these employees products to try and give them the task of finding blogs where they can appropriately “praise” the product. By paying these people to do the task, you will be getting the work done that you need without having to devote much time. Consumer testimonials go a long way with other consumers. If these bloggers are productive enough, you will see an increase due to it.
Building Relationships
Smart business owners know that they can go further with the help of others. A great way to connect and build relationships with other businesses is via their blog. If you are a regular poster who values their business, they will be more likely to work with you. Working together with advertising is a great idea. You can swap ad space for no fee if you like. These are great things for business owners and are easy to get into when you blog regularly.
As you can see, blogging can be a great way to do business. It may seem like tricky advertising, and it is in some ways. However, it is free advertising that does the same thing as a commercial on television does. It reaches a targeted marketing group and lets them know your company’s name, products, and sometimes offers an endorsement. Overall, it is an effective way to get your business out there. When people have no idea who you are, they are not going to feel comfortable working with you. The better your reputation is, the more likely they will trust you. When you have no reputation at all, they will not trust you either. So, even if you just want to use blogging to build your company’s reputation, it will be worth your while. Give it a try and see what type of results you can get using these tips.
Blogging: Let’s Brainstorm for Content
Finding Content for your Blog
One important component of having and maintaining a blog is having content to write about or share. If your blog is dormant and you never update it then your readers will not have a reason to come back on a regular basis.
This post is going to cover content and provide some ideas on how to have regular content for your blog.
One thing that you need to consider for your blog are topics that you are interested in and passionate about. If you are able to focus your blog on topics that interest you it will be easier to create fresh content on a regular basis.
Often when you write your feelings and emotions will show through to your readers in your content. When you right on topics that excite you and you have a strong interest in this will show through to your readers. Your personality will also show and will help build connection with your readers.
Once you've chosen your main theme — or if it has chosen you, then that's even better — start posting to your blog and try to get into the habit of doing that at least two to three times a week. It doesn't always need to be a long post; it could be a comment on something you read in the newspaper today or a segment that you saw on the breakfast news program on TV.
Nevertheless, regardless of how well you know your topic, you're going to run out of fresh input at some point, so let's look at some content brainstorm ideas.
1) Check out what other bloggers have to say on the current state of affairs in your industry. You can find related blogs by visiting http://blogsearch.google.com/ or http://www.technorati.com. You'll learn from other blogs and you can also comment on what others have to say on your own blog!
2) Once you’ve established contact with other bloggers, you’ll have almost inexhaustible input to keep you going for a while, so there won't be an acute need to search for content to write about. Should you still be stuck, then you can search for news articles related to your niche in you local newspaper or online.
3) By joining a few forums related to your niche or industry — just choose the ones that are the most focused on your particular area — you can engage in conversations with others who share your interests. This is a great way to build up a Q&A bank and interesting discussion topics to write about. An added bonus is that your forum posts will quite handily generate traffic for your blog and, hopefully, profits.
Try to maintain your regular blogging schedule of at minimum two to three times a week. The major search engines love fresh content and they are more likely to spider your blog frequently, which will also result in getting you extra traffic.
The subject of traffic will be discussed in a future article, so don't worry about that right now. Just keep writing and posting and building up that momentum — you'll be an established blogger before you know it!
Blogging is important for SEO
December 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Blogging, Blogging, Internet Marketing, Resources, Search Engine Optimization
If you already have a blog for your business, then you are on the right track. Blogging is huge. It’s the latest way to promote goods, services, white papers, books, opinions, and so much more. Once it has been established that you are not missing out on the opportunity, you need to ensure that you are blogging well, and making the most of it.
It is not just about creating the blog, making posts, and then sitting back and waiting. No, it’s more, much more. It’s about attracting and enticing the traffic you want to your blog. It’s about making sure your blog is visible on the web, so that it can be highly ranked by search engines. It’s about optimizing your blog. In the same way that search engine optimization, is a priority for websites, SEO is just as important for your blog.
So exactly how do you need to write those posts so that people will be drawn to your blog? Well you have to become familiar with keywords.
Keywords are the words that potential customers who are looking for a business like yours, are most likely to use. They are the ones that search engines will be on the lookout for. However, if the keywords are not on your site, then Google search, or any other engine, will pass you by. When that happens, it is an opportunity lost, perhaps even a sale. Therefore, keywords and phrases are an all important component of SEO.
It is important to include keywords in the blog title as well as throughout the text. However, remember the golden rule is not to overuse them, because if you do, then your content will sound very clumsy, and will put off readers.
Another thing to remember when writing posts is that, the content should be unique. Readers are always looking for something new and different. There is no greater magnet. Be careful to build anticipation, so that they are encouraged to come back to see what happens next. You can do that by giving them just a little idea of where you’re going next with your product, and what they can expect. The intention is to get them to anxiously await your next post. There is no better way to ensure that you will get more traffic, and they are going to be sure to tell others about it.
It is also a good idea to post regularly. Search engines like blogs because the content changes frequently. The search engine is likely to spend a little time looking around your blog, once you have new information posted.
Blogs are extremely popular. You can exchange links with other blogs to help promote your business. More importantly, linking is another way in which you will become more visible on the web, as search engines are attracted to sites with quality links. In addition, once you are able to pull in traffic, you can redirect it to the sales page on your website, and get the sales you are aiming for.
Boost Your Business With Blogging!
A Business blog is an incredible online marketing tool that saves you thousands of dollars but provides great business opportunities in just one click. Blogs are user-friendly, customized and flexible medium for disseminating useful information for effective positioning of your products in the market.
Businesses that are actively blogging have a huge advantage of their competitors. Here are just a few of the advantages:
Word-of-Mouth – In a survey, there are currently 14 million blogs with 80,000 more being added each day and about 30 percent of the 50 million users are blog readers. Imagine how much exposure your company will have, if your products are advertised through blogs. The Internet allows information to spread quickly especially if an impressive write-up goes with your product. Soon your blogs will be passed on to hundreds of possible customers.
Awareness and loyalty – Open communication with your customers creates trust and loyalty among them. Being there to respond to their questions and comments makes them more willing to try your products and services.
Feedback – Blogs are great for product research and reviews. It would be easier to improve on your products if you observe your customers’ thinking and behavioral patterns. You can also take immediate action to your customers’ concerns.
For better marketing results, actively promote your business blogs by submitting your blogs to blog search sites and directories. Do not forget to paste in with your blogs, your URL. Be sure that your blogs contain exclusive information with value and are always updated to keep readers visiting for updates.
SourceOne Technologies offers several blogging packages to help you get started. If you are interested in starting a blog today for your business please contact us at 720-306-5001.
Questions from Customers and Prospects make great Content for your Blog
Producing content for your blog is often a big struggle faced by businesses; however it doesn’t have to be. There are several things that can be used to produce good content for your blog. Some items include recent industry news, new product or service information, current events and many other items.
The item we want to focus on today is creating content from previous questions or emails from your customers and your prospects. I am sure if you scanned your email right now you could find at least 10 questions that you have received from either current customers or prospects around your products and services. These make for the start of great content for your blog.
Scan through your past email and make a list of the top questions you receive and turn these into blog posts. You could even post them as a question with the answer, or take the question and extract the topic and write more information around it.
Using the questions you are getting already to create blog content will allow you to answer these questions for everyone, create content and also drive search engines to you based on prospects searching for this information.
About the author:
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SourceOne Technologies offers several blogging packages. We can get you set up and running with your blog or we can even provide you with a program where we do your blog postings for you. For more information you can contact us today at 720-306-5001
How to Always Keep Your Blog Updated
Often businesses start a blog with the goal of business promotion. This is a great goal and one top reason we suggest that you have a blog. The problem we see however is that often the blog is started
and great content is posted and then the posts become further and further apart because it has become harder to come up with content or busy schedules get in the way. This is a problem though because one of the biggest keys to a successful blog is being consistent with your posting schedule. A blog with frequent and consistent postings will train your visitors to return regularly for updated content as well as train the search engines to spider your site frequently for updates.
Here are a few tips that you can implement to help you stay on track with consistent blogging – even when you have writers block or your busy schedule gets in the way.
Write your blog content ahead of time
Providing content is one of the best things you can use your blog for, it is also often one of the hardest things to do. Sometimes it is just hard to identify the topic you want to write about when it is time to update your blog. To help deal with this there are several things you can do. One great tip is to carry around a notebook with you so that if you get an idea on a topic you can quickly jot down some notes to refer to later when you are writing your blog content. Now that you have some notes on possible topics you can block out some time in your weekly schedule and scan these notes and begin to write content. Having the ideas is a great starting point. Now you can sit down and create a handful of blog posts that you can use on your blog. This will allow you to have a collection of content pieces to add when you need something.
Set a Schedule for your Blogging
Having a blogging schedule is very helpful. It helps train your visitors when to look for new content and helps keep you organized as well. There are several bloggers out there that update their blogs daily, however in many cases 2-3 times a week is the average. If you start out posting 2-3 times a week in most cases your visitors will be used to this. If you are posting 2-3 times a week and then suddenly you do not post for a week your regular visitors will wonder what happened and may think your blog has been abandoned. This is why it is important to stick to a schedule you can follow, maybe start with once a week until you have a lot of content built up and then move to a 2 to 3 times a week.
Use tools to post your blog posts for you
It is possible to schedule your blog posts to be sent to your blog automatically for you. This is a great tool to use and one that I highly recommend. This feature is available in the top blogging software WordPress. It allows you to schedule the day and time that you wish your blog post to appear. Here is a quick screen shot on where this feature is in WordPress:
In your post hit the Edit option as seen below:
This will open up the ability to set the day and time for your post to be sent out:
Once you have set the day and time that you wish your post to go out hit publish. This will allow your post to be published without you.
A lot of the businesses that we work with will pick one day a week to schedule all of the blog posts for the week and use the scheduling feature to do so.
Following these steps will help you manage the content for your blog successfully. These tips will also ensure that your blog is updated constantly and appears very professional to your readers and followers. The more content you provide the more you will connect with your prospects and clients and your blog will do a great job of pre-selling for you.
About the author:
Stefanie Blackburn is an Internet Consultant with SourceOne Technologies. SourceOne Technologies currently offers assistance to business owners in establishing a complete online presence by offer their services as an Online Marketing Consultant.
SourceOne Technologies offers several blogging packages. We can get you set up and running with your blog or we can even provide you with a program where we do your blog postings for you. For more information you can contact us today at 720-306-5001
Why You Need a Blog for your business
One thing that all business owners large or small should be focusing on this year is connecting with prospects and customers; moving them into the sales and marketing funnel. There are several ways that this can be accomplished, however one key way is by having a blog and using it to share information and connect with your target market.
A blog is really just a simple website that is typically updated frequently with what are called posts. In most cases the posts on your blog are shown in reverse chronological order. This allows the visitor to see your last post first.
A blog can be used in addition to your main website, instead of a main web site and your blog can even function together with your website. A blog however should be updated frequently, once a week at minimum if possible, two to three times would be better.
A blog is very easy to use to share information quickly and typically this can be done without calling your web master or IT support. This makes a blog a great cost effective tool to use to share information on upcoming specials or promotions, review new products, features customers and even address customer complaints.
There are several reasons that every business large or small should have a blog and use it in their marketing mix for connecting with prospects and customers and moving them through their sales and marketing funnel. Here are just a few that you should consider:
- Search Engines Love Blogs
Google and other search engines love blogs. Blogs offer what is called an RSS Feed and these feeds are typically picked up very quickly by search engines. It is very possible to write a post on your blog in the morning and have it appear in the search engines by lunch time.
- Builds your Brand
Building a brand takes works and requires many pieces of marketing collateral, a blog being one of them. Having a blog with your branding will allow you to be seen by others on a regular basis and your target market will begin to recognize who you are and what you offer.
- Establishes You or Your Business as an Expert
Having a blog where you provide up to date information on a topic or niche that you have experience in will help you become known as an expert in that area. Once others begin to see you as an expert of subject matter expert on the topics you focus on you will develop a reputation and hopefully a following as an expert.
- Drives Traffic to Your Web Site
When a blog is used as an extension of your web site often readers of your blog will also check out your web site and see what products and services you offer for sale. To ensure that this happens always be sure to include a link to your web site from your blog.
- Builds Relationships with Prospects and Clients
Blogs and be opened up so that your readers and add comments to your posts. Using a blog to share information, get feedback and then respond is a great way to build relationships with your readers who are your prospects and clients.
A blog is definitely a tool that you need to include in our marketing mix this year if you haven’t already. Blogs are great cost effective tools to create exposure and connection with your prospects and customers.
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If you are ready to include a Blog in your marketing mix and don’t know where to start SourceOne Technologies would be glad to help you establish your blog and other online marketing components. Contact SourceOne Technologies today, your Online Marketing Consultant.
