 |
Further
Reading ...
|
|
Breaking Through Uncertainty - Welcoming Adversity - Jim McCormick
We all question our ability at times. Uncertainty plagues us. It is even more intense if the ability we are questioning relates to something we have never tried or not succeeded at in the past. Set backs are common, but we rarely welcome...
How to Sell Your Products Without Competition - Rena Klingenberg
Selling your products at shows can be difficult when you have a lot of competition. Although some show organizers are careful to have a good mix of vendors, it's not uncommon for other shows to have 20% or more of the booths filled with vendors in...
Tap Into 'Hidden' Assets and Multiply Your Profits! - Edward Green
Many aspiring entrepreneurs don't have enough faith in their ability to build a successful home-based business for themselves. Their greatest concern is basically this: IT COSTS MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. Unfortunately strapped for cash, many simply don't...
Hiring and Retaining Good Employees - Myron Curry
Hiring good employees is not only important to business, it’s essential. Employees are the heart and soul of a business; they are the mechanism that makes a business run; they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something more than...
|
|
|
Blogging For Business - Great Reasons For Every Business To Start A Weblog
|
 |
Written By:
John Jantsch
|
|
|
If Howard Dean’s failed political campaign accomplished anything, I would say that it brought to the mainstream the use of something called a weblog or “blog” as it known in cyberspace.
A blog is really nothing more than a diary uploaded to the Internet and until about the last 12 months was the realm of the individual who saw it as a way to publish there random (and sometimes disturbed) thoughts. The great thing about weblogs, and the growing set of software that is being created to publish them, is that they are a tremendous business tool.
Weblogs allow you to create content and contact…and that is what your clients crave more than anything.
I use a program (there is a free trial version) called PMachine to publish my weblog at DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php. This program allows me to simply make many entries and updates and also allows readers to add comments. Better still, now seemingly random articles can be sorted and searched by content or subject. My weblog is more like a content management system and my readers seem to love it.
Another great reason to explore the use of weblogs is that search engines seem to love them. Within 30 days of launching my weblog it became the most visited page on my fairly high traffic website.
So what is it about blogs that those little spiders love so much?
Here’s a little secret, search engines crave content. Okay so maybe that’s not such a secret but to look at many websites you would think it so. The fact is that too many websites just sit there doing nothing that the search engines admire. Providing content, not to mention fresh content, is one of the toughest chores of anyone who maintains a website. But when it comes to generating traffic it is the most important job.
Blogs, by their very nature, are all about content. In a commercial environment every blog entry is fresh content. Get in the habit of making two, three, even four entries a week and you’ve got a content building bonanza on your hands. Everyone knows you need new content to give visitors a reason to come back; blogs just make the task so much easier.
Another advantage that blogs seem to currently possess over traditional web pages and sites is lack of competition. While the number of bloggers grows daily, there are still relatively few commercial blog sites. When I created my blog I found - continued below ...
|
|
|
continued ...
that it showed up in the number 3 spot in Google for the term “Marketing Weblog” within about 3 weeks of launch. Not bad considering I did nothing to make it happen.
There are a couple of other things you should do to make your weblog a traffic magnet. They aren’t really that different than tradition SEO tactics but the names and faces are unique to the blogging world.
Use targeted keywords in your entry titles
No rocket science here but this tip can’t be stated enough. Forget cute…go for titles that fit your targeted keywords and phrases…even if they seem a bit awkward. (You do have targeted keywords and phrases don’t you?)
Register with Blog Search Engines – Search engines that specialize in blogs
http://www.daypop.com/
http://www.blogvision.com/
http://www.blogsearchengine.com/
Register with Tracking Services – These services note when a blog has been updated and publish an ongoing list. They even keep track of the most updated and most visited weblogs. Plus you get to learn what pinging is.
http://blo.gs/
http://www.weblogs.com/
Trade Some Links
You don’t need to get out of control on this one but a few “relevant” swapped links to related blogs can boost your traffic.
Syndicate your content
This one is way to technical to cover here but do some research on the term RSS and you may discover ways to have your content and entries fed to sites that are hungry for the type of stuff you write. Many of the popular weblog software packages have this capability built right in.
http://www.feedster.com/
Copyright 2004 John Jantsch
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of “Duct Tape Marketing” a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| _Additional Resources ... |
|
Minimize your Risk for Identity Theft - Jeffrey Broobin
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of identity theft incidents reached 9.9 million in 2003. These crimes are estimated to have taken the average victim $500 and 30 hours to...
"Rental Negotiation Strategy": Use Your Capital For A Better Deal - Colm Dillon
My report is for you to use your power to negotiate, not only a reduced weekly cost of accommodation, but also to get the best accommodation available in the area in which you wish to live. Hello Colm Dillon here ... Market conditions will effect...
Beating The Competition - Sue and Chuck DeFiore
Unless your product or service is one-of-a-kind, you've got competition. To beat them, you have to make sure you're the key company, the one your customers turn to above all others. How do you do that if you're new and small? Try these strategies:...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
