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“Everyone is too scared to use the Internet to buy things”.

Remember when they said that? It’s not that long ago.

Look at us now. People can and do buy anything and everything
from the web. The fear, really a fear of change has gone.

They said TV would destroy the cinema. That didn’t
happen. The movies are a completely different form to TV but we
didn’t realise at the time. TV and cinema both survived and now
both feed off each other.

In hindsight we all see what was perfectly obvious.

Now they’re saying that Blogs, or weblogs are taking over the
Internet.

A blog is effectively an online journal where you, or a group,
can record their innermost thoughts and make comments about a
topic. Anyone has access to read your journal entry (known as a
post) and can comment on it.

For much more detailed information about blogging look at the
entry in wikipedia for “Blogging.“

You get over 474 million search results if you enter “blog” into Google.

Part of the reason for the blogs attraction is its ease of use. It takes only a few minutes to begin “blogging”.

First you sign up with a blog server, like Google’s Blogger, SixApart’s TypePadblog or use Wordpress.

You choose a page template you like. There are a number of very good ones available completely free. Then post your first
entry.

The final step is to let a blog directory know each time you
create a new post (this is called pinging). Services such as
Pingoat and Pingomatic are sites that can ping a number
of other directories on your behalf.

People search these directories using blog search engines
and browse the blogs in a similar way to web sites.

Do Companies Really Use Blogs?

Company executives use blogs. For example Bob Lutz, Vice
President of General Motors has his own blog. Other people from
GM contribute to it as well. IBM Vice President Bob Sutor and
Vice President of Marketing for Boeing Randy Baseler write their
own blogs too.

Employees from corporates like Microsoft, Google and Hewlett
Packard blog.

When blogging is used in a positive way it shows your customers
and prospects your corporate personality and helps build rapport.

What Are The Blog Downsides?

The company CEO shouldn’t blog. That’s because there may be
pressure to flag future events. Or worse, if they drop a clanger
it can be spread world-wide very quickly.

A further potential blogging downside is that you’ve no influence over
what others put in their own blogs about what you’ve written.

You only need to look at some of the comments that General Motors got on Bob Lutz’s blog when they started a discussion on seatbelts to see how heated things can get.

Companies may be concerned that employees will spend too much
time blogging or reading blogs. That means a blogging policy
should be in place to prevent such abuse.

What Is The Advantage Of A Blog?

A blog can position someone, or a company, as an expert. But people can easily pass other people’s work off as their own. So it really is a case of “buyer beware” when reading blogs.

So are blogs going to be a knock-out for attracting and retaining customers?

The short answer is it depends, and the reasons are:

1) It’s just another marketing communication channel - it can be used well or not. Rather like PR is used.
2) For some companies it’s just too public
3) It’s completely without editoral control
4) It requires commitment to update regularly and to check and
respond to comments

It’s been said that consultancies and other organisations that
deal in knowledge and intellectual property benefit most from
blogging. That’s because they can demonstrate their ability and
expertise to their market in a different way from other marketing
tactics.

But really why should it stop there? General Motor’s blog is
useful for communicating new model launches and answering
customer feedback.

In fact there really is no practical limit to the who can use
blogging to communicate with customers and prospects.

But In The End Is Blogging A Dead-end?

The business blog is definitely an important communication tool
that every company should seriously consider as part of their
marketing arsenal. But it must be looked at as another business
tool whose ultimate measurement is: “does it get more sales or
reduce company costs?”

If it can’t deliver at least one of those measures business
blogging deserves to fail.

I’ve been blogging for over a year now and I’ve found that I’ve had thousands of hits. Intentionally I don’t get any sales from it. But that’s because I’m writing mini articles and will eventually use them as a basis for my next book.

So in the final analysis blogs are another communication channel so companies have the ability to take theirs and make it do the PR, word of mouth, viral and Internet marketing for them.

Internet advertising has grown into big business. Expect blogging to do the same.

Jim Symcox, The Marketing Magician, has worked as a business consultant since the mid 1980’s.

He is a copywriter, marketing evangelist and coach and the author of the short and snappy ebook “How to Leap Ahead Of Your Competitors”.

For a free copy of “How To Leap Ahead Of Your Competitors email web@acornservice.com with “ezine” in the subject line.

Go to http://www.Acornservice.com to opt in to Jim’s free and no obligation email seminar series on business growth (including a module called “How To Create Your USP”).

For regular up to the minute nuggets on marketing, internet marketing and business check out the Power Packed Business Growth Blog at http://www.acornservice.blogspot.com.

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Blogging, it’s all the rage. The biggest problem with becoming a successful blogger is time and content management. Blogs are cool. Blogs are fun. Blogs are addictive. Blogs are time vampire and energy suckers.

Steven R. Covey’s masterful 7 Habits of Highly Effective People started a trend of listing better ways to do things. Even though cheating isn’t on his list, I’ll go ahead and borrow a page from his book (a great read by the way) and make a list!

1. Write a blog post everyday. This can become a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be. At least one thing happens everyday that makes you think about how you do things in your area of expertise.

For example, today I was going to post on my blog about how it’s important to watch what you say.

The article came to me after I realized that I was naming our revised custom blog pricing packages “Basic BM”, “Bronze BM”, “Silver BM”, “Gold BM” and “Platinum BM”. If you haven’t figured out why these package names aren’t really great for branding unless you’re selling some sort of colloidal or metallurgical solution for folks who don’t eat enough bran, then you may want to have someone edit your blog posts and help you with branding!

Every day at least one “Hmmmm” relative to your blog topic will come up. At least write yourself a note when it happens so when it comes posting time you’ll have a topic.

2. Create a “series” of posts. This is sort of a follow on to point 1 above. Hopefully your blog provides valuable information that keeps readers coming back for more, or even better subscribing to your RSS feed. If you have a “hot topic” that requires more than 1,000 words to get through, think about creating a series. For example: “Creating a WordPress Blog: Step by Step” could be your series. This could easily be a 10 part series on one topic.

3. If applicable add some personality to your blog. Ideally your blog is “information for information seekers”, but the fact of the matter is that your readers are people too and will identify with you as the author if you “humanize” your blog posts with some humor, anecdotes or day-to-day experiences.

4. Use real world applications to demonstrate to your readers the expert advice or information you’re passing on. Given that most of your blog postings are going to be 100% test try to help your readers “visualize” the benefit of heeding your advice by demonstrating a real world example or actual application that you or one of your existing clients have encountered. Try for the “Hey, man, that would solve our problem, too” reaction from your reader.

5. Incorporate graphics into your blog posts. If you have graphs, charts, image examples or any visual or audio aid that can help your reader get the most out of your post, use it. The more enjoyable you can make the user experience the more valuable they will find your blog, the more they’ll come back, and the better chance you have to convert that reader to a customer.

6. Utilize the resources at Ezinearticles or GoArticles to add additional relative content to your blog. Make sure you give attribution (don’t delete the links). You’re not the only with good ideas, so don’t hesitate to add other author’s valuable content to your blog. It’s only fair to give them the link back, it won’t really hurt your SEO rankings like a traditional website linking strategy. Ezinearticles is a great cure for writer’s block!

7. Don’t forget to throw in calls to action for your reader to contact you. Hopefully your posts are valuable and you, the author, are becoming regarded as a “goto guy (or girl) by your readers. Don’t forget to remind them that you are a resource and provide them with effective calls to action to reach you. If you’re unsure about how to make the most effective use of your blog and specific calls to action, or aren’t getting the traction you want on the search engines get in touch with me I’ll be happy to help you out. (see how I snuck that one in!)

8. Make friends with your competitors, utilize your colleagues and encourage your employees or partners to write articles for your blog. Again, give them the benefit of the link. You’ll be surprised what comes out of sharing your blogspace with those around you, and it’ll provide your readers with a better mix of writing styles. Encourage your readers and customers to propose article topics and submit questions. Great for writer’s block.

Well, there you have my 7, no make that 8, Habits of Highly Effective Blogging. Get yourself a copy of Stephen Covey’s book, don’t forget to write down tomorrow’s blog topic and blog away!

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As a "blogmeister" I’m often asked "How personal should I make my blog?"

This is a great question. The answer for everyone is different.

There is no set answer to this question. It’s important to remember that your blog is a living extension of your business, and ultimately you. So keep in mind the image you want to portray, the goals of your blog and what your audience is looking for.

Howard Stern is a good example. Howard is often challenges his audience to “change the channel, no one is making you listen.” It’s part of his image, his schtick. It’s one reason why people do listen. The part of his audience that hates him tunes in because they love to be angry!

Does that model work for your “toy train” online business? I’m not sure. Let’s use the “toy train” business as a “model” (notice the clever play words).

1. Who is my audience?

Your audience ranges from Neil Young (who owns Lionel) to possibly 10 year olds who build and collect model train sets. Their experience level ranges from the new collector/modeler to the experienced hobbyist. This is important in determining the “feel of the read”…are you writing for a 35 year old who wants hard facts and analysis, or a 12 year old who wants to have fun and learn. The beauty of blogging is you can have both. Think about separating categories for your audience. Have Product Reviews, Product Releases, Kids Corner, How to, Ask the Conductor, Tips and Tricks, etc. as specific categories and post accordingly.

2. How and Why Do They Buy?

Does my audience buy on a whim, or do they buy when they “find the solution”? Are new product releases an important feature my audience is looking for? Do “Product Reviews” increase the possibility that a potential customer will pull out their credit card and purchase?

3. What do I find interesting?

This is probably the best indicator of what to write. If you haven’t already, take some time, visit, read and write down what it is you like about the blogs you frequent in your market target. Chances are if you like it, other people will to. Now take your list of “likes” and combine them and create “a better blogtrap”.

4. Why would I read this blog, subscribe, come back or make a buying decision here?

In addition to a blog being a vehicle for you to get your information out there and attract and keep an audience, your blog can become an interactive, user supported community. Think about the features you like on other people’s blog, and maybe even ones that don’t exist. What about having a contest for the best train picture, the coolest design, etc. Let users post their pictures and vote. Offer a prize. Allow members to email and print articles they like. Encourage them to ask and answer questions.

5. Is it fun for me?

Running a successful blog takes time, but you don’t have to become a shut-in. Structure your blog from the beginning to fit your schedule and your passion. Try and post something everyday. Your posts don’t have to be 1,000 words each, they can be about something you learned the day before, big or small. Don’t be afraid to ask your competitors or customers to help you keep the blog going by posting their valuable information. Always give them attribution, or at least a link to their site if they ask. Remember, your blog is a “service” that transcends petty competition. It has no ego, ex-wives, jealous husbands or personal problems. It just wants to be useful and used.

For me, I like to read blogs where the personality of the owner comes out. I read blogs mainly for the strength of the content, technical information or news, but the blogs I return to the most, the ones I subscribe to and pass on to friends and employees are the ones that are fun to read and provide valuable information.

Sometimes the personality of the owner adds a level of trust and intimacy between the reader and the author that raises the articles/posting above the clutter of the Net.

So decide for yourself how personal you want to get.

When deciding what to write for my blog (www.theblogmill.com) I like to pretend I’m Clint Eastwood:

“Did I write 6 posts or only 5. In all the confusion I kinda of lost track myself. But being this is The Blog Mill, the most powerful blog in the world, and will blow your head clean off, I have to ask myself one question ‘Do I feel plucky? Well, do I, punk?’"So think about what you like, what your audience wants to read and how your personality fits into to your overall blog strategy and start posting.

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