Saturday, July 18, 2009

How Can a Blog Help my Business?


It isn't long after you start your business before you hear people begin to tell you,
it's a good idea to get a blog started. Unfortunately, some times people don't tell
you why or are only able to give you a sketchy idea why.

How is blogging helpful to your business, particularly if the business is offline
or when you are a service provider, like a belly dancer who performs at private functions for example.

Here are some ways having a blog could help generate more interest, leads or bookings.

It Exhibits Your Expertise

It is alright to put up videos and pictures on web pages to show others what you can do for them, but I'll bet you have more and newer videos and snapshots. Also, some orders are unique. These are all good reasons to show off and what better way than to use a blog because it is so easy to update. A belly dancer can display videos where a client has requested something unique which forced her to
think outside the box and come up with some creative choreography.

It Can Demonstrate How You Will Solve Client Problems

You know the old saying, people buy solutions, not products or services. You can explain this on a regular web page but on a blog, it all becomes more believable, more tangible.

It Shows You Are Actively Using Your Skills

If you are currently working with clients, any post you make about your job is a good
testimonial. It shows that there are people who already trust you to do what you
claim you will do. Better still if your customer can contribute to your blog or
allow you to quote them.

You Can Get To Know Your Prospects And They Get To Know You

This is true, particularly when you offer a service because people usually want to
work with others whom they can get along with. Because a blog is interactive,
through the comments people can begin to experience you and get a feel of how the
company handles their customers.

It Can Help Increase Website Traffic

When you write good, content that is relevant and also promote it, people will take
notice. When they do, they are more likely to share it on their own blog and their
social networks and even decide to email it to their newsletter subscribers. All
good ways to get fresh traffic.

It Can Reduce The Need To Answer Questions Over And Over

There are questions in every business that people tend to ask again and again.
Whenever you answer these questions on your blog, you help your prospects out by
giving them the information they are seeking, you plant the seed of trust, you add
fresh content to your website, stuff that search engines and people alike love. And
finally, you reduce your work because now you don't have to type your answer again
and again.

Blogging can be a quite rewarding. The downside is, starting one can be somewhat of
a big learning curve if you are pretty new to web publishing or feel you will fare
better with technical stuff when you have some help. True, you can hire someone. At
the same time, knowing the basics isn't such a bad thing because it reduces your
reliance on others when you need something simple done. You don't have to go at it
alone. There are resources you might want to check out, like the
Blogging Starter Pack.
It is like having a tutor to guide you step by step getting your blog up and running.

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