B-Blogs: A Business Prerequisite

“How does business change when everyone is a potential publisher? A vast new stretch of the information world opens up.” – Stephen Baker and Heather Green

As a Business Blogger (b-blogger) you do not need to reinvent the wheel and you don’t even need to be an especially gifted writer. Simple software solutions are available to allow you to blog with confidence even if you feel technologically challenged.

Link and Click

One of the principal benefits of blogging is you can simply provide an opening sentence or paragraph on a subject that may be of interest to your clients. Once this is accomplished you can simply provide a direct link to the story you wish to cite. You can also include an associated photo. The client then has the ability to see first hand the information you found so valuable in relation to your business; it’s services, goods and future.

The information you can provide may be tied to the movement of stock in relations to a product you carry. New advancements in scientific research that has a bearing on a product you carry or new uses for an existing product.

Comprehensive Coverage

Many b-blogs have a list of outside links that may be interest to visitors. The purpose of a blog is not to withhold information or to provide that information on a time-released basis. For most b-bloggers there is a realization that the information they have to share is available elsewhere on the worldwide web, so being as timely as possible simply makes sense.

“There are some 9 million blogs out there, with 40,000 new ones popping up each day.” – Stephen Baker and Heather Green

Point of Comparison

Companies that have made blogging a priority have seen as many as five million visits to their blog. When you have web traffic at that level you can see how a search engine will recognize your blog site as authoritative and reputable and provide your blog with a higher rank.

“Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite.” – Stephen Baker and Heather Green

Commitment

Operating a b-blog takes discipline and an understanding that this IS a marketing tool. It is possible that a b-blog might take some time to attract visitors and it may be tempting to simply give up on the prospect and drop this marketing element from your overall business plan.

The good news is you will save a few minutes a day by not developing your b-blog. The bad news is someone else will see the potential and work at building their reputation as an expert in the field – and they may likely be recognized as such.

About the Author:
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com

Article Submitted On: September 21, 2006

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

How To Start Blogging

Learn the basic steps of blogging. If you have not setup an online blog, this article can have you blogging in minutes.

For those that have not started some sort of blog, what are you waiting for? Blogging is easy, addicting and can even generate some income for you and your family. You can setup a blog and start blogging within minutes if you really wanted to.

To begin blogging, you need to decide what type of blog you are going to create. Are you going to create one that is personal, business or maybe a little bit of both. You will need to determine some type of theme for it.

What are some ideas for a blog? Listed below are a few ideas for a blog.

Recipe Blog Post new recipes to your blog daily.

Personal Diary Post daily about your daily life as you.

Business Blog Post company sales, specials, articles, etc.

Article Blog Post a new article each day or more.

Pregnancy Blog Post about your daily life being pregnant.

Once you have determined what you want to start writing about, you will need to setup your blog. Do not limit yourself to one blog if you have more then one idea. If you want to start a business blog, you might want to start off with a personal blog to get the feeling of blogging and how the concept works. After creating your first blog, you might want to go a whole new way with setting up the second one.

The very first step in setting up your blog is deciding what type of platform you will be using. If you are new to building website or blogs, you might want to signup for a free service such as Blogger. If you have your own domain and are a little more internet savvy, you should use a service such as Wordpress or Typepad. As with Blogger, you login to their website, create an account and setup your blog from their site. You can choose to have the blog hosted on Blogger or your own server. For the other platforms such as Wordpress, you would need to install it from the control panel in your hosting account.

As a Blogger, you are going to want to update your blog on a regular basis. You can post daily, weekly, monthly. It's recommended to post at least a few times a week. The more you post, the more content that is created on your blog. The more content you have on your blog, the easier the search engines and spiders will find you. If you are using Wordpress, you can schedule your posts ahead of time. This is a neat feature for those with busy lives that want to make sure there blog is constantly updated.

Once you setup your blog and learn the tricks of the trade, you will be able to setup more blogs. You will also learn how to customize them buy installing templates, logos, graphics, modifications and more. Blogging is a learning process. Don't expect to know what you are doing right away. Once you establish your blog, you will then need to learn how to build massive traffic to it.

About the Author:
© 2006 Stefani Partin, a mom of three from CA who owns a network of sites for moms, blogs, a newsletter and more. Stefani dedicates her time to helping moms find ways to make money at home. Visit her blog at http://www.StefaniPartin.com or http://www.mommyenterprises.com
Submitted on 2006-09-15
Article Source: http://www.articlesalley.com/

The Blog Factor: Everything you need to know to start blogging - today!

So what is this "blog factor"? Well, what a few thought was a novel idea some years ago has now morphed into something no one expected. There are currently nine million blogs out there with 40,000 new ones being added everyday. Some are informative and some are just downright a waste of your time. And while we hear a lot about blogging these days, what is blogging *really*? Blogging in its simplest term is like an online journal but much, much more powerful. Blogs (short for Web log) is a place where surfers can get up to the minute information on a topic or voyeur into someone's life. Some blogs are nothing more than a daily glimpse into someone's life, while others are so sophisticated, it's hard to tell them apart from an online news service.

Why Blogs Matter

Google, the #1 search engine on the net, loves blogs. So much so that if you do it right Google will spider the heck out of your site. What does it mean to "spider"? Well spidering is when Google, or the like, searches your site’s content to establish ranking, and the more content you have (i.e. fresh content) the more Google will do its magic and push your site up the search engine. Another reason blogs matter is that they are interactive and, if you blog on your book’s topic, it will help to further your expert status on a particular issue. When we plan "Virtual Tours" for our authors, we include as many blogs as we can into a tour. Why? Because if you can get into a good blog that's seeing a lot of traffic, you can really start to gain some exposure for your book.

What Would You Talk About?

This is the question we get asked most often. "If I start a blog, what on earth would I talk about?" Well if your book is non-fiction it's pretty easy to figure out what your topic would be, but if your book is fiction it could get a bit tricky - but not impossible. An author I work with has a series of books starring one character - a private detective. I recommended that he "blog" this character, meaning that the character (not the author) would have the blog. It could be the character's diary or adventures and stories - a glimpse into the life of a private detective. This would give the reader (and fans of this character) a reason to return to the blog for an update on this ongoing adventure or story.

In another instance, I work with an author who wrote a fiction book about right and wrong with a new age/spirituality spin. I advised him to blog on issues related to that - right and wrong in our society and his own personal "spin" on these issues. Some of his blogs might be controversial but that's okay, you want to create your own "voice," your own take on a certain issue and if that opinion is controversial, all the better for exposure and for getting people to interact on your blog. Getting readers to respond to your posts is a great way to gain interest and momentum for your blog and (more importantly) getting people to talk about it will grow your blog like nothing else!

How to Start a Blog

Starting a blog is super easy. All you have to do is register at a blog site (like http://www.blogger.com) and get started. It's that easy. The blog service will link to your site; you'll need to ask your Webmaster to add a button to your home page so people can find your blog.

How to Blog Effectively

The best bloggers know that the more you add to your blog, the more traffic you'll drive there. Some bloggers I know post daily, sometimes even multiple times a day while others post weekly. How much you post will probably depend on how much time you have to dedicate to this. The challenge will be that if you want to keep driving people to your blog, you'll want fresh content. This doesn't mean you have to create this all yourself, in fact you can invite people onto your blog and interview them, or you can just post a one paragraph "thought" on your topic. It doesn't have to be complicated or long, it just has to be fresh. Also be innovative, as we discussed earlier, be different with your blog, have fun with it. It might seem complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, you'll quickly become a blog expert!

Penny C. Sansevieri:
The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave reviews and is being called the “roadmap to publishing success.” Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of courses on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com


About the Author:
Penny C. Sansevieri began her career in the publicity, book marketing, and literary field over ten years ago. During that time she has been an author, publicist, freelance writer, and instructor. She has been instrumental in creating several highly successful marketing and publicity campaigns for author events and book launches. Her own company, Author Marketing Experts, Inc. has developed and implemented countless marketing and publicity strategies. Her clients have been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, MSNBC, Something You Should Know, The Heloise Show, many others.
Published 12/30/2005
Article Source:http://www.EzinePlug.com