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July 2009
Index of all
past
Affiliate Corner columns
Build your successful blog with
quality info, helpful insights
By Ben Yost,
Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC
Did you know that the word blog was recently the most looked-up word in Merriam Webster’s online dictionary? Clearly, people are interested in blogs – but why?
The word blog is short for Weblog and refers to a website that contains an online journal and often hyperlinks provided by a writer. A blogger is the one doing the writing and blogging is the act of writing itself. Blogs are used for anything and everything: breaking news and commentary, business, personal journaling, educational resources, and political observations.
Getting more personal
Quickly becoming a mainstream method of communication, blogging is a dynamic, flexible tool that requires minimal technology know-how and costs little to nothing to maintain. In fact, many in the business world are now using blogs as an essential part of growing their network. Where a website is fairly fixed, a blog allows you to become personal with those you want to do business with. In this way, bloggers are more visible and can gain credibility as experts in their field. Blogging is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
According to Michael Sippey, General Manager of TypePad, people read blogs to connect with the writer. This is key to those in relationship businesses, as a blog can take an informal tone yet still pass along valuable information to the reader. And as blogs are becoming more common in the business world, more customers are using them as a shopping tool. They want to feel connected to the professionals who will help them with real estate, financial, and legal needs.
Build your own blog
Building a successful blog means providing interesting content and getting the right people to look at it. Don’t get hung up about the writing being “perfect”; instead, use your own voice, describe your specialty and how you can benefit your customers. Post tips that are valuable to those you are trying to attract to your blog. Include success stories and testimonials from clients. Post links to articles you liked (or didn’t like) with a few comments. Use pictures, audio, PowerPoint and Excel files, video, and links to anywhere on the web you want people to go.
To get your blog read, invite everyone you speak with to visit and comment. Make sure every marketing piece you send out has at least one line inviting them to visit your blog. Add the blog web address to your business card and to your e-mail signature. Put a link on your website. To help increase return traffic, readers can even subscribe, and then be notified when you have a new post.
Search engines like blogs, and you will notice your rankings improve as you increase traffic to your blog. You can also register your blog for free with many blog-specific search engines. Post comments on other blogs related to your field and your comment will link back to your site. The more you can use this cost-effective tool, the quicker you will see an increase in clients and sales.
Visit www.WordPress.com and www.TypePad.com; both are well-established blogging services that can quickly and easily walk you through the process of setting up your own blog, and both offer many tools to make your blog successful.
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