The Importance of Blogging in Online Marketing

Whether you're familiar with blogs already, or don't yet have one, understand that they are a key factor in your online marketing.

Originally short for "web log", here's a little definition I stole from Blogger.com:

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not."

Blogging is not only a great way to drive traffic to your site but is incredibly important in building your credibility and brand.

Remember, people buy from those they like and trust so blogging helps us in developing a relationship with our prospects.
And of course, if you write your blogs correctly, they'll get placement on the search engines relatively quickly and this will also drive traffic to your sites.

Blogging is a great way to keep in touch with your prospects. People like to see new and updated content when they are looking into an opportunity or business.

By providing them with new info you're staying connected to your prospects, and when and if they decide to purchase, they're more likely to do that through you, especially if they feel a connection to you or feel they relate to you in some manner.

This method of online marketing is very budget-friendly. In fact, blogging is free. Yes, you don't have to pay to set up a blog. You can go to Blogger.com and set up a blog very quickly and easily.

I would also advise you to include links to your "about me" page (bio page) as a minimum within your blog.

This will introduce the prospect to you and lets them see openly who you are and what you stand for. Again, this is very important for building a genuine, trusting relationship.

If you choose to use WordPress.com, be aware that they don't allow the use of blogs as a promotional site. So if you're using your blog as a marketing tool, it's likely to get shut down at some point. I know from my involvement in the Turn-key Marketing team that this has happened.

If you host your own blog then you can do whatever you want with it. But the subject of hosting needs to be dealt with in its own right. To begin with, only bother to use a free blog site as you start your online marketing and things will come as your experience and knowledge base increases.

One final note on blogging.

You are supposed to be blogging to give out information of value. So, when you do your posts, you want to keep them informative and not written like a sales letter. You want to inform the reader of certain aspects of your business and contribute to the relationships that you are forming with your online marketing skills.

Author:

Ed Hodgson

Online Business Entrepreneur and Marketing Mentor

Find out more at: http://www.WhoIsEdHodgson.com

Visit my blog at: http://www.EdHodgsonBlog.com

???????