Creating Blogs

A blog (does that word annoy you or is it just me?...sorry) is a web log. A blog allows you to create posts or articles about various topics. You can set it up where your blog visitors are able to comment on the posts or it can just be a series of posts with no commenting allowed. The interactivity of a blog is one of the many features that makes it so attractive. You put something out there and people from all over the country - even the world are able to voice their opinions, ask questions, make suggestions. That is pretty incredible and a great way to keep your blog visitors returning.

Blogs are taking the place of websites in many companies and also, the two are being combined. Market Your Small Business is a combination of a website and a blog. The content on a website tends to be more static - it does not change as frequently as a blog. Posts can be made to blogs as frequently or infrequently as the blog owner(s) chooses.

Popular Blog Software:

• WordPress - This is a free blog. Many companies and organizations use WordPress. It is a robust system and you have a wealth of templates to change the appearance and plug-ins that you can install to make it function the way you want. I did not find it the easiest to use but once you get used to it, it is not bad at all.
• Blogger - This is a Google service and like so many other Google products, it is free. This is a good choice for embarking upon the world of blogging.
• TypePad - This is a great option for blogging. You are able to customize it to look like your website. The cost starts at $8.95 per month. This is for hosting your blog.
• Movable Type - This is an open source option - meaning that it is a community project and is free to users. They accept donations for their research and development activities.
• Live Journal - This is also open source.

What are the Advantages of a Blog to Small Business Owners?

On this website, a definite focus is driving traffic to your website or blog so that you will receive more loyal customers and ultimately that will help your small business to be more successful. How can a blog help with this effort?

• You can start a blog for free - There are many companies that offer free blogs and others where you pay a small monthly fee.

• It helps with search engine optimization - Search engines love new content (and so do your site visitors). Constantly updating your blog will increase your popularity with the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing and others) which will make it more likely that your website will rank higher in searches when potential customers are looking for your type of business.

• It gives you a voice - Because website content tends to be static and can be somewhat dry, blogging has more personality. You may be offering your opinion on a topic or reviewing products or services with your own personal touch.

• You are able to engage with your audience - Blogging allows two-way communication. You post your content and your visitors are able to respond. This is generally not the case with a website - although more and more websites are adding the ability for site visitors to post comments on content.

• Blog posts / articles can drive website content - Because of the static nature of website content, the creation of interesting and robust content can create a website that is jam-packed full of information. If a newsletter is part of your marketing campaign, you can select the your posts/articles as headlines for the newsletter that you distribute to your subscribers. When they receive the newsletter and click on the article links, they will be taken back to your website or blog to read the entire article.

If you are considering starting a blog for your business, you may be thinking either "I can do this..." or "I don't like to write." If you agree the with the first statement, then you are ready to set up a blog for your business or make your busines your blog (...more about that in a minute). If you writing doesn't particularly excite you, don't feel bad. It's not everyone's cup of tea but did you know that companies hire writers for their blogs? This is becoming a more popular line of work. A good place to find good people looking for this type of a work is a website called www.virtualassistants.com. It is a website for people looking for remote type positions and companies that are looking for employees that can work from home or do not necessarily have to come into an office.

Now there are people who have created very successful blogs and that is their job - managing their blog. They are posting content, they have monetized it and they are successfully marketing it. Learn how Yaro Starak began blogging and started earning $10,000 - $35,000 monthly. This is NOT a ge-rich-quick-scheme. His efforts took time and dedication and now he wants to share that with you. CLICK HERE to learn more about him and how you can blog for a living also!