Is Blogging For You? Take This Quick Quiz.
by: Michael Cheney
There’s a new craze sweeping the world. It’s called ‘blogging’ and a new blog is being created every few seconds. But what is it all about and should you join in?
**What The Hell Is A Blog Anyway?
The word ‘blog’ is a shortened version of ‘web blog’. A ‘web log’ just means a log or diary-type entry on the web. So if you were away travelling on a round the world trip you might post a diary on a website so your friends and family could keep up to date with your progress. On this online diary, or ‘web blog’ you might also post photos for your friends and family to view.
And so - the BLOG was born. And it’s really nothing more than that - a collection of thoughts and information from one individual to be read and seen by others.
**So What Makes A Blog Different To A Website?
A blog is more immediate and informal. A blog doesn’t have a homepage as such - it just has blog entries or ‘posts’. The author or ‘blogger’ makes regular posts into the blog that are archived as new ones are added.
The main difference between a website and a blog is that a blog is designed to be added to much more frequently than a website. Some blogs are added to by their authors once a day or more! But it has to be said that such bloggers are in the minority.
**Is Blogging For You?
Well, it provides you with a unique opportunity to keep in close contact with a specific group of people. The CEO of a company may choose to launch a blog to keep in touch with staff members and shareholders. As a business-owner you might want to start a blog to let your customers or suppliers know what is happening in your business.
Blogs are not for everyone, so here’s a few key questions to ask yourself.
** Question 1
Do you want to keep in close contact, on a one-to-one basis with a specific group of individuals?
** Question 2
Do you have the time to add a new and valuable information to your blog at least once a week? (Or can you pay someone to do this on your behalf?)
** Question 3
Do you find that people are always coming to you wanting more information about your product or services and that maybe posting regular updates on the Internet about this might free up your time to be spent on other activities?
** Question 4
Are you offering information products or services that you can provide ‘tasters’ of in a blog?
If you find yourself answering yes to most of these question then you should seriously consider starting your very own blog.
It’s A Gut Feel Thing
Ultimately the decision comes down to whether you have things to say to others on a one-to-one basis. Unlike many websites you see out there, a blog is very much a person-to-person experience. A corporate blog wouldn’t really work unless you had a face and name that people could put to all the posts.
It’s also worth noting that a blog can be a two-way communication tool. Most of the blog software available includes options for readers to be able to post comments in response to what has been written. This can be an excellent marketing and research tool for your business if handled in the right way.
Whatever you do - don’t take the decision to start a blog lightly. It can be a big commitment and once you’ve started out on that road there’s no going back. People will be regularly checking your blog after you’ve publicised it and the pressure is then on to deliver readable material on a regular basis.
Some Blogging Software To Consider
Typepad - very popular and comes with a free trial and upgrade options: http://www.typepad.com
BlogHarbour - also comes with a free 30-day trial: http://www.blogharbor.com
Blogger - the ‘grand daddy’ of blogging: http://www.blogger.com
Happy blogging!
My blog: http://michaelcheney.typepad.com/
Permanent link to this post (717 words, estimated 2:52 reading time)
June 30th, 2006
To be successful with a newsletter, you have to specialize and make it your own. Your best bet will be with new information on a subject not already covered by an established newsletter, or at least your interpretation of existing subject matter.
Regardless of the frustrations involved in launching your own newsletter, never forget this truth: There are people from all walks of life, in all parts of the world, many of them with no writing ability whatsoever, who are making incredible profits with their newsletter.
(984 words, estimated reading time: 3:56 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
Master copywriter Robert Collier often used a technique to get people to read more of his sales letters. You can use this same technique right now to increase the readership of your web pages and emails.
I’ll get to it in a moment. For now, let me tell you a couple of things about readership in general, and the importance of using long versus short copy, in most cases.
(739 words, estimated reading time: 2:57 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
Weblogs and Podcasting in the Marketing Mix
It is rare that such a speedy development could have been watched as it happens now for Podcasting. But for this there are some good reasons. Weblogs have become an established Publishing Tool with millions of users and readers. Furthermore users are able now to handle multimedia applications and do own computers and mobile music players. But the up to date hype should not be reasoned by the users, which rather do not have expert skills in marketing, but by the industry following those millions of users. Also investors again are very active in the reach of weblogs and IT at all.
(548 words, estimated reading time: 2:12 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
Like the Internet itself, online marketing resources such as blogs, chat rooms, and user groups are vast and puzzling. On one hand they offer that elusive "promise land" of free and effective marketing. On the other, they embody a "time sink" of astronomical proportions. They have addictive qualities and their effectiveness is measured only by your own self-control.
That said, let’s briefly describe each opportunity and explore their potential.
(703 words, estimated reading time: 2:49 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
The Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being washed away in the constant tide of buying, selling and marketers hawking every conceivable item (and some difficult to conceive…)?
(693 words, estimated reading time: 2:46 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
By now you have likely heard that keywords and keyword phrases, are extremely important in having search engines display your website. So how do you choose them? Guess? Ask a friend? Check successful competitors sites? There is a better way!
(726 words, estimated reading time: 2:54 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
A blog is a frequent, online publication of comments, web links, and news. It is an online Enzine of sorts. People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with automated published systems, most notably is blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger alone.
So start your blog now and be ahead of the crowd for a change. A secret I’ll share with you here before going any further is after you set up your blog goto FeedBurner and follow the instructions to burn your feed. Then publicize your feed by inserting the msn and yahoo chicklets to your blog.
(434 words, estimated reading time: 1:44 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
Autoresponders are, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most powerful and important tools available to anyone marketing on the internet today. They allow you to automatically send out a sequential series of email messages to prospects who have signed up to receive your information and who you therefore know are interested in what you’re offering.
(912 words, estimated reading time: 3:39 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006
Think about something Bill Cosby said and ask yourself “how does this apply to your current marketing. Cosby stated "I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”
Are you trying to be everything to everybody? Are you even trying to be one specific thing to everybody?
Re-examine your marketing strategy and trim the fat and focus on very specific niche markets. Heck, go even further than niche marketing and fragment that niche to micro levels.
(561 words, estimated reading time: 2:15 ) read the full post...
June 30th, 2006