Blogging: Getting More Customers and Sales

53
rate or flag this page

By Premium Websites


Blogging on the Internet

Blogging World Wide Web
Blogging World Wide Web

Blogging for Your Business

 

 

Many of my customers have been asking about Blogging:

  • What is Blogging
  • How does it help bring customers or sales
  • How hard is it to Blog
  • How can I get going

As a web designer I get many inquiries each week about Blogging. There are 3 main types of Blogs:

  1. Mini or Micro Blogs
  2. Sponsored Blogs
  3. Self Hosted Blogs

Mini or Micro Blogs

These are the Blogs that are attached to many different Social Sites like FaceBook, MySpace, iConntact, and just about every Social Networking site on the Internet. Even places like Comcast or your Internet Provider have mini Blogs. These are free and best used for a personal blog - not a business blog. For the most part they are not customizable, are not good for branding, and your will look just like the next persons. They also do not have any special functionality or any plugins and they are not search engine friendly. If you just want to try Blogging and are not expecting any specific results these are a free option. A Micro Blog is a site like Twitter.  To get more information on using Twitter to Build Your Business read this article.

Sponsored Blogs

These are free Blogs by Blogging software companies like WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, SquareSpace and many others. These are a step better than the mini Blogs but since they are free they will have advertising that is out of your control put there by the company. WordPress sponsored Blogs are very limited as to the plugins and widgets that are available. They do allow some customization and branding but it to is limited.

Self Hosted Blogs

This is the best option for a business owner that is Blogging to gain more clients or sales. By paying for your own hosting you remove all the limitations that are enforced in the other methods. Buying a unique domain and a years worth of hosting can be under $100.00 per year - so it is extremely cheap advertising. I use WordPress because it is open source and there is a huge amount of help in various forums. There are also a huge amount of plugins (specific programs for functionality) that have been built and made available to use for free. If you want your blog to perform a special task there is likely someone else that has already made a program for the task and you just need to download and install it - wonderful for people that do not know computer programming. These are just a few of the reasons to use WordPress for your Blogging platform.

Blogging brings more Clients and Sales

Blogging will set you up as an authority in your industry. It makes you approachable, shows your knowledge, and builds trust. People that shop online are not impulse buyers. They have done research, found the exact item they want, and are now looking to decide where to buy. These are highly qualified buyers and you want to gain their trust. Having a blog is a huge step in gaining trust - especially a blog that is updated often and will answer many of their concerns about the product or service they are seeking. You will make more sales when you are a trusted authority than you would by just having a static website - just like everyone else. Blogging will put you way ahead of the competition - especially if you do Blogging correctly. Setting your Blog up to be search engine friendly, Blogging often, getting a web of content around your blog, and making thoughtful posts that will answer the questions that your potential customers are searching for.

How Hard is Blogging?

Blogging is not hard. At the very first (while getting your blog set up) it can be very technical. After the Blog is set up and online it is just a matter of getting into a pattern of posting articles. If you are really not a technical person, or just do not have the time to devote to setting up a blog then hiring someone to get it up and running for you is always an option - and for some it is a better option. After that initial step then Blogging is easy and can become quite fun. I have spoken to some business owners that find spending a half hour each morning on their blog gets them going and in the business frame of mind. It makes their day more focused and they get more done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Print   —   Rate it:  up  down  [flag this hub]

Comments

RSS for comments on this Hub Small RSS Icon

Rob Jundt profile image

Rob Jundt  says:
13 months ago

Great advice. Look forward to more.

NinjaGuru profile image

NinjaGuru  says:
13 months ago

Good stuff. Write more!!!!

Dotty  says:
12 months ago

Thanks NinjaGuru

There will be more coming...

Submit a Comment

Members and Guests

Sign in or sign up and post using a hubpages account.


optional


  • No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked
  • Comments are not for promoting your hubs or other sites

Dotty's Main Blog

  • Twitter For Business

    If you have ever wondered how to use Twitter in your business effectively then come and learn about some tools and ideas that will make it work for you. - 3 weeks ago

  • Attract More Clients

    Copyright © 2009 Dotty. Visit the original article at http://premiumwebsites.net/wordpress/attract-more-clients/.Networking Groups: Do They Work? I attend different Networking Groups (Leads Groups) each week – roughly 80% of my business comes from Word-Of-Mouth referrals generated from Networking.  Would you like to know how to “work” a Networking Group? This Monday (June 8th 2009) from noon-1:00 pm we will [...] - 4 weeks ago

  • LinkedIn Profile: Pimped-Out Profile Brings More Business

    Copyright © 2009 Dotty. Visit the original article at http://premiumwebsites.net/wordpress/linkedin-profile-pimped-out-profile-brings-more-business/.LinkedIn Applications make the Professional Social Network Even More Valuable LinkedIn has added Applications to help your profile stand out in the crowd – why not use them? I am taking advantage of them on my profile – Dotty Scott When you are signed into your LinkedIn [...] - 5 weeks ago

Dotty's Squidoo Page

  • Updated Lense

    Any opinions and comments are welcomed. Trying to master Squidoo. - 13 months ago

working