According to Wikipedia “A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log.”

Blogs are extremely diverse, in content and style. Some are spontaneous and spirited, while others are more serious or controversial. They may be personal narratives or on line journals. They may be dedicated to movies, books, TV shows or celebrities. Internet marketers have established blogs for all types of products, including: investments, real estate, career and personal development.

It often seems as though everyone has a blog. Here is why you should create a blog:

1. You have valuable information to share, even if you don’t know it. You may be an expert fisherman, stamp collector or shopper and you assume others are just as skilled and knowledgeable as you. In fact, what you consider “common knowledge” may actually be brand new information to others.

2. People generally like to know who they are doing business with, especially when doing business on line. Blogging is a fantastic way to become a familiar face in your market.

3. Blogs can be used to enhance your online presence or as an alternative to maintaining a web page. Most web sites are fairly static but blogs are updated regularly with the most recent activity shown first. Frequent posts are recommended to keep the blog fresh and relevant, how frequently will depend on your topic. You may even revisit topics you’ve already discussed, which is fine as long as you offer a new perspective or new information along with the new post.

4. Blogs are less technical to maintain and update, so they are an ideal option for start up enterprises.

5. There are free blog hosting sites available, so new users can avoid the cost of purchasing a domain name, hosting and design.

6. Create a blog to position yourself as an expert in your market. As you build content relevant to your niche, your blog will become an authoritative site and receive more traffic. Trackbacks allow blogs to exchange links. Another way to get links to your blog is to write articles to post outside of your blog, including links pointed back to you. This way you are able to reach a wider audience and links to your site also builds your authority.

7. You can ask for feedback on what you’ve written or receive requests for future posts. Blogs often become a two way conversation as visitors submit comments, enhancing the original content. The best way to encourage comments is to write openly and address your reader directly. Blogs usually have a conversational tone, with short, simple sentences and words.