Blogging for Business

IN THIS ISSUE

1.    Top 10 Reasons to Start Blogging
2 .   Quote of the Week
3 .   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
4 .   A Little Fun
5 .   Smell the Coffee

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1. Top 10 Reasons to Start Blogging

"What's blogging?" you ask.

"Where have you been?" I reply...just kidding, of course. Blogging has been around for quite some time, but there are still a few of us who are just getting started on it. A blog, which is a shortened version of the words "web log," is basically an online diary, resource and commentary. It generally contains links to other blogs, websites and informational resources.

I'm just testing the waters right now and have created a blog for Marketing Idea Shop. I'll be giving you more resources, information to help your business, and links to websites that I find interesting. I'll also link to other people's blogs whenever it makes sense. You can take a look at the Marketing Idea Shop blog.

I literally set this blog up in 5 minutes. I'm using the software "Blogger," and my blog is being hosted at Blogspot right now. Soon, I'll move it to my own website.

The Blogger software, which is owned by Google, is free and so is the hosting. A couple of people have recommended "Moveable Type" as the best business blogging software, and I have found it takes a little bit longer (maybe an hour) to set up a blog with this software. I plan to invest in it when I move the Marketing Idea Shop blog because I like to have more control over the pieces of my business that are vital to my existence. Moveable Type is a software program that you can purchase; it resides on your own computer. Blogger is software that resides on someone else's computer. Currently it's free, but who knows what will happen to it later? What happens if the company's servers go down, or they are moving slowly just when my readers want to check out my blog?

Bloggers (as the folks who write blogs are called) have many reasons for starting and maintaining a blog. Here are the top 10 reasons for blogging:

1. It's good for business.

2. It improves your search-engine ranking.

3. It makes you more valuable to your customers and prospects.

4. It will generate more traffic for your site

5. It will improve your sales.

6. If you participate in Google's Adsense program, you can make some big bucks, even if your visitors don't buy directly from you or they go to your competitors.

7. It can get you and your company noticed.

8. If you add RSS news feeds to your blog, you can get loads of content without working so hard AND you can easily distribute your blog's content to other bloggers and websites. (RSS means Really Simple Syndication)

9. You can invite your readers to comment on your posts, thereby creating a better relationship with them (and increasing the possibility that they will buy from you).

10. You can have fun writing about your company, products, industry, competitors, conferences you attend, just about anything!
    

• Brainy Article Bank Updated
  
  You'll find lots of F~REE articles in our Brainy Article Bank, updated with new stuff weekly. Like Keith Bryan's article "HTML? Boring!" that gives 7 ideas for creating a better website. Or Tami Belt's article, "Does it Pay to be Good?" and Martha Retallick's "Just Say Thank You." The articles are categorized to help you find what you are looking for quickly. Take a look.
  
  
• Thanks to Dick Cook at Norfolk Wholesale Flowers for this list of handy hoax checkers:
  
  
  Urban Legends and Folklore
  
  Urban Legends Reference Pages
  
  Hoaxbusters
  
  Stiller Research Virus Hoax News
  
  TruthOrFiction.com
  
  Symantec Security Response Hoaxes
  
  McAfee Security Virus Hoaxes
  
  
• Blogging Software
  
  The quickest, easiest, no-knowledge needed software is Blogger (FREE and it's owned by Google), but there are many other options. Here is a great summary of many of the various blogging software products, all in a handy chart.
  
  
• CyberJournalist Alert
  
  If you want to know what's happening in the world of journalism, subscribe to the CyberJournalist Alert from the American Press Institute.
  
  
• Thanks to Kim Komando for this resource.
  
  This is a fun, two-minute TV commercial from Honda, that was shot 606 times to get it just right. And what an engineering feat! Take a look:
  
  Honda Commercial
  
  
  
• Upfrontational Selling
  
  Perhaps you're an auditory learner. Here's a great 2-CD set, Upfrontational Selling, by Jim Wilson of Selling Strategies that can really help you avoid giving away your knowledge and get paid before you do that proposal. Learn how to close more sales and make more money. Buy the set here for just $37 plus $4.50 shipping:
  
  .
• Looking for a great shopping cart system? How to Pick a Shopping Cart System that Makes You Money is an ebook that explains all the important features. You can get it here, free!
  
  
• Do you like these resources? There are plenty more like these in my ebook, BUSINESS SUCCESS SECRETS: HARD-WORKING TACTICS & RESOURCES.
  37 pages, packed with ideas you can use immediately... to get more business, generate more traffic to your website and make improve your bottom line. Over 135 hyperlinks that can take you directly to a marketing resource or idea you can use right now...so you can save time and money. Beginning and advanced tactics to really make a difference in your marketing results...and you can make more sales with much less effort. Learn to save money on your advertising. Get a list of websites that would LOVE to post your articles. Get a list of websites that would LOVE to post your articles. Buy it for just $19.95 here.
  
  Read more about it or order it here.
  
  
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4. A Little Fun

Thanks to Candace Womack Dettloff, CLU, LUTCF, for this Happy 4th of July message:

4th of July Fireworks

Help keep the smiles coming...please send me your marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you credit and list your website! Email me.


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5. Smell the Coffee...

It was a tiring but glorious weekend. Our oldest and her family were here to visit for a couple of days. The grandbaby, Madeline Rose, is almost 17 months old and full of energy. We're all exhausted! On top of that, both of our teenagers had all four of their wisdom teeth pulled on Saturday. They look a little bit like chipmunks, but they're doing fine. ;-)

I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Lois


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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Marketing Guru, Marketing Idea Shop
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660

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