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To Blog or Not to Blog?

To blog or not to blog has been debated over the past decade. While I profess the benefits of blogging to clients, I’ve deferred for years because I don’t have time. Interestingly, that’s the same excuse I get from many of my clients (LOL!). I decided this year to make time; my goal is one post a week, which I believe is realistic. If you’re not blogging, here’s why you should set a goal and give blogging a second look.

Five Reasons to Blog

1. Give your company a human voice.
2. Share your knowledge.
3. Improve your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) with fresh content that is on theme.
4. Reuse your content. Leverage article marketing; be a guest blogger. By submitting your blog content to article ezines and relevant themed blogs, you reinforce yourself and your company as a subject matter expert. Plus backlinks to your website help increase your SEO rankings.
5. Enjoy the creative outlet that is writing!

Five Blogging Takeaways

1. Stay on message. Blog about topics that are relevant to your audience and topics that you know.
2. Keep it short and succinct. Today’s readers are time constrained, and that’s why they enjoy blogs. Use tips and checklists for easy scanning.
3. Add images. From time to time, add a visual to your blog post to help tell the story.
4. Invest in features that turn your blog into a social media tool. Add RSS feeds so that subscribers are notified when you publish an article. Add twitter links so others can tweet about the article. Enable comments if your blog software allows the feature so you get feedback from readers.
5. Leverage social media marketing to push content. Have a twitter account? Tweet the blog article and provide a hotlink. (Hint: Keep your tweet short so that it can be retweeted by your followers.) Have a LinkedIn account? Mention the blog article in your status field and provide a hotlink.

Here’s a sixth takeaway. Have a thick skin. When you decide to blog, you put yourself out there for criticism. Not everyone will agree with your opinion. Keep in mind that you don’t have to counter every criticism. Decide your strategy with careful consideration.

Writing is a rewarding activity. Start blogging. Hey, and if you have any takeaways to add, I invite you to comment.

Crosby out.

Note: As a guest blogger, this article was contributed to the FreedomCafe Blog on March 10, 2010. In the virtual world FreedomCafe provides valuable content to solopreneurs; in the real-world FreedomCafe's a drop-in facility offering workspace, meeting rooms, free Internet, and free parking.

Tags: blog, blogging, article marketing, article ezines, backlinks, search engine optimization, social media tool
 

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