Home Office Warrior » Blogging for your business?

I know that postings have been down this week. Been busy helping clients with new projects. Not only do we publish Home Office Warrior from our home office. We also have G2 Web Media. Interest in blogging by professional service firms, home office businesses and small businesses is growing daily.

We visited with 4 potential clients yesterday about blogging and what was the most fun was the excitement expressed by them. They all understood and were excited about what a blog could add to their overall marketing efforts. How it can set them apart and position them as an “opinion shaper” and “thought leader” in their particular niche. Using a blog for your business and using it right, can really set you apart from others in your niche or target. You can become the go to person for loads of information in your niche or target market. And you can provide your readers what they are looking for, information.

Recently, LexBlog had a post about What is ROI? ROI being return on investment. I get asked that question often. Usually it comes like this; “how much money can I make using a blog to promote my business?” Or, “is it worth the effort?”

The return in measurable revenue is not the only ROI you can expect from doing a blog and doing it right. Besides the money you can bring into your business by doing a blog, you can expect other benefits. What is below are some of the points made in LexBlog’s post and how they might apply to a home office business, small business or professional service firm.

Increased brand recognition - Your target or niche will come to recognize you as that source of information.

New client/customer acquisition - Facts don’t dispute this. In fact they support it. It is estimated that nearly 70% of those looking for either a service provider or product, visit the Internet first before selecting the service or product. They are going to the Internet before they go to the Yellow Pages. Yes, you can get clients/customers from blogging.

Viral Marketing - Blogging has traction and spreads your efforts over a large area. Which in turn can lead to referrals from others in your niche too.

Showcase talent - Have a staff? Have employees? Do you use talented people in your business or firm? Get them involved in the process of blogging and you can show off this talent and resource you have available to your niche or target market.

Blogs are better suited to being searchable - By making it a practice to update your blog at least 3 times a week, you will see better results than a “static” Web site. Blogs by their very nature move up the search engines faster than a “static” Web site.

Regular posts and RSS feeds - show your readers, niche and target market you are series about being the go to place for information. This is especially true if you are on top of your own niche or target and keep your post relevant and up-to-date.

There are other factors involved in this, however, I plan to cover them later this week on Blog for Profit. We will keep you informed on when that might be. In the meantime, leave your comments on other factors you can come up with on how blogging for your business can bring you a return on your investment in your marketing program.

Categories: Blog for Profit

One Comment

David Billings says:

May 8, 2008 at 10:03 pm

I had a “duh” moment this week after reading this post and decided that it’s time I start using all that training and experience I have to create a series of tutorials on digital illustration.

The goal here is to become the go-to expert on transitioning from traditional media to the digital world. My hope is that by garnering an audience of professional artists, I’ll also increase my traffic and get more interest from art directors, art buyers, and agents.

Let’s see what happens!