I’m always amazed at people who think that bloggers mostly write about their personal life.
Think about how often you’ve heard someone say, “why would I want to blog? I don’t care about what someone at for breakfast.”
What’s often missed in statements like this is that blogging isn’t just about sharing your personal life. It’s also about sharing your business.
Unlike a traditional, static website however, a blog – or as I like to call it a personal publishing system – gives you the opportunity to connect directly with other people. People who may be in your target audience. Or peers and others who gain something from reading your posts.
But a blog is more than another medium for connecting with people in your target audience and peers. It also provides a platform to engage in conversation. Those conversations can lead to relationships. And those relationships can lead to increased business.
The key is the relationship. And blogging makes the relationship possible with more people, in more places and at more times than any other platform yet created.
Personally and professionally I’ve created dozens of great relationships with readers, bloggers, business owners and peers that have lead to everything from direct business opportunities to referral business to partnerships. Blogging opened for me opportunities that I just didn’t have with my static website.
Now, through the comment box, through email, through linking, and through many of the social services like Twitter or Facebook, I have the chance to meet interesting people from all over the world. People who share my interests. Some become colleagues or friends. Others become clients. But all have come through social media…through blogging.
Blogging (aka social media) is making my business more visible in more ways than I could have imagined. But how is it serving you? How is your blog selling your business? What works, what hasn’t? And what would you recommend as a ‘have to do’ for new business bloggers?
(note: image from Paul Van Metre on Flickr)
My business has gone up significantly since I started blogging on a regular basis. In fact it means so much to me that I have made it a significant aspect of the services I provide for our web design clients. That being said it’s still very difficult to convince others to actually start blogging and I also get those strange looks or misconceptions about about what you have had for breakfast. I’m not sure what it is? Is it how amateur the word “blog” sounds, misconceptions about what blogging or just a fear of writing.
I’ve also meet quite a few people who have web sites but they are managed by a bigger company they work for like like Real Estate agents, sales or food service people. I’m making plans to ask these people who say they can’t have a blog if we can write about them so their parent companies or I.T. people can see the power of it.
Blogging is making my business more visible, indirectly. I write around the topics that I’ve talked about with my customers and about the things that I know would benefit their marketing efforts. It’s a service to them that offers strong potential of repeat business and referrals. When meeting by phone or in-person with a new business prospect, I’m able to direct them to my blog for more information. So in that way, my blog is beginning to help sell my business services.
Outside of that, I’m still in the early momentum-building stage. I’m at about the two-month mark of my first serious blogging effort, with a small but steadily growing subscriber count. With a lot more content, many more inbound links and the passage of time, my blog will become more visible online. Until then, thanks for the reminder that there are many ways for a blog to make a business more visible.
Dozens?!?
And here I thought I was special. Boohoohoo.
It’s interesting to see how things are changing as blogging–oops…PERSONAL PUBLISHING becomes more commonplace. The transparency and ease of communicating with a broad(er) audience have been nothing short of life-changing for a group of us talky, write-y types who are hungry for the exchange of information.
I can also see how it’s panic-inducing for people who are not so much with the talky-talk. I no longer suggest blogs for everyone…at least, not right off. Instead, I try to suggest a few blogs and sites and podcasts, etc., to check out, so they can see the possibilities.
People like you and Chris Brogan and Jonathan Fields are great partly b/c you serve as bridges from old ways to new. As things speed up and it gets harder and harder to step into the river, it’s going to be increasingly important to find ways of gently introducing people to a parallel universe.
I’ve thought of this a lot lately b/c a few bloggy acquaintances have become big 2nd Lifers, something I know next to nothing about, other than (sort of) what it is and (sort of) what it’s for. It’s made me realize how much I take for granted everything I’ve learned by living in the blogging (erp…PERSONAL PUBLISHING) world for almost 4 years.
Our blog is our business… The funny thing is that we started our blog to promote and ebook – that’s it. Then, the blog took on a life of it’s own. Ever since, we’ve just been riding the wave!
Patrick,
It sounds like you’ve got some great ideas on the horizon. Please keep in updated on how it goes.
Blogging really does take the web from a static, cold place to a community, doesn’t it?
communicatrix,
Hey, you’re using my lingo…
I love your approach of easing some folks into it. Yet, it’s hard not to jump right in because social media can have such an impact on business – from more reach, to more clients to more understanding of how to talk about your business to real people rather than through marketing lingo. I guess,
bloggingpersonal publishing is just more.Jennifer,
And you guys ride a pretty big wave. What would you say the biggest surprise social media has brought your business?
Shari,
Sounds like you’re right on it. Do you have any plans for posts that would help more directly sell your services?
My blog was a total sidebar project and ended up being a huge success for parents. I never realized that developing that personal relationship was so important.
My blog is definitely not just about my personal life.
There are some archived posts for sure that discuss my personal life, but I’ve been building a blog (business) that is getting more and more targeted traffic, so the business side of it is definitely working.
I find my blogging – by itself – doesn’t add to my income. But it puts my writing and work in front of a broader audience, and THAT sells my business.
Good post.
Bob Andelman
Dawud!
Great question. I actually posted a similar topic this morning: Does Your Blog Have The Wow factor?
I wish that I’d seen this post first – I could have referenced it.
My business does not really exist right now. At lest not on paper 🙂 But blogging has often helped me promote myself as a PR professional. It has also given me the chance to meet amazing people from all fields and from all continents. without blogging and other social media communities I would have never gotten to see so many places, find out so many interesting things and build such wonderful relationships.
Vanessa,
I hear you. Yet isn’t business ultimately about relationships? How do we miss that?
Lin,
And are you a problogger or selling products and services?
Bob,
Exactly! I’m in the same boat as I don’t try to make money directly through my blog. Rather, let my blog increase my reach and display my expertise in business development and rapid growth.
It’s pretty amazing how reaching out to people in a conversational way can increase business, isn’t it?
Laura,
Perhaps we should begin watching each other’s blogs a bit more, huh? I’m going to snag your feed.
Alina,
I know. And just wait until you start your business up…you already have a network of people who are fans of you, as a person. This goes well with your business, don’t you think?
I love blogging. I love to do research for my blog and try to put up posts which would be of some help to my visitors. I think quality is more important. If my blog is nice and has quality stuff then I will get visitors and in turn I will get business. The most important is to have a good blog.
Our blog is an integral part of our business model. It’s one of the traffic drivers to our site, along with our ezine, podcast, video blog and regular article submissions. We do not monetize the blog itself, but rather, the sites the blog ends up on.
I have a link on my sidebar that directs people to my company site. I also run giveaways four times per year and people click over then also. The increased traffic helps my other site.
Also, maintaining the blog gives me a future marketing opportunity when my book is released.
Great post.
Hey,
Thanks for becoming a subscriber. I’ll do the same here.
Eva,
What elements do you see as necessary to have a good blog?
Andy,
I think more and more people are using blogs to drive traffic to their business. What’s been more successful – blogging or podcasting?
Pass,
Have you given any thought to merging the two sites into one?
Living Rooms,
Thanks. It’s what I think about blogging. Did you read the post I linked too?
People just don’t blog to share personal occurrences or experiences but also sharing and creating network to introduced some businesses. I have even read before that most from realty business provides blogs of there own to introduced there businesses.
A blog in my opinion can change from post to post. In one instance you can talk just about yourself and the things you encounter on a day to day basis, another time you might want to offer advice on how to do a tax return. I think a blog is the most powerful and honest source of information on the internet. When you find the right one of course!
Im a newbie blogger and I don’t earn much.
You hit the nail on the head. Building a business is about relationships. Jim Cecil in Washington has been promoting this idea for years. He calls it Nurture Marketing. If you want to increase your sales, build relationships! Great article.
J.E. Sullivan
JES@BusinessAnalystsOnline.com
Here is an interesting thought. Blogging is good for my business because in the course of writing articles about my business and the subjects we deal with I learn more about my business plus I get feedback from my readers.
It may sound slightly silly but the best reader of a blog is often the writer!
my friend had a blog which increased her flower sales by 20%. Blogs are great =)
My blog generate good traffic.
I use blog for my small business at http://www.mediasakinah.co.nr (its about girl clothing accessories in Indonesia)and it truly help the sales on the company, and for a finetune, i put the link to my blog in the product package, and it help the visitor count on my blog too, so it is a double deal effect, you should try it too!
Blogging is a great way to get closer to your customers. I personally like reading blogs on companies I’m with, makes me feel that they actually care about customers.
The picture says everything…
here i brought A good blog site to get articles and details for business…promoting business, starting business, home business and many more u have to visit for amazing offers..
job,
I hear you. I have clients all the time who start blogging and end up increasing their business. Business is about relationships – and is blogging.
linkerjpatrick,
I don’t think it’s silly at all. I learn tons by rereading older posts – and by what I read and how I respond in the comment box. That’s one of the reasons I try to reply – so I can learn.
Computer Repair,
Exactly. I’m the same way. Whenever a prospect contacts me for a consult, I try to find out if they have a blog for their business before we speak. That way I can get more understanding of what they’re doing and how they approach their business.
Forumistan,
For you?
Home Business,
Not bad. Thanks for the resource.
My blogs have generated plenty of traffic, unfortunately I’ve had a hard time converting said traffic into profit offline. Maybe I’m just in the wrong area for blogging to be worthwhile.
Discount,
Or maybe you’ve created a community rather than a marketplace. Do your blog readers need what you sell?
I didn’t selling something in my blog. I just selling an ad space and hoping that some of my visitor clicked on it 🙂
I have made my blog for user specific and just put some links to my website. Now every day around 100 visitors come to blog.I hope the number of visitors will increase soon.
nice post …
just give you knowladge about internet business & making money
blogging is really good for business since you’re advertising your products for free. just make sure to be really creative and accurate in order to attract readers, after all, blogs rely on its readers, and so are your products in that case =)
Blogging is a great platform and I see it replacing traditional static websites. I feel it’s the best way to engage your visitors and provide interaction that can lead to relationships like you mentioned in your posts.
I think that blogging gives the oportunity to share knowledges differently of conventional media, like TVs, magazines. This colaboration turns the content more relevant anda rich.
I think blog is not only for sharing personal information, you can share there regarding your business product or latest news of your niche industry. if your blog is getting number of visitors daily then its more chances to convert your readers into your loyal customers.
I didnt think I would need a blog to market my Newport Beach CPA firm but I just started one one WordPress writing about tax tips and such. I hope it help in marketing my business. Thanks for your informative articles.
A blog in my opinion can change from post to post. In one instance you can talk just about yourself and the things you encounter on a day to day basis, another time you might want to offer advice on how to do a tax return.
I think that a blog is definitely helpful for a business, as long as it promotes the objectives of the business. In some situations some posts can be regarded as too personal. It is ok to express your own opinion but to bare in mind that you represent a company and not yourself.
A blog isn’t just a necessity to any online business today, it’s more of a moving part, since it allows your business to not just interact or engage with your followers, but it also allows you to expand the reach of your business’ services not only limited to a single location, and of course, with this business model, the world is your audience 🙂
@Patrick I wonder what the direct effect is to why your business has increased because of your blog. Is your blog powering search engine visits? Are you getting a reputation for being an expert? Any detail would be helpful.
I get the majority of my real estate business from our blog. As customers are searching for information within the 2 real estate niches that I focus, they inevitably find the site. I’ve had people call and say they’ve been reading the site for 6 months and have now decided it’s time to sell…..at that point the choice is made as to who will represent them in the transaction. Blog is good, if and only if, the information is relevant to the niche market that you serve.
Everyone of us has its own notion about the discussed topic. For me, I agree that blogging is not for sharing people’s lives only but it is one of the best ways in promoting a business. Through blogging you can gain many friends and later on those friends will become your clients. It is very important to have a good relationship with others. It will serve as your foundation to have a great sales. In that way, I can conclude that blogging is a one of the good business strategies.
Yes blogging may have started as a way to share our thoughts but because humans always finds brilliant ways to maximize resources, blogging had evolved.
@Dan – I agree with you. Blogging should always be tactful.
You are absolutely right. The key to a successful business is the relationship. In any business, whether it be through the internet or personally owning a store, the most important factor in ones success is the relationship that is developed between buyer and seller.
Through blogging you make more clients and meet more potential buyers which would most probably turn into a wonderful working relationship.
Really its very lovely discussion is going on. Now days blogger s are addicted by blogging .Day by day blogging become popular and also increasing rate of blog reader are come into way .
Good you stressed on relationships most part of your blog post.Blogging builds relationships and which in turn helps you build your reach and influence which is the center point for any business.
And I’m here I want to have a Bulgarian, but I do not know what to write about. I’m afraid that will not be interested (
We have had mixed results with our blogs so far but we still have so much to learn yet. It seems a bit overwhelming at first but we are making steady progress
Great post. I agree that blogging is one way of expressing yourself if you can’t be verbal about things that you want to say. You can create personal and business relationships when you are in the world of blogging. Social media has been very useful for internet marketers. I know that social media is still evolving and it can help people in business more. Doing SEO for your blog can really drive traffic and sell your business. Anyway, Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Blogging can link and give you thoughts in every business. I learn a lot when I read your article and thinking to furnish my business trough blogging. The existence of blogging is part of existing business.Thanks!
I’m still new in the blogging world, and I wanted to like you can be successful and take advantage of blogs to expand business
We are just about to launch a blog and your input is great. Lots of discussion here on how to get it somehow right the first time. Product blog or personal blog – or both.
I love to blog not just to share my personal life, it’s also one way of sharing my own opinions and ideas about many things in life. I perceive blogging as a tool for marketing rather than just knowing other people’s breakfast. Everything in blogging is business, knowledge and wisdom. The relationship that we build in blogging is important, the thoughts that we share may be valuable to other people.
I am a very naive blogger and it is heartening to learn from the post, the benefits of blogging. I have to start implementing each idea one by one to experience what you have said in the post
Blogging has been a great way to keep clients and stylists updated about whats going on at the salon and our successes as well as our bumps in the road. It’s a little bit of work but worth the effort.
Blogging is a great way for people with similar interest to connect, interact and share ideas. People are by nature relational. This interactivity can foster and produce monetary profits.
I didnt think I would need a blog to market my Newport Beach CPA firm but I just started one one WordPress writing about tax tips and such. I hope it help in marketing my business. Thanks for your informative articles.
Hey i like your definition of a blog there: ‘personal publishing system’.You are absolutely right. Blogging is about so much more than telling people what you eat for breakfast! I
I agree 100% blogs are not what we eat its a new way to publish. I think any business owner should have a blog. it can boost you credibility fast.
Well at least my blog hasn’t been up to the standard till now, am not sure how much time will it take me to get organic visitors from search engines!
I´m very satisfied with my blog. It earns a stable amount of money and I´m consistently adding content. And it´s a nice hobby, as I have a regular day job that´s got me working from 9 to 5….
I choose to blog about my business. I want people to think of me and then think about real estate.
Successful blogging is all about quality content that establishes you as an thought leader and an expert in your field.
Quality blog content should be both valuable and personal. valuable means that your tips and insights should be really good and impossible to find elsewhere. This is how you will build a wide readership base in no time.
The “personal” side of blogging is essential. Your blog should reflect who you are as a person. Be authentic and keep it real if you want you readers to keep coming back for more. Enjoy blogging!
Having a blog to improve your business is great, but only if you can dedicate a lot of time and effort making it good.
Bloggers who start a business have a big advantage, but business men and women who starts a blog are having big difficilties to succeed.
i think you can create personal and business relationships when you are in the world of blogging. Social media has been very useful for internet marketers.
Business blogging is becoming a bigger thing in the court reporting industry as well; however, I’m still having to justify it as a useful tactic. Convinginv the ‘C’ level execs can be tough sometimes but it is good for our business.
Even if we make no sales through our blog, we are constantly increasing our link profile through people linking to our blog, thereby improving our site in the SERPS.
I am quite happy with my blog, since i started blogging on a regular basis using the tumblr blog site it has increased traffic to my site immensly. Its the perfect tool to grow your network.
When you optimize your site in google and come your site on top your of google page then customer search your if he need your products he order for it and demand of your products increased day by day.
I added a blog to my business web site a year ago.The challenge I find is making the time to blog on a regular basis. You’ve reinvigorated me to try. Thank you!
Blogging has been a great way to keep clients and stylists updated ,great way for people with similar interest to connect, interact and share ideas. People are by nature relational. This interactivity can foster and produce monetary profits.
Totally agree. There’s something so non-threatening about typing a comment into a comment box, yet it can be a very valuable relationship starter with potential clients.
I understand your argumentation, but I think one has to find the right niche for personal contacts with people. It may not work with consumer products. If somebody buys a watch, for instance, he will not buy another one in the near future and will probably not come back to my blog on watches. So I would need a niche where People keep buying things, like weight loss. Unfortunately I don´t know much about themes like that.
Great article! I am realizing more every day just how my blog expands the reach of my business. I am really getting into customization and optimization this year. I hope that I will be able to make more time for my blog and therefore increase my client base.
Just want to stress that, it’s the community that develops around your blog that will make it successful. Blogging isn’t just for individuals and it has emerged as one of the best marketing tool on the web. It could serves as forum for organizations and individuals to exchange ideas and communicate with their partners, customers, employees, etc. You can also create pages relevant for your business, post articles on different subjects, and allows readers to post comments. Nice thoughts! Continue sharing.
Blogging really helps business in many ways. Like for an instance the people who are visiting the blogs and leave comments there gain some links and may increase the popularity of their websites. The blog owner in return can gain some traffic in their sites and gain some profit in advertising. People help each other through blogs, not to mention gaining some additional knowledge and meeting new people while visiting every blogs.
Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. This can help other people who are planning to engage in online business. Great post!
I think the biggest challenge is keeping up with blog updates when you have a site that requires so much work and there’s so much more opportunity to share a blog that is kept up-to-date.
A few years ago I wrote a blog about a walking trip i took, but nobody read it! I understand that a blog must interest other people if you want them to read it but i have no idea how to ‘get it out there’ so to speak.
I am quite keen to learn about the benefits of using a blog in business, so thanks for all the really useful points of view here, i see i still have a long way to go!
But it’s really time consuming to keep blogging the whole day through. But then again, it is still important.
I agree that the most important thing in business – to attract more people, including friendship on the Internet. facebook, forums, blogs help in this. However, it should always remember that you can not impose our own product, and its well-offering – to the people themselves want to buy it!
Its a great challenge that you keep you blog updated. It will keep you r business boom high.
Blogs are a great tool to not only connect with people but to express your opinions. People in the “real world” are interested in useful information. Consider blogging about something you find interesting, or something that may help others.
Today it’s obviously that blogging has emerged as one of the best marketing tool on the web especially in promoting a business..It is a solid platform for both writer and readers to interact, exchange and develop a mutual understanding of the opinions of the either party in a particular topic..
@tax relief- you have a nice point.. Our blog must be updated also so that it can attract more readers..
Blogging has become a phenomenon in increasing our market. Because of it’s scoop, everybody could access to it. It serves as an avenue in promoting our sells. Aside from that the readers and the writers build a relationship and started gaining friends and acquaintances. It also agree that our blog should be updated so that it will attract readers thus gaining a high possibility that what we advertise will be read.
Great article! I am realizing more every day just how my blog expands the reach of my business. I am really getting into customization and optimization this year. I hope that I will be able to make more time for my blog and therefore increase my client base.
I think if you’re working for a company that is pioneering technology or developing new ideas and services in a given industry it’s REALLY easy to gain recognition in a given industry and garner value from your blog.
On the other hand, If your company isn’t considered pioneering or has any kind of reputation issues it can be like pulling teeth to make connections with people even if you’re creating good content. I think this might relate to the fact that companies that are seen as followers may may be perceived by consumers as just trying to cash in on the potential value of blogging and maybe aren’t seen as providers of valuable unique content the way a pioneering company might be.
I suppose my point here is that it’s not always easy to create a lot of value with a company blog. Sometimes it can take a lot of work to prove that your content is valuable and get it in front of consumers that will share the content and expose your company and your blog to a wider audience.
Interesting post! I too agree that after starting my own blog it has helped me a lot in my business. Having a static website has never worked so well in my case too. It has helped in me in getting lots of customers and the best part is that you can interact with them directly and instantly.
I definitely agree. Blogs are so important if your have an online business because it helps in advertising and marketing. You can reach out many possible customers and some viewers of your blog.
You have discussed some really good points in your post. It is good that you stressed on relationships most part of this blog which is really of great importance in the online world. Building relationship with the online viewers is very essential part of blogging which in turn helps you build your reach and get more customers for your online business.
Well said, I also think a corporate blog works best when it’s a business-wide commitment rather than a solo-mission like you can see in lots of occasions. Putting more people on this kind of effort is a sure way to provide more valuable content for your readers. And I too personally believe a blog should be the hub of your social media efforts, with other channels starting from and pointing to it.
Unfortunately a lot of bloggers does not think about creating relationsships. Most of them have enough to do to think of new content.
But I really love the blogs where authors take the time to join in the discoussions.
Really appreciate your efforts in sharing such wonderful post. It is an excellent post and blogging really makes a lot of difference. In fact it really does take the web from a static place to a World wide web community!
I guess, i knows the real power of blogging. Maybe that’s why i love it more. Thanks for sharing this post.
I’m still new in the blogging world, and I wanted to like you can be successful and take advantage of blogs to expand business
Mind is going quite down, although I try my level best to get the most out of it but the market is really tough to crack.
Blog by it’s nature is personal. Even if you write a company blog it has to be written by an individual. The best option for a company blog is to let individual write it and let their names appear on the blog.
Companies can utilize News section to push other content which otherwise might be suitable for blog.
We know blogging are a huge and strong way to make your business run, but you need to offer quality and relevant content.
Its a great challenge that you keep you blog updated I think the biggest challenge is keeping up with blog updates when you have a site that requires so much work and there’s so much more opportunity to share a blog that is kept up-to-date.
I like setting about a number of small niche blogs that are optimized around one keyword phrase. I find the competition is low. If you create enough of them, you can start to get some decent traffic.
Great blog. I agree that blogging has created a opportunity for individuals to express their opinions online. However, I also see blogging as an opportunity to engage with your peers, or customers. As social networks such as twitter, and facebook develop it will be interesting to see how these social factors effect the blogosphere.
Nowadays, blogging has been proven to be effective in generating quality traffics to your site. It does not only build a good reputation of your business through substantial articles but at the same time you could earn extra income through the ad sense. Nice post. Thanks for sharing your thought! Keep going!
Judging by the comments, there is a lot of strong evidence in favour of blogging. My only question is, how do those benefits translate for an organisation offering business-to-business services. Am I mistaken in thinking that blogging is more about connecting with individuals, and in particular, those who have lots of free time and are tech-savvy (as opposed to a busy corporate director for instance)?
Yet another article that we can relate to. We plan to include a blog platform within our new website. We intend to blog about relevant topics that relate to court reporting and legal video services. We want this information to be useful and/or interesting to the paralegal audience. Our social media strategies will also represent our dedication to technology and desire to be the most responsive court reporting firm court reporting firm in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas & Houston.