Why Does My e-Business Need a Blog?

posted on: April 17, 2006

The web log or blog is a fairly recent development online. It’s a diary that bloggers share with the world and invite responses to the points they make. It has primarily been for personal use. With e-commerce, a blog can be much more than a diary, it can be a new and valuable way to communicate with your customers and share information about your industry.

If You Help Them, They Will Come

The key to a successful business blog is to be interesting. So, think about your business. Identify the key areas of your business where you have genuine insights, wisdom and information to share with interested readers. Believe me you have the insights or you would already be out of business! Then, position yourself as an expert in your industry and others will want to know how you approach the unique problems you confront. Your expertise and availability will attract visitors, and some of those visitors will become customers. You’ll also be able to better cement your relationships with the visitors who already are customers.

Content and Communications are Key

Whether you’re driving new traffic or helping established clients, when you operate a business blog you are opening another line of communication with potential customers. Now, don’t blow it! You don’t have to be brilliant, but readers want to know, “what’s in it for me?” Make sure you provide the goods. Give them plenty of free information; tell them inside tips and tricks that work to improve your business or drive customers toward your products. The regular readers will see your dedication and the reward will be better traffic to your site.

Mix Sales and Information...

Don’t worry that a business blog is all talk and no sales. You have plenty of opportunity to monetize your blog both directly and indirectly. The blog is the perfect place for new product information which you can explain at length, unrestricted by ad space. The blog is also a great spot for promotional information. The key here is to mix information and sales. Use the product info and your expertise to increase the client’s understanding of the value of a product, and you’ll drive sales. You’ll also bring interest to the store from your blog.

Advertising Without Advertising

Business blogs are an unobtrusive way to stay in customer’s faces. People who read blogs subscribe through RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This is a blog aggregator which sums up recent posts. It’s sort of a home page for blog surfing and lists headlines of recent blog posts. So an intriguing headline can draw them to you. It’s a good business circle: interest leads to visits leads to more interest leads to more visits….

Ready or Not...

Blogging is a fairly new phenomenon on the net, and business blogs are newer yet. They have limited subscribers. But back in 1996 the number of web sites was limited too. The lesson is; the business blog is coming. If you’re the first on your business block with a blog you will have the advantage, plain and simple. The best way to advertise is one to one. A business blog can open that door and put you in direct contact with your customers. For help getting your own business blog up and running, contact us here at Solid Cactus, 1-888-361-9814.