Before I address the following questions:
* What is a blog? and
* What can a blog do for my business?
let me pose a few "What if. . ." questions to you.
Keeping in mind that before your prospects and customers buy from you, they need to know you, like you, and trust you. In other words, they need to know, whether overtly or covertly, that they have a trusting and ongoing relationship with you. What better way to accomplish that goal than a blog?
Now, here are my What if. . . questions:
* What if less than two minutes after creating and publishing your blog, it were to be promoted to 10.000 prospects without any extra effort or cost on your part?
* What if every time someone clicks on a hyperlinked keyword that describes your hobbies; your occupation; your industry; or your favorite books, movies, music, or artist, your blog pops up?
* What if every time you leave a comment on someone else’s blog, you could leave a hyperlink to your website, blog, or email?
* What if someone enters your name or business name (completely or partially) into a major search engine, your website or blog pops up in their search results?
* What if every time you post content on your blog, it would bypass the spam filters and instantaneously appear on your subscribers’ desktop without any extra effort or cost on your part? ( - an excellent opportunity to get your sale, special message, or time-sensitive announcement into their hands, or actually in front of their eyes!)
* What if your satisfied customers had the opportunity to place their self-generated testimonies on your blog? (Although some might need encouragement, that’s all right. Make an incentive opportunity of it! Offer some incentive for their efforts.)
By now you should be beginning to see the powerful marketing potential a blog offers you. These are just some of the powerful customer relationship management features a blog offers you.
But wait!
There’s more!
What if you were to combine these powerful features with other online and offline efforts such as a blogathon, teleseminar, webinar, online articles, and others …?
Would that enhance your customer relationship management efforts?
I realize that successful marketing and sales are still a high touch entity, but when you combine high tech with high touch, you’re bound for success!
Now to answer the original questions, What is a blog? and What can a blog do for my business?
A blog, short of web log, is an interactive web-based journal that encourages participation from viewers. It looks like and does everything a website does – and more! Entries, called posts, are published by date on the page according to your predetermined quantity and are archived in the margin according to your predetermined frequency. A blog served as an excellent supplement to your website and other marketing efforts.
A blog offers your business countless options, namely, a blog:
* gives your viewers, prospects, customers, or subscribers immediate access to you.
* helps to reduce your time spend distributing emails and other messages.
* improves your content delivery rates by 100%.
* improves your search engine rankings.
* publishes constantly fresh content.
* bypasses spam filters completely.
* improves your online visibility.
* Enhances your web presence.
* Generates more visitors.
* and more. . .
So, if you don’t already have a blog, I only have 1 question for you:
What are you waiting for? Don’t let this cutting-edge technology, this powerful marketing tool, pass you by. Online companies are popping up all over the Internet offering you free blogs. My recommendation is that you grab one, or two – or more! Most, if not all, are extremely easy to create, but may be time-consuming, according to your already hectic schedule, to maintain.
If that’s the case in your situation, you might want to call in outside help. Consider the high school computer techie next door, or the college-age computer-major son or daughter of a friend who could always use a few extra bucks.
Or, if you don’t have either option available to you, or want to see samples first, I invite you to take a look at what I’m doing by going to:
www.MasterBlogBuilder.blogspot.com/
I leave you with this wish:
May you always be successful in looking for and using new and creative ways to maximize your earning potential.
Remember: When you maximize your potential, we all win! When you don’t, we all lose.
Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management and Marketing Consultant, known as The Master Blog Builder works with individuals, managers, and small business owners to help them maximize their personal and business potential. Reach him at http://www.MasterBlogBuilder.blogspot.com/
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