Blogging Tips for today’s blogger…in bite size pieces!

Like many out there, you may think blogging is a mystery and a waste of time. You’re not sure why you need to do it…you’ve convinced yourself you don’t have that kind of time to post an article a few times a week and of course my all time favorite I hear at every class I teach, “I don’t know what to say and who’d be interested anyway?” Well, let’s try and dispel some of the misunderstandings about blogging and help you focus on the power of your blog posts as well as the 5 marketing benefits of a good blogsite.

For me, blogging tips the scale in 1 of 2 directions…You blog for fun or you blog for business. Either way you wish to go to create an effective blog and blogsite, you really only need to know a couple of things:

1. Be Engaging

2. Be Informative

3. Be Helpful

Most people who read a blog post and get inspired do so because they felt a connection with the story or subject and/or they received some ideas or suggestions from the story that made their lives or business better. Perhaps a bit over the top but you get my drift! Just remember, no matter what you use your blog for, people will read it if you aspire to engage, inform and help.

Attempting to elicit a response is at the heart of your blog post. I spoke with a business professional who wondered what she could possibly have to blog about and who would read it. I asked her 1 simple question, “When you sit down with a perspective client, do you feel you have the knowledge and information to answer any of their questions?” She had a resounding yes for me! I then said, “There’s you first blog post!”

You see, blogging is as simple as writing down an answer to a question that is being asked in the form of a search online!

 If I were in a class or at a seminar, any question an audience member has is really a topic or subject for a blog! Think about it in the same context with your business. Say you are a Real Estate Professional. If you’re at the dining room table for the first time with a homeowner that is looking to you for answers on how, what, why and when they should sell their house…you had better have those answers and those answers better be engaging, informative and helpful for those homeowners.

Now take that scenario and turn it into a blog post. Instead of you being at that dining room table across from those homeowners, you are in front of your computer and they’re in front of their’s. They still have the same questions and you still have the same answers…you just now have them in the form of a blog! Simple, right?

Blogging tips for bloggers who want to market their wares.

If you consider what your blog post does outside of the confines of just being a bunch of words on your site, you’ll really begin to see the power of blogging and the reach it has on those folks who previously didn’t even see you on their radar!

1. Word of Mouth Marketing – Make sure your current database receives your blog posts. Encourage them to repost, share or send a link to their friends and co-workers spreading your message AND CREDIBILITY to their sphere!

2. Permission Marketing – Syndicate your blog to your social networking sites. People who friend you, follow you and connect with you on these sites have given you the OK to post your content for them to see. Recent stats have shown that  a vast majority of people gather their information from friends and people they trust on social media networks!

3. Return Marketing – Your blog post will be indexed forever! What this means is a post you write years ago can still make page 1 of a search and get you in front of potential clients well beyond the date of your original blog.

4. Top of Mind Marketing – Consistency is the key! Being OMNI-PRESENT by publishing on a regular basis allows for your consumers to become aware of you and your product.

5. Pattern Interrupt Marketing – This takes the first 4 elements and bundles it all together! You may not know when or where you next client is coming from until you interrupt their daily ‘journey’ with a relevant post or story that gets them thinking… preferably about you!