Business owners I speak have all started to ask me the same question. Should I have a blog? My answer varies, depending on their business, the goals they are trying to achieve and other factors like who will write the blogs, whether they have a good writing style and how much time they have to dedicate to blogging on a regular basis.

The one common factor seems to be that although business owners have heard that blogging might be good for their business few really understand what it’s all about.

The Second Opinion Marketing Guide to Successful Blogging was written to answer their questions and provide some pointers on how you might take advantage of the blogging phenomenon.

A guide to successful blogging
A blog can be a very useful tool to raise the profile of your company online as well as positioning you as an expert commentator in your particular field.

Blogs (a shortened form of weblog) provide an opportunity to create a following and encourage readers to respond with their thoughts and experiences.

A blog, usually full of keyword rich content, will attract search engines which drive traffic to your blog. For more on this topic read 10 steps to improving the success of your website.

Each blog can ask for feedback which can create a dialogue with customers, commentators and potential partners.

In terms of style, a blog should:

• Be informal, topical, conversational and written in Plain English
• Demonstrate you understand the issues faced by people you are writing for
• Demonstrate your expertise, not necessarily by quoting detail, but instead through commentary, comment and the translation of complex subjects for the reader
• Once the decision has been made to blog then there are some do’s and don’t you should be aware of:

Do

• Set yourself some blogging objectives – what do you want to achieve with your blog this month, this quarter, this year?
• Make what you write interesting – all the better if slightly controversial – share your opinion, try and be unique, create your own blogging voice / personality
• Ask readers for their opinion on what you’ve written
• Blog regularly – it doesn’t have to be daily – although if you did that would be 365 new web pages for surfers to find, all referring to your business
• Think carefully about your title and opening line – if you don’t grab the reader here they won’t reach the end of the blog
• Create hyperlinks to other relevant material in your blog or on your website
• Welcome links back to your blog from other bloggers and website owners

Don’t

• Use your blog for blatant promotion – it’s a PR tool, not a sales tool
• Write just for search engines – write for the reader, first and foremost
• Be too formal, try and use conversational English
• Be afraid to keep it short – blogs of around 100 – 150 words for comment pieces are fine. If you have a more detailed topic you want to actually offer advice on then by all means write a longer blog. In some instances this information may be better as an article which is promoted via your blog
• Overuse keywords – it is important that the blog is attractive to the reader as well as the search engine

What can be achieved with a blog?
A blog can be a very useful tool in your marketing armoury.

Since launching their blog, which forms part of their website, one of my clients has more than doubled the number of monthly visitors they get to their site. This is a direct result of visitors searching for the kind of topics they are blogging about and the fact the search engines appear to be picking up the blog pages almost instantly.

Another client operating in a niche market has used his blog to position himself as the expert in his field, such that his blog is referenced by other bloggers worldwide. This is all helping to build the number of new enquiries he receives for his services.

If you have objectives that include:

• Driving more traffic to your website
• Creating an unbeatable expert position in your field
• Developing credibility for your brand
• Creating an open dialogue with customers or partners in your market

a blog might be the right tool to use. But like any marketing it needs to be planned, targeted and measured.

Further Reading
10 questions to help you develop a marketing plan
The secrets of successful marketing

Article written by Teresa Harris, Second Opinion Marketing. Teresa is a chartered marketer and independent marketing consultant working with professional practices, small businesses and public sector bodies to develop effective marketing plans which achieve their business objectives.

As a marketing coach Teresa works with new marketing managers and small business owners to enhance their marketing performance.