Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Blogging What is it All About?

By Lilach Bullock

Everyone has heard about blogs and bloggers, but how much do you really know about blogging? Are you blogging at all? Do you know how to write an effective blog? Do you know the benefits blogs can bring to your marketing? Do you know the best places to post your blogs, or how often? There is so little known about such a common topic that could really benefit your business.

Why Should You Blog?
Blogging is a brilliant tool that should definitely be used as part of your online marketing strategy. Not only is it a great avenue for getting people connected to you, it is also a simple and effective way to direct them to your website. By posting frequently you also raise your online profile, which is great for public awareness of your company and your SEO. One of the most immediately enjoyable things about blogging, though, is getting people to comment and seeing discussions start. This again draws attention to the blog and back to your company, especially if you do it well and consistently.

What Should You Write About?
There are several elements involved in writing blogs, everywhere from topic and content to tone and style. Blogs are an excellent place to connect with people, so I always keep my casual and personable. I like to cover current events as well as professional and personal topics. By varying what you write about, you are virtually unrestricted with new topics. It also presents a well rounded blog site, and keeps your readers interested. If you only ever blogged about politics, only die hard political fans will remain interested in your posts. And do not shy away from controversial topics, they are great for starting conversation!

What Should a Blog Include?
Your blog should always include some thoughts by yourself, and usually that involves an opinion or a story or both. It is good to get people involved and get comments and discussions going. One of the best ways to do this is to have questions at the end, which either invite people to share or provoke them to action in some other way (like asking for advice). Keep a positive or humorous tone about it, nobody wants a downer. So if you have a negative story to share, like a horrible experience, be sure to put a twist on it so people can sympathise without getting depressed!

How Often Should You Post?
Some people only post once a week, other people post several times a day. The once a week people generally tend to be conservative business people who are afraid of flooding their site. The multiple times a day bloggers tend to be social bloggers. I prefer to be more in the middle of the road and post once a day. This keeps SEO up, gives my readers something to look forward to each day, and increases my online profile. You can post as often or as rarely as you like, but I would say a minimum of two to three times per week, and preferably every day. Every once in a while you could do two blogs in a day.

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Lilach Bullock runs 2 full-time businesses, asklilach providing Virtual PA Services & Virtual PA Training, helping people set up their own successful virtual assistant business. Lilach recently attended an Award Ceremony at Downing Street for best Mumpreneur. asklilach.co.uk