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 Blogging is easy, blogging is fun.
And what’s more…it can help your business in a lot of
ways. A blog is a frequent, chronological publication of
personal thoughts and web links in the cyberspace. You
could call it an e-diary where you can register your
thoughts, opinion and comments on anything and everything
under the sun that interests you. Though people had been
‘at it’ long before the term blog was coined; it has
gained currency as an effective medium of communicating
over the Internet only recently. The introduction of
automated published software like “Blogger” at www.blogger.com
has been instrumental in blogging success. A blog or a
weblog’ is conceptually similar to a website and is
accessible to anyone on the Internet.
There are millions of bloggers in the world today blogging
away to glory. But blogging can be more than just chatter
in the cyberspace. It can be a great tool for boosting
your online business’s profitability once you’ve
understood how it works and what are its limitations. Take
a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog#Corporate
for some more information.
How to become a Blogger?
The key to learning how to become a blogger is to start
blogging! Easier said than done? Not really. There are
several websites that can give you information on how to
be a blogger. Blogger.com is one of them. You have three
options here to choose from:
-Have a hosted service like Blogger allows you to set up
an account and fire away in a matter of minutes.
-A remotely installed blog like movabletype allows you to
install on a server for a small fee.
-Desktop blog programs like Radio Userland are installed
on your desktop and then uploaded to a host. These are
usually desktop programmes that include hosting and
upgradation for a certain period of time and charge you a
small fee.
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You can get more information on blogging resources from http://www.blogroots.com/resources.blog.
Also see: http://www.blogger.com/start
Once you have decided what option you want for setting up
your weblog/ blog you are ready to start blogging. It is
that easy. It could take a while before anyone will notice
your little blog in the corner and take you seriously. But
you can cut down this time with some great ideas at: http://help.blogger.com/
offers some great ideas on increasing your blog’s
readership. There is a Chinese saying, “ It’s a wise
man who learns from others’ mistakes”. Read others
blogs to see what works and what doesn’t, what are their
writing styles etc. It’s a great way to teach yourself
and fun too…. you are learning on some one else’s
expense.
Guidelines for the greenhorn blogger
Here are some simple guidelines for a newbie blogger. Take
a chance with these to increase your chances of success.
1. Get Blogging: Like I said
earlier, the best way to learn blogging is to start
blogging.
2. Recognize your motivation:
Why are you blogging? What do you hope to achieve?
3 Link to other blogs: the
best way to popularise your blog is to link to other blogs.
So link you must!
4. Develop a unique style of
writing: Developing a writing style is an
evolutionary process. Try different approaches and formats
until you find one that fits your message, audience, and
personal motivations.
5. Express your personality...
let your humour, your perspective on life, and your values
shine in your writing.
6. Be regular with your posting:
readers will quickly wander away from blogs that are not
updated regularly. So this is very important.
More blogging resources are available at: (www.lights.com/weblogs)
How to profit from Blogging?
Now that you have understood what a blog is and how to get
blogging, its time to make it pay. Blogging is a great way
to enhance your online company’s bottomline. It is a
popular and an easy medium and has potential of reaching
millions.
Here are some tips for you to turn blogging into a
serious profitable strategy.
1.Customer Interaction: A
blog is a good means to keep in touch with your customers
regularly. You can keep them updated on new events,
happening in your company, new products and services and
other developments. the best part is that you can do it
more cost effectively and in much less time than other
methods like newsletters, customer updates and customer
meetings. The elements of interactivity, community and
collaboration are key here. Your blog can also serve as a
platform for advertising, promotion and even internal
communications. One well-known business example is
software company Macromedia's use of blogging to keep
customers updated on what's happening with its products.
2.Query management: With a
blog you can receive and answer to customer queries more
quickly than an email. For potential customers it is very
important to have a sharp turnaround and you can do that
easily with a blog.
3.Link to other sites:
Linking your blog to other similar, but not competing,
sites is a great way to get some free publicity and
traffic for your online business. It is also one big
reason why Search Engines will grab your site in their
result pages. Ask any online entrepreneur what getting
quality traffic to a website means and you’ll know what
I am talking about.
4.Get Feedback: Getting
feedback from your customers on your products and
services, on your company practices and other things is
one of the most valuable resources you can build. With a
blog, it is not just easier but also time saving for
customers to leave feedback for you without filling
complicated and mile long forms.
5.Get Google to work for you:
Selling ad space is one of the most popular revenue
streams for online businesses. With Google’s free
AdSense service it just got easier www.google.com/adsense.
AdSense allows bloggers to display up to three
content-specific "ad units" (boxes that can hold
up to four ads each) per page. Each time a visitor clicks
these ads, you get paid. Need more convincing?
6.Become an affiliate: Your
blog can become a cash cow by using the simple idea of
becoming an affiliate for other websites. An affiliate
basically carries a link to the other site and each time
some one clicks on that link, you get a small commission
for it.
7.Donations: If you are
running a blog that people love to read and keep coming
back in hordes, why not ask them for some monetary
appreciation?
Put on your thinking cap and let your imagination run
unbridled. You will surprise yourself with the number of
ideas that will make your blog less of a personal e-diary
and more of a digital cash cow. Blogging is a relatively
new marketing arena for webpreneurs, but has immense
possibility and potential. Be sure to get on to the
bandwagon early in the game and reap your benefits later.
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