Blogging today is as popular as scribing in Ancient Kemit three thousand years ago. The freedom of user-generated content automated support tools like WordPress has become a lifesaver for small businesses, and with good reason. Blogs give business owners and new entrepreneurs an opportunity to speak to the market directly, in their own voice, and under their own terms. More importantly, blogs gave the market a chance to talk back to vendors and to share the conversation with like-minded friends.
Business blogging is now a practice that seems remarkably simple if done correctly. This brief was written to help you increase your blogging effectiveness.
In the State of the Blogosphere, Technorati found that:
- 71% of bloggers are blogging to speak their minds
- 72% of bloggers want to share their expertise
- 61% of bloggers do so to make money or for business purposes
- 53% of professional bloggers aim to attract new clients
Almost all bloggers have found that blogs have made them better known in their industry as a result of maintaining and updating their blogs.
It seems that once an individual takes a liking to a blogger, s/he will use the blogger’s own website to reference, “iLike”, follow, and share RSS feeds and regular ongoing discussions. If you’re not consuming, you may still be participating, so while interest in creating a brand new blog might have waned, interest in blogging communities has flourished.
The argument for blogging is all around us. You may know a blogger or two. But, we know hundreds of bloggers that leverage their Community Network as a framework for how they shape marketing and outreach. And among those we know, we find that many simply enjoy the fruits of writing and sharing their passion. Whether it is the Artist who just wants to make a few cents off Affiliate Marketing or a local media agency hired to showcase a new social cause, blogging is an affordable way for entrepreneurs and senior medical care centers alike to become a respected voice in an increasingly competitive market that may be deemed, for some, a hostile environment.