Welcome to Session 2 of 7 sessions of your FREE eCourse, Beginner’s B.O.O.S.T.S. To Getting Found Online, valued at $97.
Session 1 introduced you to the proven B.O.O.S.T.S. system to get your website found online, and this session identifies some specific action steps you can take, starting with blogging frequently.
B.O.O.S.T.S. Session 2 – Blog frequently
If you’re like many small business owners you may believe that blogging is only for elite writers or crazy people who “spill their guts” about every tiny detail of their personal lives.
It’s not your fault if that’s what you think, because hype and myths abound when it comes to blogging.
This session reveals the facts so you can make your own informed decision about blogging as a marketing tactic for your business.
Why you want to blog frequently
Watch this short video (1 min 38 sec) to see why two of the worlds great marketers and business leaders recommend that you become a business blogger.
Video – Seth Godin & Tom Peters identify the pros of business blogging:
Godin shared these 4 advantages of blogging for business:
- It’s free.
- Blogging helps you to become more humble.
- The blogging process forces you to think about how to explain yourself to others.
- It forces you to become part of the conversation in your field.
Blogging is the best marketing tool Tom Peters has ever had!
I’m a big supporter of blogging as a strategy to grow your business, but even I was shocked to hear Tom Peters say that no single thing in the last 15 years professionally has been more important than blogging.
Peters declared that business blogging has changed his:
- Business life
- Perspective
- Intellectual outlook
- Emotional outlook
In fact Peters says that business blogging in the “best damn marketing tool I’ve ever had!”
First, what is a blog?
A blog is a place on your website where you can easily and frequently add short, informative articles or instructional videos about your industry, product or service. You do this via a Content Management System (CMS). All HubSite Builder websites have an integrated blog and content management system.
Why is this useful?
Three reasons:
- Search engines rank higher those web pages with fresh, updated content, making it easier for your prospects to find you before they find your competitors. That’s also why you want your blog to be integrated with your website rather than being hosted on a different website or public platform – you don’t want to split your search engine juice between two web locations.
- People who are looking for information about your products or services appreciate fresh, updated content also, and are more likely to revisit your blog, which leads to further search engine promotion. Search engines promote sites with frequent, relevant content updates AND frequent visitors.
- Your blog posts are an opportunity for you to establish your credibility as an authority in your field.
What content to include in your blog
Because your blog posts are an opportunity for you to establish your credibility as an authority in your industry, you want to do your utmost to display your in-depth professional knowledge and skills by sharing them freely with your readers.
Am I asking you to give away all your intellectual property? No, I don’t want you to ‘give the farm away’ but you want to give enough to establish your blog as a trusted source of information in your industry.
You can do this in the form of articles (otherwise known as blog posts), audio posts, or video posts. If your site is built on the HubSite Builder platform your posts can even be automatically distributed to your social media accounts (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn) and your videos automatically distributed to video sharing sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion etc).
Each post can stand alone or be part of a series. The main thing to remember is that your goal is to add value to your readers’ lives/business (depending on your target market) through the content of your posts.
Can you promote your products and services in your blog posts?
Yes, but keep your posts to a ratio of about 4:1 – four posts with useful free content to one post in which you make an offer of some kind to your readers.
How to blog for presence and profits
Blogging is both an art and a science and I recommend that you study the style and format of the blogs that you subscribe to for ideas that you may be able to adapt if you are just starting out as a blogger.
You want to develop your own style, making sure that it is friendly, informative and appropriate for your target market.
B.O.O.S.T.S. Session 3 – Optimize every post, page & picture
Look in your email In-box next week for Session 3, where we will reveal:
- Why you want to optimize every post, page and picture to get YOUR business found online.
- What search engine optimization really is.
- How to optimize your website and blog to maximize your search engine ranking.
- Tools to support your optimization options.
Until then, here’s to your powerful online presence,
The Hubsite Builder Team