I have heard of blogging, but what is it?

Unless you have been living under a rock you have heard about blogs and blogging. I cannot tell you how many businesses feel intimidated about having a blog – just the thought of writing for it sends them over the edge.

There is a lot of confusion out there about what blogging really means – even now. Very simply put blogging is a way of sharing information over the Internet for work, pleasure or both..

‘Blogging’ is the action of posting a message on a blog.

A ‘blogger’ is the person posting the message. Many blogs also allow you to put pictures and receive feed-back from readers.

WHAT ARE BLOGS ABOUT?

Blogs can be about anything. They are generally based on a particular topic or an individuals own thoughts and opinions. They often contain direct links to other related sites and are frequently free to operate. They require little knowledge to set up and are simple to update.

The wonderful thing about blogs is that there are virtually no restrictions on what it can be used for. It is a great way for a business to post updates and data to inform the public, employees or other interested parties.

If you are looking into become an affiliate for various products or websites then a blog is the perfect venue to tell people about these products and services.

IS A BLOG GOOD FOR MY BUSINESS? Are you kidding??

There is nothing like a blog to build your reputation as an expert in your field.

If you need to build better relationships with your current customers – a blog is a great way to post the latest information about your business as well as providing your customers ideas about how to use products and services you have.

If you want to gain interest from other media outlets or potential customer you would clearly benefit from starting a blog.

Most importantly linking from your blog to your website will create traffic from search engines and potential customers.

You can even add a subscription form to your blog so that interested readers can immediately be emailed when you make a post.

YOU CAN CREATE A BLOG FOR FREE!

There are many free blog hosting sites. If you are a small business you may want the convenience and ease of using one of these. If you search for free blog hosting you will come up with many free blog hosting services some of the most popular of these are.

Two of the most popular are:

Blogger

Word Press
There are others that are minimal in cost – and are preferred by many one such blogging site is:

Type Pad
Blogs are one of the simplest ways of establishing an online presence. Most blog hosts will provide you with  templates. They also provide easy to understand instructions for creating your posts along with options such as allowing comments from readers or uploading photos.

The wise decision of having a blog for your business actually depends on you. It does take time and effort but many business owners find it a great way to market their business websites.

Once you do establish your blog you will be amazed at how easy it becomes to post articles of interest – and updated information about your business.

With the popularity of blogs on the Internet it seems that you may be missing the boat if you do not at least check out what having a blog could mean for you and your business!

E-books are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of your e-book to increase incrementally. It’s obvious why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

The publishing industry, I hope, does not intend to forever banish the printed word to the dust bin of history. Books in print have their own special qualities and merits, and the world would be diminished by their disappearance.

Having said that, let’s look at what makes e-books so important and so unique. E-books have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums do not possess.

E-books production cost is inexpensive. Just think about it: you don’t need a publisher, an agent, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software.

E-books are easily and rapidly distributed online. They are also easily updated; they do not require a second print run. All you need is to go into your original creation and modify the text or graphics. Because of this flexibility, e-books can change and grow as fast as you can type.

E-books are also immediately obtainable. You don’t have to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and presto! It’s on your computer, ready to be read.

E-books are interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that e-books offer. You can add surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for customers to purchase your products or goods, sound and video that draw your reader into the virtual world of your e-book, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your e-book outward. The potential is virtually limitless.

E-books have a particular kind of permanence that other mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. E-books remain on your computer for as long as your choose, and they can be read and reread whenever you choose to. They can even be printed out and stored on the shelves of your traditional home library.

E-books have no barriers in terms of publishing. You don’t need to go through the endless process of submitting your manuscript over and over again, and then once you land an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands of dollars for printing a self-published book. All e-books require is a writer and appropriate software. Figure out your market, write your book, post it on your website, and with the right business savvy, your audience will come to you.

Finally, you have creative control over your e-book. You don’t have to compromise with an editor or the publishing trends of the time. You don’t have to haggle with a designer or wait for copy edited galleys to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control of the design and the text.

How to Use e-books for Marketing and Promotion

There are innumerable ways to use e-books to promote your business and drive quality traffic to your website. Once posted on your site, you can turn them into a daily course, which brings your customer back to read the next chapter.

You can use them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a survey. Put your e-book on a disc, and you will have an innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the disc into your sales packages.

The most effective marketing products are those that are unique. Copyright your e-book, and immediately, you have a powerful tool that you, and you alone, can offer to the public.

People will have to visit your site to acquire your e-book, which increases the flow of quality traffic and the potential of sales and affiliate contacts.

Make sure that you keep your e-book current. Update it frequently as the market and trends change. Add new advice and techniques to show your prospects how your goods or services can enrich their lives.

By constantly keeping abreast of new trends and techniques, you can continue to see profits from your e-book for years after your original creation.

Another phenomenal advantage of e-books is that you can test their marketing potential without putting out hardly any cash at all. You can even produce an e-book one copy at a time, each time you receive an order, eliminating the need for storage and inventory. By this method, you can gauge the saleability of your e-book, and make adjustments as necessary until the orders start pouring in.

E-books allow you to learn about your market and customer habits and motivation over a period of time, without risking your precious financial resources. They also provide you with an invaluable way to gather marketing information, which you can use in many different facets of your business.

Use your e-book to discover what the specific goals and problems are in your specific industry. Then figure out how to solve these problems, and publish an e-book with this invaluable information. This will increase the value of your business, upgrade your reputation, and get you known as an expert in your field.

You can extend the value of single e-book by breaking the book down into chapters for a serial course, into special reports available on your website, or into audio or visual tapes.

E-books can be broken down into several different promotional materials by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote your product. You can include a catalog in your e-book to promote all the products or services you sell.

You can include a thank-you note for reading your book and an invitation to download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a form for your audience to contact you for further information or with questions, thereby building your business relationships and your mailing list.

Using e-books in this manner helps to cut the cost of individually producing separate promotional materials. You can use a single e-book to entice new prospects and to sell new products to your current customers.

No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for expansion. Think of your e-book like a spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web.

Now go and create that web, and see how many customers and prospects you can catch!

Have you ever gone to a business meeting or networking event and collected business cards from companies you were interested in. When you looked at their business cards what did you think??

Be honest now…

I know if I am offered a card that is really unique or has a professional polished appearance I get a favorable impression in fact it adds to the credibility of your business – “this business must be successful”.

Sometimes when the card is designed really well I think WOW this is a great/beautiful card…

Do you think that makes a business stand out in my mind? Yes of course it does. Remember the saying “The first impression is the last impression?”

Let’s look at the flip side…

You go to a meeting and are handed a business card that is designed with clip art and printed from a home computer… What do you say to that – well in most people’s mind – even subconsciously the thought appears “if they can’t afford a professional business card how successful are they”?

Of course in my world, I would say “They need my services”!!

Everyone wants to be part of a successful business; if you do not portray success through your marketing material you are missing the boat.

How many people have not taken you up on your offers or investigated your website because they are turned off by what they see?

You may want to be frugal and cut corners on some things but business cards and marketing materials are not one of them…

Last but not least – those free cards you get from places like vista print may be great for you but can be spotted in a second – in fact on the back it has an ad for Vista Print and it should, after all they gave you that product for free.

This is twice as true when it comes to your website. Uncle Sal may be a wonderful man, and know how to put together a web page (after all it is free, or cheap) but I guarantee 9 out of 10 times it is not professionally put together.

Successful people who are on the Internet know the difference between home grown websites and a professional one!!

Remember You companies professional image will make or break your business. Everyone wants to do business with a successful company, if your image is less you are ultimately losing money.

Don’t squeeze pennies only to lose dollars. When you don’t portray yourself as a successful or credible business a potential client will not want to do business with you.

Don’t fool yourselves it is the little things that we overlooked that can create a negative impression.