John Navata If I told you that five minutes after reading this you could have a web site up and running that can promote your online business, boost your traffic, provide better customer service, and help you make more sales… would you believe me? How about if I added that you can do all of this for FREE? Skeptical? Read on… I’m sure you’ve heard about one of the biggest things to hit the Web in the last few years — blogging. A “blog” (derived from the term “web log”) is basically just a web site — with two key differences: First, it’s extremely easy to add information to it. A blog is like an online journal, so you just log in, type what happened today, post it, and you’re done! Second, you can add a simple little feature that automatically tells a whole bunch of other web sites that you’ve made an update to your blog — every time you make a change! You may also have heard that there are millions of blogs out there… more than 28 million with a new one starting every second, according to blog directory Technorati. However, what you may NOT know is that a blog can also be a very powerful marketing tool for your business… And some people actually earn an income just from blogging! The fact is, blogging is fast becoming an extremely important strategy for any online marketer. An effective blog can drive swarms of traffic to your main web site Generate MORE product sales Create an additional stream of advertising income Be a great customer service tool … And much more. Blogs have an informal, conversational style, and readers can join in by commenting on each post. Blogs can be chatty, controversial, informative, opinionated, and often humorous, and it’s this “human” aspect of blogs that draws many people to them. But the best part about blogs is how accessible they are to EVERYONE. Blogs are FREE (or very inexpensive) to set up using services like Blogger or TypePad. EASY to use — you can literally create your own blog in less than five minutes! EASY to promote with all the new tools and resources that have been created specifically for blogs — like Google’s blog-only search engine, Google Blog Search. Plus, they are PROVEN successful promotional tools for both online businesses and offline businesses. In fact, every business person should have a blog — and I suspect that soon enough, everyone will. How You Can Use a Blog to Wildly Accelerate Your Online Success! The fact is, blogs are no longer just online diaries of people’s personal lives. Both online and offline businesses can use blogs to take their products and services to a wider audience — increasing their traffic, leads, and sales. Let’s look more closely at a few of the extremely powerful ways your business can benefit from a blog. With an effective business blog, you can… Humanize your business: Because a blog is much more informal than other web sites, you can write posts in your own voice and give your business more of a human face. This helps reassure prospective customers that there is a “real person” behind the web site who will take care of their needs. It also allows you to inject much more of your own personality into your online business than your main sales site could do. Improve your customer service: Your blog can act as a kind of interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and you to answer them. You can also provide product updates, “How-to” articles, and other information of relevance to your customers. And prospective customers who see your blog will be encouraged by your commitment to good customer service! Give your target market the information they’re looking for: With its automatic archiving feature — by date and category — a blog is a fantastic content management system. It’s easy for you to post new information on a regular basis, and it’s easy for your visitors to find the information they want. With a well-written, regularly updated blog, you can become a reliable resource in your industry, and build a following of loyal readers who depend on your content. These people will be your best potential customers! Drive traffic to your sales web site: If you already have a web site, a blog can give your traffic levels a real boost. For starters, your blog will attract new visitors that you can then redirect to your main sales web site through links and special offers. But an even MORE effective technique is to use strategic keywords and links to specific sales pages to dramatically improve the search engine rankings of both your blog AND your main web site. Build your credibility and establish yourself as an industry expert: You can give your credibility a real boost by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. It’s a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area — and allow your visitors to feel much more comfortable buying from you. Promote your products or services: You can actually sell products directly from a blog, or you can use your blog to mention new products and direct your visitors to your sales web site. Generate extra income: There are now several advertising programs available, such as Google AdSense, that allow you to monetize your blog and generate an extra revenue stream. There are many small business owners who are using blogs to benefit their business right now… with some spectacular results. We’ve come across farmers, PR consultants, tailors, CEOs, and many more who blog with great success.