Improving Your Web Marketing Results

By Chris Crum

Make them work for you...

Blogs and blog comments are great for a small business owner because they allow you to socialize with others within your niche, which can indirectly promote your business.

This is true for both your own blog and comments on others, but one thing you have to be careful of is a commenter who is out to make you look bad.

Sometimes, it is your own fault, and sometimes, they are just being out of line, but either one can be damaging to your online reputation.

It is often tempting to defend yourself in either scenario, which can end up turning into a "flame war" which is always annoying to other readers. This will also reflect poorly on your reputation.

If you feel passionately about your stance and can keep responses in a professional light, you can also keep your reputation in this light, but when your resort to insults, that is when it gets ugly.

So how do you control your reputation in such a situation?

First off, if you know you are wrong, admit it from the start. People will appreciate your honesty and accept that you are human and make mistakes just like everybody else.

If you feel that you are not wrong, but others insist that you are, the best thing you can do is provide as many facts and details that support your view and leave it at that. Again, if you keep it professional, you will probably not hurt your online reputation too much. You may lose a battle of "flames", but you can rest easy knowing that you are the better man/woman and know that others that see your comments will understand what you're about.

In the end, you're really representing yourself how you want to, and no matter what anybody else says to you or about you, you have the power to defend yourself and represent your business professionally.

On the other side of the fence, Small Business CEO points to a humorous article by Yvonne Russell on how to get other bloggers to hate you. Avoid these!

Read the entire artilce here: Improving Your Web Marketing Results

Show off your favorite blogs with a Blog List

Blogger: Dashboard

June 5, 2008 — permalink

Today we’re releasing a new page element for Layouts blogs: Blog List. The Blog List improves on our Link List page element by using blogs’ RSS and Atom feeds to show update times, post titles, and snippets.

Use a Blog List to put a blogroll in your sidebar, or make a few to categorize the blogs you read. The Blog List works well for any page that has an RSS or Atom feed, so you can get creative: link to news sites, podcasts, Twitter streams, search results, or anything else with a feed.

Here’s a quick summary of the features that a Blog List gives you:

• Link to blogs, web pages, and feeds from your blog’s sidebar, with an optional favicon
  
• For pages with RSS and Atom feeds, Blog List can show last updated time, post title, and a snippet of the latest post
  
• Sort links alphabetically or by last update time
• Show all links, or hide some behind a “show all” link
  
• Import subscriptions from Google Reader
  
• Blog List links are visible to search engine crawlers, so your blog’s PageRank and reputation flow to those you link to
  

Blogger: Dashboard

How to Create Your First Blog

I've been blogging now for about 2 years, and I'm amazed at the amount of traffic that I get from my blog and the number of people who tell me that they first heard about me from my blog instead of my website. The word blog is derived from the term "web log", or an online diary or journal. If the HBO series "Sex and the City" were being filmed today, Carrie Bradshaw would be a blogger as well as a columnist, I think. Why? As she experiences her revelations about life, love, and relationships, she could post them to her blog for the world to see and comment upon.

Blogging has opened website creation to almost everyone, as it takes very little know-how to get a blog up and running. In fact, many service business owners are using a blog platform as their primary website, with some of them creating static pages as you would find on a traditional website, while others are using the platform as a blog and are posting updates regularly.

Why Blog?

There are several advantages to using blogs instead of ezines or traditional websites:

1. Search engines love blogs.

The strategy that seems to be attractive to search engines today is regularly updated content. I can log-in to my blog at the beginning of a day and submit a post. Within 24 hours I'll get a notification from my Google alerts account that Google has indexed that post.

2. Content can be distributed quickly.

If you instruct your visitors to subscribe to your blog via updating services like Bloglines or Feedblitz, they'll be notified within hours of any new posts on your blog.

3. Little web programming knowledge is required.

Once your blog is set up, it's simply a matter of logging into your account, typing the info for you post, adding graphics or photos as needed, and publishing your post to your blog.

4. Reader feedback.

Your readers can give you comments and feedback about your posts almost immediately after you log an entry. Blogs are a great way to engage your audience.

Are ezines and traditional websites dead? No, because people consume information differently. Some are auditory learners and prefer to hear the info (great audience for podcasting, an audio form of blogging), some prefer to receive updates as they are published (blog readers), while others like a stable, stationary medium to which they can refer when they're ready (readers who archive ezines or bookmark web pages).

How do you begin to blog?

Here are 10 simple steps you can follow:

1. Blogging platform.

The easiest way to get started is to use the free service found at Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. The ability to customize your blog is limited with the free services, so I urge my clients to subscribe to Typepad.com, which will host your blog for you on their servers, or purchase a hosting account where Wordpress can be installed. The downloadable version of Wordpress is located at Wordpress.org and is free of charge if you need to install Wordpress yourself on your hosting account. I use Blogger.com for my blog, so many of my examples will relate exclusively to blogs hosted on that platform.

2. Name.

What do you want to call your blog? Blog names tend to be attention-getting and off-beat. However, for service businesses, I encourage my clients to use keywords important to their business when naming their blog. You will also want to acquire the .com version of your blog's name or your blog's name with the word "blog" attach as your blog URL. After you have set up your blog, your blog provider can give you more info about how to map your domain to your blog. (Note: You don't want to simply forward your blog to your domain name, as that impacts the URLs of your individual blog pages).

3. Look and Layout.

• How many columns do you want to display?
  
• Do you want links to static pages?
  
• What colors do you want to use?
  
• How about a signup box for a free giveaway?
  
• Should you use one of the templates provided or have something custom designed?
  
• Do you want your blog archives displayed?
  
• Do you want to be the only author or do you want to permit others to make posts, as well?

There are many questions you'll be asked in the startup phase about the look of your blog. A Blogger.com blog permits you to change your mind about your layout at a later date. The best way to determine the look of your blog is to look at the layout of other blogs and determine what appeals to you.

4. Widgets.

There are a number of widgets, or add-on programs, that you can incorporate into your blog. Check your blog software's site for more info about what features you'd like add to your blog. At a minimum you'll want to give visitors a couple of ways in which they can receive blog updates through various updaters, or feeder services, as mentioned earlier.

5. Comments.

The newest spam making its rounds online is comment spam. Don't these guys have anything better to do? Set your comments to moderated, which means that you have to approve any comments to your blog before the post goes live. You'll save yourself a great many headaches and time by choosing to moderate the comments.

Once you've gotten this far, you should have a basic blog established and are ready to begin to blog.

6. Blog content.

The time has arrived -- your blog is ready to accept posts. What do you write about? You can post content rich articles of interest to your target market, comment on a current event, answer questions from your visitors, present a before and after case study outlining how your business helped someone, etc. Keep your eyes and ears open for information relevant to your audience. I use my blog to bring forth info that doesn't fit well into my newsletter format or something that arises between newsletter issues. I post my ezine content to my blog, as well.

7. Posting frequency.

Blogs are just like gardens -- they need watering regularly and require some care and attention. For maximum effectiveness, you need to post several times a week to your blog. I try and post 6 times per week in my blog -- 3 posts are items I run across or comment upon as noteworthy in the moment, and the latter 3 are the contents of my ezine posted over 2 days. And, respond to reader's comments when they arrive -- blogs provide a great forum for ongoing discussions.

8. Blog traffic.

In the same way that you publicize your website URL on everything that you do, you can similarly publicize your blog. Submitting your blogs to blog directories is another way to get traffic. A very comprehensive list of blog directories, RSS Top 55 has been compiled by Robin Good, http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/. Searching out blogs that appeal to your target market and making comments to those posts will also drive traffic to your blog. Another trick is to post your blog on social bookmarking sites like Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, and del.icio.us.

The easy way to do this is with a Bookmark button, see mine below this post offered by AddThis.com. Another simple way is using a consolidator like OnlyWire.com to post to all at once.

9. Measure the results.

Some blog programs have built-in statistics so you can view details of your blog traffic. Some of the feed/updater programs have built-in statistics as well, or you can install a metrics program as an add-on to your blog. Review your statistics regularly to determine how much traffic your blog generates. Otherwise stick to the world leader and standard, Google Analytics.

10. Rinse and repeat.

Don't let the novelty of blogging wear off. Blogging is effective only if you continue your blogging efforts regularly over a long period of time. I know of several individuals who have gotten book deals from their blog and radio and TV interviews as well. Just think -- your blog might be your ticket to fame!

Every service business can benefit from blog technology. Few other marketing strategies provide the quick immediacy that blogging provides.

Six Total Myths about Blogging for Business

There's certainly a lot of blogging myths out there; myths that keep you from generating more online leads and building lasting relationships with clients.

The problem with these myths is that if they're not challenged they turn into conventional wisdom. If you've been looking to drive more traffic to your Web site and improve communications with customers, you owe it to yourself to give a business blog a try.

Below are some of the hurdles--exaggerated or imagined--I've heard hotel and dive centre owners use to avoid starting a blog, and real-world experience to debunk these myths.

1) My customers don't read blogs. I hear this all too often by tourism business owners who don't completely understand what a blog is. Now, perhaps your customers don't subscribe to any blogs, or they don't return daily to a favorite blog. However, if they use Google or Yahoo for search, chances are they stumbled upon a search result from a blog. Since blogs often rank high at the search engines, if your customers use the Internet, you can capture their attention with a blog.

2) Blogging is for teenagers to share the minutiae of their lives and what they think of the remaining American Idol contestants. While teens certainly took to blogging quicker than businesses, these days companies of all sizes and shapes have realized the benefits of a business blog. You wouldn't dismiss the telephone as a communication device just because your teenager spends hours each night on it, would you?

3) Blogging is just a fad/This too will pass. Didn't you say the same thing about the Internet back in 1997? Of course no one can predict the future and much of the hype about blogs is just that. However, it's important to realize that blogs are a powerful, easy-to-use communication tool, and communicating with customers and prospects will never go out of style.

Besides, blogs are an effective marketing tool today, so don't worry if in five years you've moved on to your next communication medium. If you've cultivated an active audience, they'll follow you to other distribution channels.

4) Blogging takes up too much time. I run a growing business, am National Coordinator of FIHTA DiveComm (Fiji Islands Hotel & Tourism Association Dive Committee), participate in a business-owners group, do a lot of writing and speaking, and carry my share in raising our two baby snakes. Trust me, I know all about being busy.

However, in the past two years of blogging, I've discovered that it's probably the most effective use of my marketing time. Blogging helps establish your expertise, generates loads of search engine leads, and delivers your message through three distribution channels each time you write.

As small tourism business owners we have limited time in the day to market our services; blogging provides great return on that investment.

5) Blogging is fraught with dangers, like people leaving negative comments. These days, consumers can vent their frustration with your product or service anywhere on the Web, whether it's a post at their own blog, a review at TripAdvisor.com, or a scathing YouTube video. If I had my choice, I'd rather have that conversation happen where I have home court advantage. How you handle negative feedback can establish your authenticity, and help you win over new converts.

And, if you happen to find yourself with a PR nightmare, you don't have to worry about letting the media tell your side of the story. By using your own blog you have unfettered access to anyone with a connection to the Internet.

People are looking for transparency and authenticity from companies these days, and your blog is the perfect tool to match these needs.

6) My customers don't read blogs. Hold your horses here... I have a strong feeling of deja vu. Didn't I respond to this earlier? Oh, you mean that you don't get ANY leads from the Internet? That they only use travel agents or go on advice from a friend? Well, then your audience and customer base is shrinking. The average tourist/diver/adventure traveler is much more likely to use the Web to search for a product or service, or at least visit your Web site to learn more about your company than they are ANY other medium!

If you haven't gone after this audience before, you're missing an opportunity of getting in front of a younger audience...your customers and clients of tomorrow.

And trust me, they read blogs.

The truth about blogging is that it's proven an effective marketing tool for a wide range of businesses. You can start a blog on your own through a service like Blogger.com or by installing a blogging platform like WordPress on your own server. Alternatively, you can hire a company to design, develop and promote your blog and get you up to speed quickly. (this is what we have done for many small and medium tourism products in the Fiji Islands).

Whatever path is right for you, don't let these myths keep you from giving business blogging a chance.

Blog Tip #8: Stick with your blog

Once you start posting on your blog, stick with the same domain or you could end up losing a lot of your traffic and regular readers.

Also stick with the topic you selected for your blog. If it’s about diving don’t suddenly switch to another topic such as fishing because you will loose traffic.

If you have a number of subjects you want to blog about, start a number of blogs. For example if you have a resort with fishing and diving, start a blog for each. Chances are their are 2 staff members who run each of these activities.

For example see Matava in Fiji's blogs on fishing and diving (note anchor text here):

• Gamefishing Fiji, http://gamefishingfiji.blogspot.com/
  

• Diving in Fiji, http://gamefishingfiji.blogspot.com/