Many, if not all, of us have heard the word “blog.” If you don’t know what it means, think of a diary. But instead of telling your diary what you did today, tell your customers different aspects of the knowledge you have about your business or industry.

People blog for fun (for instance, about TV shows) and others have created a rather lucrative living blogging (do a Google search for Perez Hilton). But did you know that a blog for your site can mean more business in more ways than one?

A recent WAVE3 report, a leading web company, states that 34 percent of active web users blog about their opinions on products and brands and 36 percent think more positively about companies that have blogs.

So here is a list of ways a blog can mean more business for you: 

1)      First off, blog for advice and not promotion. You have a wealth of knowledge. Share it with your customers and potential customers. For those of you who read this blog every Monday [plug], you may remember I talked about this here.

2)      Your blogging can lead to better search engine results. Keyword-rich blogs will help customers who search on search engines find you better. For instance, if you own a plant nursery in Michigan, you may offer tips on what to plant and during what season. You’re not selling your product directly to the reader, but you are offering advice that has brought the reader who searched “when to plant in Michigan” to your site.

3)      New material = More to promote = Happy search engine. It all goes back to content is king. Bring in new material on a consistent basis, promote it on sites like digg, reddit, StumbleUpon and more, and get people of like minds to read your material and promote it to their friends. When a search engine comes across your site, it looks to see if there is new material and it looks to see if your material has been linked to social media sites.

4)      Blogging leads to engagement. You engage your readers and encourage feedback or their thoughts by blogging. Interaction and engagement are two large pieces associated with social media.

5)      Blogging lends well to a Call to Action. Oh great, blogging is fun. But it sure doesn’t pay the bills because I’m not Perez Hilton or Mike Drudge! Blogs lead to business if done properly. At the end of each blog, as you’ll see shortly : ), have a call to action. Something that will tell the reader: “I’ve given you this information. Are you convinced you need my services or product?” This is where the direct sales comes in!

As promised, we have a call to action here. In fact, we’re offering a Ghost Blogging special (we interview you, we write, you approve, you post and we promote) from now until the end of October. There’s more information here.

For all of your social media, public relations, marketing and writing needs, look no further than JayRodChicago. We serve companies across the globe. Call us today at 312-515-9459.