{"id":230,"date":"2008-10-21T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2008-10-21T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/2008\/10\/21\/blogging-for-business\/"},"modified":"2011-07-08T01:47:49","modified_gmt":"2011-07-08T05:47:49","slug":"blogging-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/2008\/10\/21\/blogging-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogging for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--CusAds--><p>Every single small business owner is an expert in their field. No matter what product or service\u00c2\u00a0 you provide, your customers do business with you because <em>you<\/em> are the expert in that\u00c2\u00a0 arena, and if you are <em>not<\/em> an expert, then they very quickly realize that and go\u00c2\u00a0 somewhere else. People trust experts, and when making a decision about a purchase, they look to\u00c2\u00a0 the expert to tell them what they need to know and to give them all of the information they need\u00c2\u00a0 to make an informed decision.<\/p>\n<div class=\"6bc5ccbe3d2ff567e8bb701db5576878\" data-index=\"2\" style=\"float: right; margin:10px 0 10px 10px;\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\r\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-3375789278566919\";\r\n\/* webstyle_inpost_300x250 *\/\r\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"4670586556\";\r\ngoogle_ad_width = 300;\r\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>For a small business owner who is just getting started, however, it may take some time and effort\u00c2\u00a0 to <em>establish<\/em> yourself as an expert in your field. You may know what you need to know,\u00c2\u00a0 you may have the information you need, you may do a superb job at what you do, but if your\u00c2\u00a0 potential customers do not know that and cannot see it, then why would they choose to do business\u00c2\u00a0 with you? You need to, essentially, place yourself out there in front of them and demonstrate\u00c2\u00a0 your expertise. You need to build your reputation as an expert in your specific area, which will\u00c2\u00a0 build the trust of your customers and potential customers.<\/p>\n<p>An excellent tool to use when establishing yourself as an expert is blogging. A blog is essentially an online journal. You write about whatever you want, it&#8217;s easy and simple to use,\u00c2\u00a0 and easy for people to read. This gives you a medium to communicate your expertise, as you can\u00c2\u00a0 blog about what you know about your product or service and provide useful information for your\u00c2\u00a0 readers.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if your business is selling salt-water fish and aquariums, then you would want to\u00c2\u00a0 set up a blog and write about the care of fish, how to set up an aquarium, what you will need to\u00c2\u00a0 get started, what kind of fish are good to start out with, what fish and creatures dwell together\u00c2\u00a0 well, and so on. Since your business is marine fish, you obviously know a lot about them and have\u00c2\u00a0 a lot of information to share, and you can do this in a fun and interesting way, and in whatever\u00c2\u00a0 style is you.<\/p>\n<p>Another example, if your business is a car repair service, then you would want to write about not\u00c2\u00a0 just car repair, but car maintenance, how to prevent common neglect and accidents, how to care\u00c2\u00a0 for your car after repair, how to choose a good mechanic and what to look for in a repair shop.\u00c2\u00a0 And the list can go on.<\/p>\n<p>Setting up a blog is easy and inexpensive. There are numerous websites where you can sign up for\u00c2\u00a0 free and create your own blog. They already have the tools that you need integrated into the\u00c2\u00a0 website, ready for you to use &#8211; you can start blogging almost immediately! You can add photos to\u00c2\u00a0 your blogs, you can allow readers to post comments, and most blogs have an option for your readers to subscribe to receive new blog posts via email or rss feeds. Google has a blog service that can be found at www.blogger.com. Another free one is at www.thoughts.com. For other options,\u00c2\u00a0 just do a Google search for &#8220;free blog&#8221; or similar keywords. These sites will give you your own subdomain, such as www.yourblog.blogger.com, which links directly to your blog. You can then give\u00c2\u00a0 this url out to your friends, customers, and include it in your marketing materials to direct\u00c2\u00a0 people to your blog.<\/p><!--CusAds-->\n<p>If you are not sure what to write about, or are afraid you will run out of topics, try some of\u00c2\u00a0 these ideas:<\/p>\n<p>Keep a paper and pen handy with you in your purse, by the phone, on the dash of your car, in your shirt pocket or wherever is convenient for you. You will find that as you go through a normal day, you may get ideas for blog topics. Write these down as you get them, then when you go to blog, you will already have a list of great topic ideas!<\/p>\n<p>Ask your readers what they would like to know about. Invite them to email you questions. Some blog sites may have a tool where you can create a quick poll or a short survey. Use these to get feedback and to find out what your customers are interested in knowing about your subject.<\/p>\n<p>Browse magazines on your subject. This may spark ideas and you may be able to build off what you&#8217;ve read.<\/p>\n<p>Borrow from other experts. If you run across another blog, or website, or an article in a magazine that you really like and would like to feature in your blog, then <em>get permission<\/em> from the author and post the article on your blog. Most authors will be more than glad to let you use their article as long as you provide their information and a link back to them, but don&#8217;t forget to <em>ask<\/em> first.<\/p>\n<p>Use your own experience. Do you have some entertaining stories from your experience in this\u00c2\u00a0 field? Do not be afraid to throw in some fun and humor.<\/p>\n<p>Blogging does not have to be tedious and boring, or take up huge amounts of time. If you are not a natural writer and feel like it&#8217;s too much of a job to sit there and write a long post, then don&#8217;t!\u00c2\u00a0 Keep it short and simple, or whatever is your style. Remember that it is <em>your<\/em> blog, so let it reflect your personality.<\/p>\n<p>If you find you simply do not have any time at all to do your blog, then hire someone else to do it. Perhaps you already have someone working for you who can take it on, or perhaps you know someone who would be interested. You can give them your topic ideas, or even use a voice recorder to record the posts for them to type out in the blog. Again, whatever works for you, your style\u00c2\u00a0 and your business!<\/p>\n<!--CusAds--><p>The world of blogging is a wonderful tool to use to keep in touch with your target customers and\u00c2\u00a0 to establish trust as an expert. If you take the time to start, you will find it well worth the while and will learn a lot from it as well! You have information and expertise to share &#8211; a blog\u00c2\u00a0 is a great medium to use to get it out there!<\/p>\n<div class=\"6bc5ccbe3d2ff567e8bb701db5576878\" data-index=\"9\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<br\/>\r\n<div align=\"center\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\r\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-3375789278566919\";\r\n\/* webstyle_inpost_300x250 *\/\r\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"4670586556\";\r\ngoogle_ad_width = 300;\r\ngoogle_ad_height = 250;\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<br\/>\r\n<?php if ( is_search() || is_single() || is_page() || is_paged() || is_category() || is_archive() ) { ?>\r\n<div align=\"center\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\r\nch_client = \"dragonden\";\r\nch_type = \"mpu\";\r\nch_width = 468;\r\nch_height = 120;\r\nch_color_bg = \"FFFFFF\";\r\nch_color_title = \"0094d2\";\r\nch_color_text = \"333333\";\r\nch_non_contextual = 4;\r\nch_vertical =\"premium\";\r\nch_sid = \"webstyle_betweenposts2\";\r\nvar ch_queries = new Array( );\r\nvar ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length));\r\nif ( ch_selected < ch_queries.length ) {\r\nch_query = ch_queries[ch_selected];\r\n}\r\n\/\/--><\/script>\r\n<script  src=\"http:\/\/scripts.chitika.net\/eminimalls\/amm.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<?php } ?>\r\n<br\/>\n<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every single small business owner is an expert in their field. No matter what product or service\u00c2\u00a0 you provide, your customers do business with you because you are the expert in that\u00c2\u00a0 arena, and if you are not an expert, then they very quickly realize that and go\u00c2\u00a0 somewhere else. People trust experts, and when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1350,1596,1348,1349],"class_list":{"0":"post-230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blogging","7":"tag-be-an-expert-blogger","8":"tag-blogging","9":"tag-blogging-for-your-business","10":"tag-how-to-use-blogging-for-business","11":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feverishthoughts.com\/webdesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}