Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am new at blogging and I could use some advice.  Yesterday I created a blog at: http://champagneestates.blogspot.com/  I just checked to see if any comments had been posted and there is nothing.  I am not sure if the lack of comments is due to the content posted or if I missed a step in the blogging process....any suggetions?

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Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

Nicole,

It takes time for users to find your blog.  Continue building quality content and users will slowly but surely find your blog and become loyal readers.  You also have to treat your blog like any other website or business.  You have to market it. 

Secondly, a blog hosted by a third party will never become a huge income generating blog, if that is your goal.  You would want your blog to have it`s own domain name.

Nicole -

I started my blog - bLog-oMotives - last October.  I don`t necessarily get a lot of comments - but sure get a lot of traffic to the blog, the my website (as a result of the link in my bio, and in my blog links, hits to my site have doubled since last October) and emails as a result of people going to my primary site. 

Just did a Google search and there`s 61,400 references to "bLog-oMotives." As Aaron mentioned, it does take people a while to find your blog.  I make sure the URL is in my forum signatures, email signatures, on my press releases, etc.  I also link to related blogs and sites - and they do the same to me.

Have fun with it!  - J.





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Jeff Fisher | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives | Tweet! Tweet!

Aloha Nicole,

Aaron is absolutely correct. If you`re blogging for business -- you need to have your own blog hosted on your domain. Ideally it should be on the domain that you`d like to get higher page rank and traffic for. That will help with your SEO (Search engine optimization.) Of course, integrating the right keywords for your ideal audience is a major help, but that`s a major discussion in and of itself.

WordPress is the leading software for your self hosted business blog. Best of all, it`s free since it`s open source. You can install it yourself if you`re familiar with FTP. OR you can have a blog that`s optimized for business/marketing use for $50-$150 tops.

You`re on the right track with your first post. You`re providing some information your target audience would find useful and engaging readers by asking a question. Good start!

As far as commenting, don`t get hung up on how many or few comments you get. When you`re blogging on a business related topic outside the techno-geek world your comments will be sporadic. But that`s OK. The goal of a business blog is to generate highly targeted traffic, to interact with your target audience, and take the relationship to the next level.

As Seth Godin would say, you want to take strangers and turn them into friends, then turn those friends into customers. I`d add that you want to turn those customers into raving fans too. :) And a well executed business blogging strategy does all that an more like no other online marketing tool can.

If you`d like more tips on blogging for business, check out Advanced Business Blogging. And if you want to really get excited about the marketing and influence power of business blogging, grab a free excerpt of our book being released in October -- Secrets Of Online Persuasion.

Enjoy!


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John Paul Micek
Business Acceleration Coach

Win more traffic, customers, & cash online. Grab a free excerpt of the hit book `Secrets of Online Persuasion`

Simple strategies for creating raving fans online at the Tribal Seduction New Media Marketign Journal

Hi Nicole,

We actually launched a blog this week and just like you we haven`t gotten any comments yet. Don`t be discouraged though, as I was building our blog I did quite a bit of research and found out that typically you need somewhere between 8 and 20 posts to start building momentum.

I`d also recommend utilize some of the social bookmarking websites like del.icio.us and reddit.com to build your intial traffic.

I made a blog entry about some of the things I learned in my research phase, perhaps it can be of some assistance. You can find it here:

http://blog.peersightonline.com/blog/index.php/2006/08/23/ti ps-for-launching-a-blog/

Good luck.

Andrew

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PeerSight, e-enabled roundtables for small business http://www.peersightonline.com

Everyone,

Thank you!  You are providing such wonderful information....keep it coming!  

This blog was my attempt to incorporate tech-friendly ways of marketing.  Plus the blog seemed like a fun way to engage people in a dialog.  I am currently in the process of building a "team" with another Realtor so right now I have two websites: my site and the team site.  I will have to check to see if one or both will allow me to link the blog as either a blog page in the website or as a URL link to the blog. 

 

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Nicole Champagne
Email: influencialexpectations@gmail.com
Cell: (734) 262-3730
Soar With Influencial Expectations!

Hi All!

Not only am I new to SUN, but new to blogging as well.  I was so relieved to read that I am not the only one who felt kinda lost out there in cyberspace!  The technical aspect is such a pain for me, as I almost kind of understand how it works but seem to mess things up a lot!   My personal blog seems to work just dandy, but the business one is another story.  I will perservere, however, and take some of the advice I see here.

Andrew and JP, thanks for your information, it will be very helpful for me and many others I`m sure.

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Lorie unfrazzleyourself.com Don`t Worry...It`s Taken Care Of

Aloha Lorie,

Great business concept you have with the personal concierge service!  Something  that many busy professionals and even house managers (aka; moms!) can use. We have a a client here in Hawaii and another friend in Boulder CO who both have the same type of business, and they`re both VERY busy. Best of luck with that!

It may be tough right now with you wearing all the hats of responsibility, but business blogging works very well for securing top search engine rankings for geographically specific services (and products too). We have many clients who dominate local search results due soley in thanks to their blogging for their business.

The big PLUS is that when prospects find you through an organic search they immediately get a feel for you, your style, and your ethics through your business blog (even if you`re outsourcing or delegating the content creation for your blog.) That`s something that`s just not practical with a normal website.

Enjoy!

JP


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John Paul Micek
Business Acceleration Coach

Win more traffic, customers, & cash online. Grab a free excerpt of the hit book `Secrets of Online Persuasion`

Simple strategies for creating raving fans online at the Tribal Seduction New Media Marketign Journal

SO I have to ask you something... where are you wanting to go with your blog?  Are you trying to increase revenues/sales etc, or just trying to meet friends on the internet to fill time?  BIG difference here.  Think about it... Do you have the time and will the time you spend doing this interfere with other more profitable ways to apply your time...  Once you put your name out there, success and failure is out there for everyone to see... perceptions are formed etc.

Not sure if "Dragginbutt" is being serious or not here, but the comments he/she shared are common misconceptions that business people have about New Media in general, and blogs in particular. Blogs may have originated with political pundits and spread by teenagers, but business people have a ton marketing benefits they can gain.

The power of blogging for business is multi-faceted and practical for even the smallest business owner -- IF they`re interested in:

   1. Top search engine rankings (we regularly maintain top 20 rankings for dozens of targeted keywords with ease. Students and business coaching clients of ours are matching and exceeding those SEO results regularly.)

   2. Steady increases in highly targeted traffic (A steady growth of  3,000 visitors per month is the low side of traffic increases when business blogging is done strategically. We`ve had coaching clients boost traffic as much as 3,000 visitors in 24-hours.)

   3. A growing prospect list (The money is in the list! Even on  blogs with a very tight niche we have daily averages of  7-8 new subscribers per day. )

And that`s just for starters. Branding, buzz, positioning as an expert, and more are benefits that come with a solid business blogging strategy.

New Media Marketing and search engine optimization both have costs to get results. You`re either spending  time or money, or you`re not getting new business. For most small business owners, business blogging is the simplest, most cost effective, and the most effective method for gaining top search engine positions and generating targeted traffic. The only alternatives are to hire "professionals" at $3,00 - $10,000+ per month.

And as far as time to do things yourself -- you don`t have to! Check out this article series that clears up this misconception about blogging for business, and many others: Blogging For Business: Clearing the Muddy Waters

Aloha!

JP


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John Paul Micek
Business Acceleration Coach

Win more traffic, customers, & cash online. Grab a free excerpt of the hit book `Secrets of Online Persuasion`

Simple strategies for creating raving fans online at the Tribal Seduction New Media Marketign Journal