Tammi Metzler asked:


If you haven’t been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you’ve probably heard people talking about blogging for both business and pleasure. But you may have no idea what blogging is or how to get started. Well, I’m here to tell you.

Keeping a business marketing blog can do wonders for your business, both by driving traffic to your web site and by establishing you as an expert in your field.

I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s start at the beginning. What is a blog, you ask? According to Wikipedia.com:

A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

What does this mean for you, the small business owner?  Blogging isn’t typically a method to get clients now; it’s more of a branding practice to get your name out there. Search engines love blogs because of the fresh content. With that being the case, a blog can bring new visitors to your site, and your regularly updated blog content can keep interested visitors coming back to your site to check out what’s new. Eventually, those interested prospects will start to see you as an expert, and the next time they need what you’re selling, they’ll remember you. 

The hardest part is coming up with fresh content for your blog. You can’t write a blog post once every two months and expect to have any favorable results. There’s nothing worse than a silent blog, so if you think you lack the time to maintain one, you’re better off exploring other options, whether that be looking into other internet marketing methods or hiring a copywriter to take care of the dirty work of actual getting your thoughts down into writing (yes, we do exist, and we can transform your knowledge and experience into interesting content that will attract the attention of your potential customers). If you can commit just a few hours a week to posting at least two blogs (or if you’re ready to hire a copywriter to take on this task for you), read on for more information about this increasingly popular marketing method.

Quite frankly, a small time commitment each week leads to the possibility of greater exposure for your business. Which means more interested customers are stumbling onto your web site, which means a higher chance of sales. It’s really very simple!

But maybe you’re not a writer, so it’s not that simple after all. If you find yourself staring at a blank page when it’s time to write your posts, take a moment to think about the questions your customers regularly ask you. For instance, let’s say you’re a financial consultant and people constantly ask you the easiest way to create a budget so they can pay their bills and still have fun money left over. Jot down the top ten tips that you would give your customers and describe each one in detail in its own blog posts. Just like that, you’ve got your first ten blog posts. If you post twice per week, you’re covered for five weeks!

Don’t let that stop your creative wheels from turning, though, because those five weeks will be gone before you know it. Keep looking for new ideas, and be sure to write them down as they come to you. You don’t want to be stuck scrambling for new material on a moment’s notice – you can bet your creative muse will be on vacation just when you need it the most!

I know what you’re thinking…”Sounds interesting, but how much is this gonna cost me?” Nothing more than your time, my friend. You can set up a new blog in mere moments with no out-of-pocket expense. Check out www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com for a few free blog options. Yep, that’s right – FREE. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Or maybe you’re concerned about the technological aspect. Have no fear; you don’t have to know HTML code (or even know what that is) to create your own blog. The programs mentioned above do all the behind-the-scenes work for you, so all you have to do is start typing. What are you waiting for?

The next time you find yourself with the desire (or the need) to grow your business, consider the increasingly popular world of blogging to get your name in front of potential clients.

Happy blogging!

Jd Stratis asked:


Before revealing the beneficial reasons of the small business marketing opt in list, you must recognize the false beliefs that must be understood prior to embarking on growing a small business marketing opt in list. Being in the dark about small business marketing opt in list secrets will be a hindrance towards your profitting well from your business.

Realize that hardly any business people even use small business marketing opt in email marketing, much less build an actual small business marketing opt in list.

Small business marketing opt in list email is one of the most effective marketing practices nowadays chiefly because virtually all people use email.

Small business marketing opt in list email marketing campaigns can offend a lot of people. The ethical way to surmount this quandary is from practicing permission-based marketing. You will have infinite more success if you’ve been allowed permission from an small business marketing opt in list to email a person something.

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The truth about constructing a small business marketing opt in List.

Once you know the truth about small business marketing opt in list marketing, here’s how one can benefit from employing the power of email marketing campaigns – creating your own small business marketing opt in list. Building a small business marketing opt in list isn’t always easy particularily for those lacking the knowledge.

Here are a few tips on how to win with an small business marketing opt in list email marketing endeavour.

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Realizing which data to extract from your list will help you in lowering costs and/or make sales flourish. Systematically create a system that rewards your visitors and encourages them to provide the info you need. Overload of data is not good. Whilst establishing a small business marketing opt in list, only try to capture their name and email addresses. Make sure that the profiles that you gather are updated to aid in improving the relevance, timeliness and satisfaction from each deal you make.

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Maintaining proper records of your small business marketing opt in database can pose a problem to some.Opt-in Technology and quality sources should be employed in making this function of your marketing more controllable. The best quality groups of opt-ins with the greatest results should be taken noted of.