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!

Jeffrey Houdyschell asked:


Business to business marketing online Internet style. This is not a new marketing technique. In fact, the design of having two or even more businesses help to endorse one another products and services is a tried and true method that has provided profitable results for most entities involved. Knowledgeable business owners and webmasters recognize the enormous value brought to their company by business-to-business marketing. Marketing online offers another dimension with enormous reach that will allow businesses to continue their networking efforts in the virtual and viral world that the Internet provides.

Lets say for example that a brick and mortar company like a dog grooming business will benefit and gain customers from displaying advertisements at the local veterinarian offices. Dog owners, who trust these veterinarians are more likely to take their pets for a professional grooming to a business recommended by an already trusted establishment, like their local vet. On the other hand, the clients of the dog grooming business will be most likely those who need a veterinarian for their pets, and they will most likely trust the vet suggested by the professional grooming business who already has an reputable relationship with them. The same concept applies to business-to-business marketing; The Internet simply adds a new aspect to this method.

If the local pet grooming business and the veterinarian both have a website it will permit for further business-to-business marketing, Internet style. Since the services provided by the pet grooming business and veterinarian only tangentially overlap, they are not in direct competition with one another, but instead will be able to do business-to-business marketing online in the truest sense of the term.

These businesses could then continue with this business-to-business marketing method with other related businesses. For example the Pet grooming business could establish a relationship with pet magazines, animal shelters and other groups that are not in direct competition with each other.

This form of business-to-business marketing has become commonplace online and savvy webmasters and business owners have been taking advantage of this viral marketing method in many different forms. Website owners will cross promote each other’s products, services and business opportunities to each others subscribers lists in an email marketing campaign. Or just place ads on each other’s websites.

Finding these business-to-business marketing opportunities are not as hard as you would think. Perhaps you are starting a new website promoting your own type of network marketing opportunity and need a professionally designed website. The design company you hire to design your website could benefit from new people you recruit into your new business. Just as you could benefit from people looking for website design that need a business to promote on their new website.

So now you have your new network marketing website designed and need to add content to it. You then hire a ghost writer, establish a relationship and before you know it they are sending you prospects and you in turn send them back to first the website design company and then to the ghost writer. All of related but non-competing businesses start benefiting from the viral nature of business-to-business marketing online. Next you need your site optimized for the search engines, OK, OK, I’ll stop now, but you get the picture right?

These are highly viral and lucrative methods that all involved can benefit from. The next time that you do business with another business remember to look for the business-to-business marketing opportunity.