Syndicate Your Content For Search Engine Domination Local Business Blogging - You Do Not Need To Always Focus World Wide!
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Blogging is one of the most versatile tools on the Internet. You can use a blog to promote a point of view, meet others interested in a particular topic, or just share details about your life with others. You can also, of course, make money blogging.
We all know you can make money on a blog by selling your own wares, by promoting affiliate products, or through contextual advertising. But one of the hottest ways to make money blogging isn’t through an online business at all: it’s through a local business.
How does that work? Well, blogs are quickly becoming one of the best ways for businesses to connect with people right down the street. Because blogs are easy to create and maintain, they don’t have that high barrier to entry that traditional e-commerce sites have.
Here are some ways blogs can help boost a local business:
Brand Recognition: Pointing your clients and your community to a website or blog, is just one more way to get your name in front of them. In many ways, it’s more effective than a mail marketing campaign in that they come to you, interested from the beginning.
Search-Generated Leads: Increasingly, your customers are looking for solutions to their problems online. If you blog consistently and smartly, local customers are eventually going to find you. This becomes even more common as Geo tags and other technologies take off.
Social Marketing: Blogs generate a really personal connection between the blogger and the reader. Rather than just being a name on a shingle in town, having a blog gives your local customers the feeling that they know you, and they can trust you with their business.
Customer Lists: Through blogs, you can generate a list of sales leads. You can offer a newsletter, either paper or an e-newsletter, via your blog, thereby collecting a wealth of lead information.
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Very true, Cow! Blogging is great for small businesses. I have a funny, ok maybe not that funny, story about my small business blog.
I own a real estate appraisal business and started a blog to educate my clients, market and buyers about the appraisal profession. Specifically, my plan was to explain the process appraisers go through to pick comparable properties.
Well, I get into developing the blog, posting content and boom! The market falls out and the economy is in shambles. What happens?
The way appraisals are ordered was changed…dramatically. Before all of this bailout, let’s blame everyone else for the econonmy and whatever else, appraisals could be ordered by a variety of sources, ie banks, loan officers, realtors, home owners, and appraisal management companies.
Well, after all of this crap, now appraisals are only being ordered by the banks. Banks are using management companies, so the other options were shut down.
This leaves me at a crossroads with this particular blog because I was using it to gain awareness, educate the people, and get appraisal orders from this recognition as an expert in my local market place.
The problem is only banks are ordering the appraisals and funneling them through management companies, thus throwing out my niche and prospective orders from loan officers, realtors, and regular home owners. Feel me?
Sorry for the long comment, but it just sucks and I am not even sure if I should continue with this blog. Any thoughts for me?
I could develop my ebook on how to pick comparable properties and sell that. I guess that is an option and reason for continue this blog.
Aaaahhhh, anyway, good post and keep’em coming!
Freddies last blog post..Monday’s Motivational Moment: Urgency
Thats a tough call. Is the blog focused on your immediate local area only?
Well, the information can be utilized everywhere in the US market because it covers the basics of how appraisers choose comparable properties.
However, my appraisal range or license is local and can only be used in this area.
That is why I am thinking I can stick with it being education based, attack the Active Rain community, build my creditability, and sell an ebook.
I have the ebook or special report written, but won’t finalize it for some silly reason.
Maybe that is the best option here, huh?
Thanks for your input Cow!
Freddies last blog post..Monday’s Motivational Moment: Urgency
Good stuff Cow, when I saw this post, I thought you were going to talk about creating blogs for local businesses. I never thought about small business owners reading this blog! Duh…
I’d love to find some local businesses online!
Normal Joes last blog post..Joe and Jeni Show: Blog Orlando
Good article, John - people don’t realize the impact a good blog can have. My question - I’m thinking of hiring a blogger to comment on my new startup, but I don’t understand what to expect from her? For example, what type of qualifications should look for in this blogger’s existing activities i.e. current audience, blog reach, etc.? Thanks for the insight - there’s so much to this blogging thing that I don’t understand!
A LOT of local businesses and restaurants around where I live have already taken advantage of this method. They put up like a HUGE banner with their website link, which I’m sure drives in a lot of nosey people
-Mike
This is something I’ve really wanted to try out for a long time, but have always worried about the return on investment for the time needed to be spent.
Clog Moneys last blog post..Income Report
Timely post. I just bought into the DNA network, which starts today. It’s a nationwide network of local directories with blogging being a big part of how it’s promoted.
I see it as being a big opportunity now. Local search is only getting bigger right now.
It is very true then. I got my blog set up in my local language. Just recently, I make it bilingual, it is seems the trafic slightly drop a little. Most of my visitor before are local visitor. I believe it is tough to deal with non english spoken. Do you have any suggestion
?
Raja Kamils last blog post..Things you can do to earn money from blog (Perkara yang anda boleh lakukan untuk dapatkan pendapatan daripada blog)
Great post John,
And like Normal Joe, I thought you were going to post about doing blogs for local businesses…glad I didn’t delete the email
What I’ve noticed, more are starting blogs but really don’t understand how much time is put into marketing them. Just telling people you have a blog doesn’t give them a reason to visit it nor does it mean they will do any more than say ‘Yeah, what ever.’
I think for local business owners, know why you are going to start a blog. “Because everybody else has one” isn’t good enough. Then decide who is going to update it, how often posts will be made and what content you want about your business to appear.
Hope this helps and hang out with John long enough, you’ll learn about this ‘internet marketing’ thing
Georjinas last blog post..Selling More With Less Stress Wanted - NOW!
Good post it has made me think more about blogging.
I don’t have a blog at the moment but I am considering it. After some early results I have seen with changing the main page on my website and stating where we are more prominently.
Cheers JC