Blogging is a new thing that I'm into. It started for me just four months ago due to the necessity of having to help one of my marketing clients set one up. Now, I'm addicted to it. But, it took me some time to feel really comfortable with the subject matter. I've agonized over what to blog about and when to fit it in. I came to the conclusion that my local community of Vernon, BC deserves to have more relevant information written about it. And now, that information can be accessible on the web.
But is blogging good for your business, even if you're a small business located in Vernon, BC, Canada?
Of course it is, as long as you enjoy writing. And if you don't, well you can hire a marketing company like Lava Marketing to write it for you!
Blogging is really just another way to keep in touch with your customers. It can be set up like an e-newsletter to go right into your customer's email in boxes. Where I find that it's better than an e-newsletter, is that the software allows you to categorize and tag the content so that, as it accumulates over time, you can sort and search it more easily. And so can your customers.
Blogging is also very good for search engine optimization. With relevant titles to your blogs that match your blog content, you can be found more easily in search engines. The more you blog, the better your chances of being found.
Publishing to a blog can be somewhat easy, with a small amount of training, or a little research. However, again, there are companies that will publish it up for you, while you still retain all control and ownership of the content and the subscriber system.
The best part.....is that it's cheap, cheap, cheap. For under $100 per year you can set one up. There are some free ones on the market, but I don't recommend them for reasons I'll go into another time. The biggest investment into a blog is the time to write and post. But if you're like me and you have more time than money, this may be a great marketing option.
cheers, Courtenay Pitcher