By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

Mark Twain once remarked, “Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.” The same holds true for Blogs. Statistics show that Blogging is still one of the most effective ways to promote your company, expand your Internet footprint, position you as an authority, and generate increased website traffic, leads and sales.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

I’ll share with you some ways to squeeze more productivity out of your Blog, but first here are a few mouth-watering statistics by Technorati on the 2009 State of the Blogosphere.

• Over 133,000,000 blogs were indexed by Technorati since 2002.
• 77% of Internet users read blogs.
• 66% of bloggers are male; 75% of all bloggers have degrees.
• 61% say they blog to supplement their income.
• 72% self-employed bloggers want to attract new clients.
• 57% plan on increasing their blogging.
• The average to update a blog is 2-3 times per week.
• 82% of respondents post photos to their blog.
• 56% say blogging enhances their reputation in their industry.

Top Six Reasons to Blog?

Blogging does pay dividends, but like anything else, to get results you need to put in the effort. Ideally you should blog as often as possible or at least 2-3 times per week. Below are reasons and useful tips to make your Blog more effective and, most importantly, well-read. Blogging helps:

• Build brand awareness
• Boost search engine rankings and visibility
• Establish a relationship with your customer base
• Position yourself as an authority in your field
• Target your marketplace
• Acquire new clients, generate more leads and sales

Turning Termites into Sales

Next you need to create blogs that people will relate to and want to read. You are writing for their edification, not your own. If people find your information useful, helpful and full of great ideas, they will bookmark your blog, become part of your blogosphere even share it with colleagues and it will go viral. Here is a good example:

Let’s say you sell termite inspection and removal services. You might want to discuss how the industry is handling the consumer’s concerns about the environment and what effective alternatives to harmful chemicals exist to treat the problem. Once educated, a consumer will have confidence in your expertise, your technology and may contact you for an inspection.

In this scenario, you are satisfying the visitor’s need for information about a specific termite problem and then are addressing their concerns. It’s all about them and if they are reading and enjoying your engaging Blog article.

Increase Your Blog IQ

Here are a few more ways to improve your Blogging effectiveness:

• Read top Blogs in your industry to see what your competitors are doing.
• Track the Comments section read what your customers or potential customers and saying.
• Creating an open dialogue is the best way to be sure visitors will respond to your content. Always invite people to comment.
• Write “How to” and “Best Tips” articles.
• Break up the Blog content with engaging sub-heads.
• Use a resource box at the end of each article so people can contact you.
• Add photos and images, podcasts and videos. People like visuals.
• Don’t be too corporate and starchy. Write like you are talking to a friend. Add some spice to your posts. Be funny, unique, filled with personality.
• Reread your post to make certain it is written for the reader, not you.
• Get readers involved by adding a poll to get their feedback.
• People rarely read the entire article. They scan, looking to see if it is worth their time. Give them a reason to stop and read. Make an outrageous statement and back it up. Offer an opinion, be insightful. Don’t be passive or boring! Mix it up.
• Encourage others to post articles on your blog – guest authors, industry experts, customer comments.
• Utilize the social media like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin to promote and drive traffic to your Blog.
• Review your statistics to see which articles are gaining the most traction and what topics garner the most interest. Then write more of them.
• Use your keywords and of course optimize your Blogs for search.

Whistle While You Work

Following these simple guidelines will produce big results. And like anything, the more you blog the better you will get. Make it fun, informative and creative. Most of all, don’t think of it as work. If done correctly, blogging is a shortcut to achieving web success.

Comments anyone?

I also encourage my readers to add their own voice in the Comments section below.

The Web Success Team specializes in developing and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online marketing tools and proven customized social media techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site.

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