Having an external Blog about a subject closely related to your business or organisation is a very simple and valuable thing to do. It will take time (2-3 months) to bear fruit but the sooner you start the sooner it will help.
How to start a simple Blog
- Decide on a subject that both relates to your activities and will interest your customers. For example, if you sell chocolate then it could be 'the Chocoholics guide to good things'. If you are an Estate Agency then blog about your Area - or one aspect of it like schools or shops. If you provide services for businesses, then blog about your knowledge domain. Just make sure that you blog about something that will genuinely interest your customers.
- Go to Blogger.com and create a blog. (There are others but Blogger is free, easy and also FREE!)
- Start posting to it. Keep the articles neutral, informative and useful. Do NOT stuff the blog with marketing for your business in every post. But do include relevant links to your content in context - and links to other informative and trusted web sites. But not your competitors - not directly at least! Try to post once a week and at least once a month.
Benefits: you will have 2 web sites now - one can be very sales focussed (your web site) and one can be more verbose about trends and issues and solutions or whatever. As the blog develops followers, so you will be able to steer some of them to your web site. You will also be able to supply your web site with some good links (which has a great SEO benefit). Read all of the Chilli Digital 101 for more benefits you will get from having a blog.
More information: To find alternatives to Blogger.com, read this article on how to start a blog.
The Chilli Digital "101 Online Marketing actions you should take before your business dies" is designed to help you get started with SEO, Email Marketing, Web site management, Social Networks and Digital Asset Optimisation. It is also available via the Chilli Digital Twitter feed and via Facebook. If you want to get serious about Online Marketing, contact Chilli Digital via 020 8241 8818. If the line is busy please try again later.
