Blogging is a fantastic way to communicate with your community on a regular basis.  It enables them to be heard and it gives you an open forum to respond. 

Blog technology is growing every day and blog sites are becoming quite advanced and dynamic.  Many new business owners are foregoing the traditional website and are selling their products and services on a blog.

Whether you have a separate blog or your business is based around a blog website, it may be beneficial to take advantage of this dynamic communication tool.  I’ve found that blogging can be one of your best business-building tools.

Before you start blogging there are important questions that you have to clarify in order to blog effectively and sustainably.  It would be helpful to write out your answers, envisioning fully what you want to accomplish.

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I am fascinated by the power of a blog for communicating with your audience and for gaining credibility in your area of expertise. Many of my clients want to create their own blog because they have a valuable message they want to share and great products they want to promote. I’ve personally found that my blog is one of my best business-building tools.

I want to share with you a few mistakes I’ve made so you can learn from them and begin blogging more effectively right away.

1. Publish regularly.

Often I’m asked, “how often should I blog?” Whether you post frequently or rarely is not as important and whether you publish regularly.  You need to set your readers’ expectations so find a rhythm that suits you and maintain it.  If you’re going to be away, write posts in advance and set them up to be posted automatically at your usual time. You need to maintain momentum.

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What is the most powerful marketing strategy in today’s online world? The answer – blogging. It allows us to create motivating content that helps us establish a rapport with our prospective clients. By blogging we build credibility, attract new clients and drive traffic to our services and products.

At my Metromom Online Success Telesummit, I learned a great deal from blogging expert, Wendy Maynard. Her easy-to-use suggestions will help an inexperienced internet user get started quickly as well as help others improve the blog they already have.

Here are some blogging tips that Wendy and I discussed:

A blog is a lot easier to use than a website. You can go to www.Blogger.com or www.WordPress.com to set up your blog in less than five minutes. It’s as simple to use as Microsoft Word, with additional plug-ins so you can set up sidebars with information that tells all about you and what you have to offer. As you grow, you can add other pages: About Me page, Hire me page, even pages with PayPal links to sell your products and services.

Posting a blog two or three times a week allows you to establish your credibility as you write about your area of expertise. As you write in your own consistent voice, people will get to know and trust you.

And with a blog you have dialoguing power—readers can post comments in response to your questions or comments. Instant feedback like that can help you know in what direction to grow your business.

If you use content that is keyword rich, search engines will direct traffic to your blog. It’s also easy to tie your blog into things like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.

As the traffic flows to your blog, you can build your list. The key is to have a free offer accessible from your blog. Wendy recommends placing a sign up box in the upper right hand corner of your blog.

If you don’t have a product to sell, be an affiliate for someone you want to promote. If you do have a product or service to sell, make sure you provide links to a landing page that will give more details about these products. As you write an informational piece, you can embed appropriate links in the content.

Blogging is one of the easiest and fastest ways to get your brilliance out there. I’d like to share with you the secrets I’ve learned in using this wonderful marketing tool. Sign up now for my Get It Done Action call, “Quick & Easy Guide for Entrepreneurs: How to Use a Blog to Build an Effective Internet Presence.” It’s as EASY 3-Part System that I used to create a high-traffic blog AND increase my list by 600% in just one year.

An interactive website encourages your website visitor to stick around so they get to know you. Since  blogs are very interactive, they give you the opportunity to authentically communicate who you are and what you have to offer so you can attract the right customers.

Let me tell you a story about how my blog helped me interact…. Last week I was at sitting in the waiting room at one of those less-than-fun (but necessary) appointments and I decided to re-read The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea. It’s a beautiful parable by Bob Burg that I’ve enjoyed several times and each time I’m reminded of key lessons that serve as the foundation for my business.

Fast forward a couple days…I had an hour’s break while carpooling my kids one afternoon and took advantage of a few quiet moments waiting in the car with my laptop and wrote a blog post about The Go-Giver and the key lessons I’ve learned from it. When I got home I uploaded it to my blog and within a few hours Bob Burg (best-selling author) had added me as a friend on Facebook and a follower on Twitter and was promoting me to his list. This was amazing to me and certainly the kind of interaction I thrive on!

Blogs are also easy and inexpensive to set-up and manage. Don’t have a blog? At my upcoming Metromom Online Success Tele-Summit, #mtmm09,  Wendy Maynard will share steps to creating a blog for the first time quickly and without spending any money.

A blog is a fantastic way to start forming a bond with your visitor by letting your individual style and approach to business shine through. Blogs are also great for busy work-at-home moms because they’re very flexible-you can blog daily or weekly, you can post long or short blogs, you can be have informational posts or entertaining ones.

You can also make your blog interactive by inviting the reader to leave a comment or ask for their opinion on a hot-topic. This is a great way to start a dialogue with your customers, find out what they’re thinking and start establishing relationships. Ideally, you should provide your blog readers additional ways to connect with you. On your “side bar” you can provide links to your website, Facebook and Twitter pages or newsletter sign-up.