Blogging is a concept that started in late 90s. It used to be a way to comment on an existing webpage, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice out one’s opinion on the said page. What started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal take on just about anything and everything under the sun. As it continues to move forward, online advertising has tapped into the blog’s potential. 

Here are 5 reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing tool. 

1. Blogging is simple. The simplest way to get your piece on the net is through blogging.  No skills are necessary… an average adult can read and type, or at least click a mouse.  It’s like having a virtual piece of paper and you just write your ideas, experiences, new products, and hope that the truth behind your articles comes out and entice your reader to also try your product.  If you have a PC and an Internet connection (who doesn’t?) then you can blog and advertise.

2. Blogging is authentic. In this day and age where advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters’ claims. However, in blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, unscathed by paid advertising. Reading blogs about first-hand product use is like talking to people about their first-hand experience. You definitely want to buy a tried and tested product.

3. Blogging is free. Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free.  Any opportunity for free Web time is definitely a bonus especially to businesses that are starting up. Needless to say, paid blog pages can generate more income for your seriously growing business.

4. Blogging builds credibility. As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs. As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.

5. Blogging builds your market. Unless you are a Hollywood star, chances are, only your Mom reads your posts. Mom has a lot of friends, so she lets her friends know how interesting your blog site is. But you need not depend on Mom to increase your readership base. Look into the following ways to build your market through blogging:

-By using your e-mail. Today, blogging is overcoming the e-mail’s popularity in quickly and effectively reaching and expanding a market. In this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading e-mail is simply taking longer than clicking into a blog site. Let them explore your site by using a short e-mail message as teaser to your blog site.  If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site.

-By using subscription. An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blog site. Keep some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address. Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.

-By understanding your readers. Conduct a simple survey for your readers to understand their profile and advertising preferences. Ask consumers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a trial that you shared. In this way, it is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview.

-By joining a blog network. A network of blogs maybe a collection of blog sites that share the same industry, interest, readership base, payment mode, etc. Consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject. Clearly, more bloggers are better than one.

-By using RSS. RSS is the fastest growing technology on the Internet today. As such, having RSS feeds to your blog is definitely another means of generating awareness for your readership base. Having a variety of feeds can add interest to your blog site. 

Give your business a boost by effectively using blogging as an Internet marketing tool.

My business for almost 30 years has been writing and publishing newsletters. As you might imagine, I spend a great deal of time writing. Like most things, doing it a lot tends to make you better. As I have mentioned at least a few times in this blog, I read TONS of books. Reading also makes you a better writer.  As a blogger, I visit and read a lot of blogs and one of the things I notice is that many focus on what to do. In this entry I want to focus on some of the things that you should avoid as you produce a customer newsletter for your business. By the way, I think I will list some of the blogs that I visit in a future posting, so keep coming back.  Here are Four Critical Mistakes You MUST Avoid! 

1. Not providing contact information — It’s hard to believe, but I have seen this too many times! If you’re going to take the time to create a great marketing tool such as a customer newsletter, don’t forget to tell your readers how to contact you!
2. Forgetting it’s not about you — There is always a big temptation when you start writing your newsletter to write about what is in your mind or what’s important in your world. WRONG! If your customers are going to read and enjoy your newsletter, and therefore read it again and again, it must contain information and content that is important to them.
3. Not enough pictures — One of the quickest ways to get your newsletter NOT READ is to load it up with tons of text and no pictures. I often joke with my clients about my patented (just kidding) rule of thumb for readability. Here it is: if people look at your newsletter and quickly determine that it can be read in ten minutes or less, chances are it will probably get read — otherwise it won’t. It will likely go into the pile of things that someone intends to read but probably never will.
4. Lack of distinctive personality — For heaven’s sake, don’t be boring! People get enough boring marketing messages thrown at them every day. Give your newsletter some personality. Make your readers feel a part of something fun and unique. Trust me on this; your readers will look forward to every newsletter if they learn something, are entertained, and crack a smile!

To learn more secrets about writing and publishing a newsletter, get a copy of my book, The Magic of Newsletter Marketing, the Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life by clicking here.

If writing and publishing a newsletter seems like a daunting experience, then check out my wildly popular ‘Done-for-You’ newsletter program called Success Advantage. It is truly a No Hassle Newsletter!

In this blog posting I want to talk about one of the things that makes a great newsletter - the all-important topic of content.  Great newsletters are newsletters that customers love to read. Here are the important points about the kind of writing that customers love.  

Customers love stories. Don’t just describe what you do. Demonstrate your benefits for the customer by telling them about someone like them who succeeded because they purchased your product or service.  

Customers love to learn new things. You’re the expert on your business and what you do. Tell them about new developments. Introduce them to new products or services. Offer them articles that help them learn. 

Customers love a little humor. Just because newsletters are serious business doesn’t mean you should be long-faced and serious all the time. Lighten your message with gentle humor. 

Customers don’t want to work hard to get value from your newsletter. The best newsletter writing is like the best writing anywhere. It’s simple and easy to read.  I’ve been producing newsletters for nearly thirty years for clients in just about every industry.

Whether it’s working with my private corporate clients in Dynamic Communication (http://www.dynamiccommunication.net ), or producing my nationally famous No Hassle Newsletters (http://www.nohasslenewsletters.com), I can tell you that following these rules is not always easy.  Sometimes it is just too easy for companies to take some copy from other marketing sources and drop in the newsletter – just to get it done. The problem with this approach is that your newsletter reads like just another marketing piece. This is a sure fire way for your newsletter to therefore receive the same treatment – which is usually a fast trip to the circular file!    

Aside from the overall appearance (emphasizing the importance of a first impression), nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly written headline. The vast majority of your newsletter’s readers will scan the newsletter and read the headlines first. I can’t overstate the importance of writing good headlines.  

A well-written headline will tell the reader what the point of the article is. Your headlines need to contain positive, strong action words – the shorter and simpler, the better. 

Unfortunately, I see too many writers try to be cute or clever when writing headlines. Many of our major metropolitan newspapers do so every day – perhaps giving the impression that this is acceptable! Let me remind you that you have but a few seconds to grab the attention of your readers and make them want to read your newsletter. I strongly believe that 99 percent of the time, “cute” will not close the sale. 

Here are three things that a headline should do:

Grab Attention – Simply put, the headline must stop the readers in their tracks and cause them to read further.Tell the Story – A well-written headline tells readers right away what a story is about.   Enhance the Page – The headlines on a page should all work together to help you close the sale. In this case, the “sale” is merely getting your readers to agree that giving up five or ten minutes of their time to read your newsletter is a worthwhile decision. 
 
Here are five tips to help you write great headlines:

1. Use active voice.
2. Use present tense.
3. Use short, descriptive words.
4. Make positive statements.
5. Avoid abbreviations and jargon. 

Finally, you may want to avoid using consistent headlines for recurring articles, instead varying the headlines according to the theme. For example, if you must have a “President’s Column” or something equivalent, change the headline with each issue to reflect the important message of the individual article. Learn more about this topic in my book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed – How to Use a Newsletter to Make Your Profits Soar.