04/07/2011 DWC+ Teleclass: Blogging for Business: Say Buh-Bye to the Brochure with Diane K. Danielson

Blogging for Business: Say buh-bye to the brochure

What is a blog?

• It’s literally a “Web Log”

2

• Blog = Software that customizes websites• Blog post = individual articles within a blog• Posts = can be text, a video, a podcast

Captain's log, Stardate 9522.6: I've never trusted Klingons, and I never will.

Why Blog?

• Establish yourself as an expert• Promote your service or product• Distinguish yourself/create a niche• Educate potential customers• Drive traffic to your website• Repurpose content• Write that book!

Types of blogs: blog as website

Blogs: the backbone of social media

Target

marketYou

Blogs

Website

Blogs

Website

Who reads them?• People searching for your subject matter• People on social networks• Potential clients• Friends/family

How do people find blogs?

• One-off search• You market it to your audience• Someone links to your article• Subscribe via RSS feed

– In their email– In a home page like my.yahoo.com

*As of 2009, there were an estimated 400 million English language blogs.

How do people find blogs?

Blogs are SEO friendly

• Search engines love:– new content– websites with lots of pages– keywords in titles/links– back links (follow v. no-follow)

Keyword Success

Business Blog – Success Story

Business Blog – Success Story

But it’s all about content

• Find a micro-niche• Write like a blogger• Be concise• Include keywords in titles & content• Types of posts:

– Reactionary– Perspective– Educational– Lists

Blog hosting options

• Wordpress.org within website• Wordpress.com, Typepad.com, Blogger

How often do you blog?

• Lengthier opinion pieces/columns = once per week if you are sole author.

• 3-5 times per week for shorter items.• Group blogs spread the work.• Most blog programs let you pre-post.

What a difference a month makes

DWC website Dec. 2010 v. Jan. 2011 Results of adding in blog

Overall visits up 70% Avg. time on site increased by 1 min.

Direct Traffic up 71% Avg. pages visited increased to 2

Facebook referrals up 1,158% Bounce rate down 11%

Twitter referrals up 950% LinkedIn up 263%

Thank you!

Diane K. DanielsonNew Media Marketing Strategies

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @DKDnewmedia

www.DianeDanielson.com