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Blogging Basics for Better Business

What’s a blog and why does everyone seem to have one? The word blog is an abbreviation of web-log. They combine the interactivity of forums and bulletin boards, the sensitivity to current events of a news service and the personality of talk radio. Over the past few years several free blog services like WordPress and Blogger have both fueled and been fueled by the explosion in the number and popularity of blogs.

A blog is any website that has a combination of four distinctive characteristics:

* Frequently updated
* Focused on a single page
* Linked to other sites and blogs
* Written in a personal voice

Because the majority of blogs are free and very easy to use, blogs can be started by anybody and on any topic. In general blogs can be divided up into three categories:

* Diaries -- blogs devoted to the day to day experiences of their writer
* Links -- blogs made up of collections of links to other sites, usually unified by some interest or aesthetic sense
* Forums -- blogs that have become centers of discussion on particular topics

Blogs are cash cheap but time expensive. Starting a blog, particularly for business is a commitment. Be prepared to devote however much time is necessary to writing interesting honest posts and responding to comments. The good news is that blogs are one of the most powerful ways to market your service or product. Not only do they dramatically improve your page ranking with search engines, but they also provide a human face to your business.

Most business blogs have three purposes:

* To establish the writer as a thought leader
* To drive web traffic to a homepage
* To increase PageRank on Google

How do I write for a blog? Blogs are not about facts. There are many accurate sources of information online, but blogs are not reliably one of them. Instead, blogs are about community. People use them to see what other people think and to participate in conversations. For example, it would be difficult to find reliable information about the current travel conditions in Sri Lanka from a blog. On the other hand it is quite likely that you could find dozens of blogs about life, food, politics and religion there -- each blog discussing Sri Lanka from its authors point of view. Consequently blogs are overwhelmingly written in a casual, informal voice. A lack of subjectivity (and humor) is perceived as insincere and, worse, boring.

Do

* Use "I"
* Speculate and give opinions
* Talk about personal experiences
* Ask open-ended questions (rhetorical and otherwise)
* Link to sources that support your views

Don't

* Try to teach
* Try to sell
* Give answers
* Be too serious
* Try to keep the reader from leaving the blog

Blogging is the easiest and most enjoyable way to build your reputation and business. Start an on-line conversation and watch your friends and customers come to you.