10 tips for using your blog as a marketing tool

Lots of small businesses have blogs these days. People use these informal communication tools, sometimes called online diaries, for a variety of reasons.

In the business world, company owners and employees use them to develop deeper relationships with customers and prospects. I wrote a column recently on the basics of business blogging, which offers some starting points.

Once you have launched your own business blog, how can you use it as an effective marketing tool to promote your company? All it takes is a few carefully honed strategies and ideas. Here are 10.

1. Give your blog a chance by committing time and energy to it.  While it may seem as though everyone and her dog has a blog, that's something of an overstatement. Having one requires careful attention and updating.

   Yet simply starting and maintaining a blog through frequent posts and fresh ideas implicitly provides an effective marketing edge that is well worth the time investment. "It cuts through marketing noise and clutter," says Diane Danielson, co-author of "The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking." "Not everyone has a blog, so it’s still a differentiator."

2. Show your colors.   Although quality products and reliable service help your business grow, you as the business owner also contribute by underscoring that level of quality with who you are. Perhaps you're a knowledgeable expert in some area or have built a reputation as an advocate for your customers. "If you're not willing to let your readers catch a glimpse in your blog of who you really are, don't bother," says Donna Marie Coles Johnson, editor of the Indie Business Blog. "Share real-life stories that help your readers relate to you and the products or services you offer."
3. Write for the reader, not for you.   However important personality can be, what's of primary interest to your readers can make or break the marketing muscle of your message. And that means taking a light hand with blatant sales pitches. "If you write too much about your products or services, too much about your company, people will tune out," says Michael Keliher, public relations practice manager at marketing firm Provident Partners in St. Paul, Minn.

   "Focus on ideas that will make their life easier, their work more productive, their car run better—whatever’s relevant to what you want sell," he says. "Just make sure you’re focused on the customer."

4. Hold a conversation, not a lecture.   How do you know what's important to your customers? Just ask them. A blog is an ideal vehicle to solicit a dialogue between you and your readers. From there, not only do you establish yourself as someone who genuinely cares about your customers' opinions—a valuable bit of marketing leverage unto itself—you also gain insight into what your customers value.

   "If you’re writing good stuff, people will leave comments," Keliher says. "Respond to those comments, whether they're positive or negative. Be open to criticism, and respond with a level head."

5. Make it feel like "inside" information.   Customers are bombarded with sales pitches from every angle. Not only can that be dulling and repetitive, everyone seems to get the same spiel. A blog affords the opportunity to counteract that by providing readers with deeper insights that those who don't read the blog may not receive.

   Post news on upcoming speaking engagements, industry news and trends, and links to other Internet destinations you think your readers might enjoy. "This is a powerful way to build community with current and potential customers," says Kristen Marie Schuerlein, president of Affirmagy, a Seattle blanket retailer which started a blog in 2006.

6. Keep it fresh.   A blog is only effective if it's current. As a rule, update your blog every few days, even if it's just a modest addition, a response to a reader comment, or a helpful link.
7. Make it segue to your Web site.   By definition, a company Web site is more empirical than a blog, providing product information and other data which visitors use to make purchase decisions. Use your blog to bring readers to your Web site by mentioning specials, online-only deals, and other perks.

   Even a bit of entertainment can work, as Cary Goldwasser, PR director for The Crack Team, a St. Louis-based chain of concrete repair specialists, relates: "Our blog is home to company mascot Mr. Happy Crack, whose slogan is 'A dry crack is a happy crack!' For the most part, there's really nothing all that useful for consumers on the blog—except a good laugh. Still, it generates an average 400,000 hits a month."

8. Stay off the soapbox.   There are scads of blogs which writers use to vent on a host of topics. This is perfectly appropriate, except if yours is a blog geared to marketing. If so, stick to your primary topics and avoid subjects such as politics, religion, your personal life, and other subjects that readers may not be interested in—or worse, which may alienate them.
9. Edit inappropriate posts.   Since a blog is an open forum, there's always the chance that a reader may post a response that's inappropriate or even vile. It's a wise practice to get rid of commentary that doesn't fit.

   "Some bloggers apply the living room test: If I don't want to hear anything like that in my living room with my family around, it's deleted," says Ted Demopoulos, author of "Blogging for Business." "If the comment merely disagrees, perhaps even in a less than polite manner, it's OK to leave it. But, my bottom line is, if it doesn't add value to the reader, I delete it."

10. If the muse doesn't strike you, use another's.   Not everyone has the time or the writing skill to craft an effective blog. If you want to make the most of your blog for marketing, it's no crime to farm the job out to a professional writer.

    Just make sure the writer adheres to the aforementioned tips: consistency, an understated approach to sales, and perhaps most important, that the blog reflect the voice and persona that you would display if you were putting pen to paper.

About the author   Jeff Wuorio is a freelance writer, author, and speaker based in southern Maine. He writes about small-business management, marketing, and technology issues. You can find Jeff's business and finance blog at http://wuorio.blogspot.com.