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Last night, during a family “fun night”, the topic of blogging came up.  My brother, a semi-web-savvy guy, told of how he would post a new blog every day, discussing anything from something that occurred during the course of his day to a popular (or weird) news article; most of which all fell under the “online diary” category.  Mind you, this was back in 2004 when the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream.  Today, Twitter has changed blogging, but I see it as a good thing. It’s redefining blogging as an outlet for things you can’t say in 140 characters. And ironically, it’s making blogging more substantial. In the early days, blogging was dismissed as trivial and mundane and full of these messages about what you were having for lunch. Those messages are now on Twitter — among other things, of course — while blogs can serve as a public sphere for ideas and a place where people exercise creativity and self-expression.

Blogs were initially born in 1994 and since then, human interaction has never been the same. Now, blogging has come a long way since Brad’s online “blogspot” diary.  Whilst the activity has somewhat evolved over the years with the advances in internet technology, more and more people are turning to blogging not just so that they can get to share the things they love most with their friends and families, but getting into blogging and realizing that it can also be a very profitable business venture, and helpful for marketing/advertising/SEO purposes.

As I’ve observed bloggers from all walks of life, writing about every subject imaginable, and as I’ve taken the journey myself (for business purposes), I’ve found that there is an evolution that takes place.  In each phase of the evolution we develop essential skills, but without the courage to stay the course and go through all the phases of the evolution,  we’re unlikely to unleash the creative genius within all of us.  While people like myself consider what we do as “marketeing”, what the rest are really doing, (or were doing, like Brad),  is creating art. Through their digital footprints they’re attempting to create they’re own personal masterpieces and leave a mark on humanity, or on the internet perhaps.  

Today, blogs are the hottest growing medium of communication for businesses, and for an online marketer, blogs offer a powerful marketing platform. Not only do blogs enable marketers to gain a better understanding of their customers, but the content posted on blogs is much easier to find on search engines as well. Search engines love blogs because they love fresh content. Every time new content is posted on a blog, the blog site pings the search engines. This results in frequent search engine spider visits and hence much higher optimization and ranking. 

My brother’s 2004 blog is certainly a testament to that.  With just over 100 blogs wrapped inside a blogspot blog  that hasn’t been updated since early 2005, it’s still pulling and yielding 1st page, 1st results in Google when you search his name.   

For Businesses - it really is a very simple concept - You Have Your Lead on Hand.  What Lead, you ask? Your readers! Your readers are your lead. I say that because you already have a loyal fan base that trust you and are willing to take and apply your suggestions, that is why they subscribed to your blogs. Each time you launch a new business or service, your blog can act as that medium to reach to your leads. And I can almost guarantee that if you have set yourself as a reputable person and have been active with your readers, at least 85% of your lead will turn into customers without a problem.

It also gives your business life.  If you go to a store and find two salesman – one is your friend and the other one a stranger. Who would you buy it from? Obviously your friend. The reason is simple – people like to buy products and services from people they know. If you regularly participate and interact with your readers, you will be able to develop a relationship with your readers. This gives your business life. When potential clients and customers deal with businesses they would like to know who is behind the product and or services they are buying from. If you are able to have a healthy relationship with your readers, it gives your business a face. When you promote your business, people know they are dealing with someone they know and might have been in touch personally via email and other forms of communication. This is a huge benefit.

Personally, I think if you are going to promote a business or succeed online, a blog is a must. Creating a blog for a business isn’t a want anymore, it has become a need. A need that has proven to be of low operational cost and high yields.

Don”t have a blog for your business? Well, I’ll end with this generic rhetoric  - “Ask me How!”