Blogging: Create - Communicate - Capture - Convert

Whether you're writing as a way to express your thoughts and activities or giving away free tips and ideas - journaling as some might call it, aka Blogging, has been known to improve sleep, memory, and as of recently, made popular by savvy marketers, as a way to increase your bottom line.

As long as humans have been around we have always had an impulsive need to be with, communicate with, and share thoughts, feelings, and ideas about our every day lives.


By definition, a blog is: a "website" that is maintained by an individual with regular entries or posts which include commentary, thoughts, ideas, and may contain photos, graphics, audio, or video.


Communication has always and still is a 2 way process but as of recently, the way to communicate with prospects and customers has changed over the years.

Think of this simple fact alone when it comes to blogs - BLOGS create COMMUNICATION. COMMUNICATION creates TRUST! TRUST converts prospects into customers, clients, and/or fans.

Regardless of the media outlet, one thing is always certain when it comes to marketing - EXPOSURE! EXPOSURE! EXPOSURE!


So whether you are using a blog as a journal for healthier living or creating trust with potential prospects, existing customers, eager followers, restless clients or enthusiastic fans...

• Post Often
• Be Catchy With Post Titles
• Ask open ended questions (GREAT for Feedback & Comments)
• Engage in the Blog WORLD! (Comment on other Blogs. Subscribe to them, share & bookmark)
• Leverage Social Media as an outlet for your audience to hear your message (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, Digg, etc.)
• Use Images in your Post (Help paint the PICTURE)
• Optimize KEYWORDS and HEADINGS
• Structure your blog for easy reading. (Short paragraphs and sentences, bullets, numerical breakdowns, etc - Try not to make it dull, plain, long and boring. )
• Keep it SIMPLE. (What I mean is don't try to put fancy graphics and crazy illustrations in the background which take away from the main point of the blog which is the post itself. Make it easy for the eye to read) 
• Build your LIST early. (Your list will be the eventual money maker. Here is where you create TRUST with free e-books, monthly newsletters, company updates, special incentives and exclusive deals to give subscribers) 
• Have a MARKETABLE topic and show a great amount of interest on the topic itself. 
• Learn how to become a great influence, communicator and authoritative figure. 
• Think Different & Unique
• Use Video whenever possible (It is by far the most effective marketing tool to get your message across) 
• Link to your social media accounts on your blog and vise versa.
• Be yourself.
• Most importantly - Have FUN!

Blogging, without a doubt, is the easiest and most effective way to communicate with you prospects, customers, clients and/or fans.


Blogging keeps you in the loop, relevant and positioned, as the go to leader by providing the latest information in your field


Blogging makes it possible for your company to be found online and at the same time helps with online ranking.

So why not give it a try! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. No more excuses. Just go out there and do it. The best part about it all is that it's Free!


To help you in the process, below are a few tools, applications and websites we use to help make the entire Blogging process that much easier. Enjoy our fellow "DesignLingo fans".


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Here are a few quick tools which help you capitalize on readership instantly:

1. Social Marker: A tool which allows you to automate your account creation to over 100+ social bookmarking sites. It will take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to complete. The return when utilized properly is instant traffic and top ranked web placement.

http://www.socialmarker.com/.

  
   2. Feed Burner: RSS Feeds and management tool. An easy way to alert followers when there is an update to your blog without even being subscribed to the blog itself.

www.feedburner.google.com/

  3. Mail Chimp: Auto responder and email marketing integration tool. Great for newsletters, email list management and email blast Best part about it is that it is FREE!

www.MailChimp.com

 
     4. Share This Button: Easy way to share information throughout the web with the click of a button.

www.ShareThis.com

         5. Google Analytics: Track conversions, leads, click-through and time lapse. Know how long your  audience is staying on your blog, what post their reading, how they got to your blog and so much more.  FREE Tool - Powered by Google.

http://www.Google.com/Analytics/

    6. Tube Mogul: Tracking tool for online video viewership, statistics and trends.

http://www.TubeMogul.com/

7. AddThis: Make it easier for users to share your content. Boost your traffic and let others engage others users for you - All through the power of viral marketing.

http://www.AddThis.com/

Hope all this information was helpful and until the next blog ……

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