Make Your Blog a "Must Read"

It's almost hard to believe that a little less than a decade

ago, you could actually keep up with the blogosphere. In the

years between the dot-com bust and the Web 2.0 explosion,

you could count the number of blogs devoted to, say, music

or movies on one or two hands. A few years ago, as blogging

exploded across the Internet, many companies saw an in-house

blog as a cheap and easy way to promote their businesses.

The social media sphere quickly became glutted, however,

with some pundits now arguing that there may be "too many"

blogs. Some companies have even begun cutting blogs and

professional bloggers from their budgets, as online ad sales

shrink due to poor economic conditions. Even if you're

targeting a niche audience, now could be a critical time to

see if you're doing all you can to make your blog stand out

from the pack.

Readers are savvy enough to spot a blog that's little more

than a promotional tool for a company. Unless readers are

already interested in your products or services, they won't

be adding your company's blog to their bookmarks or RSS

reader simply to read bland product announcements or

company-related news. Even as budgets shrink and competition

for readers' eyes becomes fierce, you have to treat your

blog less as an advertising dump, and more as a venue for

original content -- one that happens to be attached to the

website that sells your product or service.

Entertaining and informative posts are your best bets for

hooking readers, keeping them coming back, and hopefully

converting them to customers. Readers become attached to

blogs because of their unique, idiosyncratic voices --

especially when they're humorous voices unafraid to share

controversial opinions. If your readers are receiving a

daily dose of industry editorializing, plus a side of jokes,

it will certainly help your blog stand out from the hundreds

of boring blogs that are content to cut and paste dry press

releases or that offer up a list of links without any

original content.

Many companies and entrepreneurs are afraid to offer up

public opinions about the state of their industries, current

events, or even popular culture. But you want your blog to

develop a community of commenters, eager to discuss your

posts. "Safe" posts or bland news items won't spark much

debate in your comments box. If you can't afford to hire an

outside blogger, see if someone on staff has a knack for

witty, attention-grabbing prose. With time and the right

blogger, your readers may be doing half your work for you,

attracting new readers and maintaining lively comments-box

back-and-forth.

But how do you attract those commenters in the first place?

Well, are you taking advantage of all the cheap/free

marketing opportunities offered in the social media sphere?

Do you have a Facebook group or MySpace page devoted to your

company? Links, or even whole blog posts, can easily be

posted to social media groups and pages. Does your company

have a Twitter account? Customers "following" your Twitter

account can receive instant notification of new blog

updates.

If your company already has a list of opt-in subscribers who

want to receive email or snail mail news updates about your

company, you can send out an invitation to them to join that

Facebook group or follow your company's Twitter updates. You

can also send them regular links to posts of interest on

your blog. (And if your company doesn't have an opt-in list

of email subscribers, now is the time to start building one,

via online submissions forms, advertising circulars, or

in-store sign-up sheets for brick-and-mortar businesses.)

Make sure the person in charge of your blog is also

commenting on other blogs and developing online

relationships with other bloggers; a quick link to your blog

in a comments box or a friendly bit of reciprocal

link-swapping can send more new readers your way than you

might think. News aggregators, though they're often

dependent on readers re-posting your blog updates to sites

like Digg, are also valuable. Adding buttons and links to

news aggregator and social networking sites like Digg,

Stumbleupon, and others to your blog will certainly help the

process along.

While newspapers may be in dire straits and magazines may be

folding, don't discount the role traditional media can play

in promoting your blog. While a press release about a new

blog isn't going to attract quite as much attention as it

might have a few years ago, a press release about a new

feature like a podcast, a blog-only promotion or giveaway,

or a major overhaul to your online presence is still a very

worthwhile expenditure. Make sure a brief mention of your

blog and its unique content goes in the "About" section of

every press release you send out, regardless of what news

you are announcing.

Despite the industry doomsayers, blogs are still a valuable

promotional tool for any company. With more blogs debuting

every day, however, they're not quite as effortless as they

once seemed. With a strong, unique blogging voice, and a

little extra work promoting your blog around the web and

beyond, you can help prevent being buried in the blogalanche.

Keep rockin',

Mickie Kennedy
Founder, eReleases.com
CEO, eReleases.com & Press-Release-Writing.com

http://www.ereleases.com
http://www.press-release-writing.com

Toll Free: 800.990.5545
Phone: 410.931.2966

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