If you aren’t already blogging you need to be. Furthermore, you need to blog within the niches for the products that you are promoting. For instance, if you are promoting cat care products and gardening supplies, you need a blog for cats, and a blog for gardening. Blogs have become very useful and effective marketing tools.
Not only are blogs effective, if you look around, you will find that everybody is blogging. Some marketers think that blogging may be a waste of time simply because everyone else is doing it. This isn’t the case. It is because everybody else is doing it that you should blog as well. The exposure that you will receive from blogging is astounding, and it can even become viral.
Point 9: You Need A BlogBlogging software is usually available with webhosting accounts. You should definitely have webhosting for the domain name that you should also have. You can typically install blog software with the click of your mouse in this case.
You can also get a free blog account at hosted sites such as Blogger at www.blogger.com . Some marketers have a blog hosted on their website, and an identical blog hosted at a hosted blog site. This way, they are providing links to their website every time they make a blog entry, which enhances search engine optimization.
If possible, add a new blog entry every single day. If you just cannot do that, make sure that you post at the very least once a week, or a few times a week. The more often you post, the more exposure your blog will receive.
One way to find something to write about is to visit other people’s blogs, or to read industry trade magazines. For instance, if you are promoting cat products, you might get blog ideas from Cat Channel, which is an online cat magazine, as well as from cat blogs that have a lot of readers.
Forums about cats may also give you lots of writing ideas. Another option is to use the same method that you use with writing content for your list. Hire a ghostwriter to blog for you. Many people do this, and your blogger will be adding content on a regular basis, coming up with appropriate topics for your affiliate links, as you specify. This will free up your time considerably.
Point 10: You Need Blog ReadersJust as a website won’t do you any good with visitors, a blog won’t do you any good without readers. However, getting blog readers is often easier than getting website visitors. There are several ways to go about this.
First, make sure that each time you make a blog entry, you ping the blog. You can do this by going to Ping-O-Matic at http://pingomatic.com . Also, make sure that your blog has RSS capabilities. This will allow readers to load your blog in their newsreader, and it will also allow them to syndicate what you write on their own websites, which gives you more exposure.
Read and contribute to other blogs! This is vital if you want to succeed with blogging. Blogging itself is a community – no matter what the topic is. For instance, if you have a blog about cats, you should visit other people’s cat blogs. Read the posts, and when you can, add a comment that is relevant to the post, and link to one of your blog posts that is also relevant. Avoid blog spamming!
Alternately, you should quote other people’s blogs and provide Trackback links in your own blog posts. Those Trackbacks will appear on the other person’s blog, leading back to your own blog.
List your blog in the search engines! You should only need to do this once, as spiders will then crawl your blog regularly and will find and index your blog entries. Even though you will be pinging the blog directories, you should also visit the directories initially to get your blog listed there as well.
Look for sites that allow you to add a link to your website, and list your blog and your website. Look specifically for sites that relate to your topic. A reciprocal link may be required, but you can easily do this with software that is provided by your hosting company.
Finally, put the link to your blog in your signature file. When you post to newsgroups and forums, and when you send email, make sure that you include that signature file!
Just remember, it is easier to promote a website than it is to promote a product, and it is easier to promote a blog than it is to promote a website. For this reason, make blogging a priority, and you will be astounded at the results.
Point 11: Do Not Leave Money On The TableYou can profit with your blog in more than one way. The first way is to get readers to your site to read your sales letter, or to your affiliate site. Unfortunately, many people leave it at that, not using the blog for any other purpose. They are leaving money on the table!
First, add Google AdSense to your blog. You will profit from clicks on the ads, and there is no reason not to do this. Remember, the important thing is that profit is made, and it ends up in your pocket. You should have one Google AdSense unit on the border of your page, and then paste in the code for each blog post as well.
Add affiliate banners around the borders of your blog. Don’t use annoying banners, and make sure that all affiliate programs are relevant to your main topic. Also, promote affiliate programs within your blog posts, using your affiliate links or directing the visitor to your sales page. When doing this, however, make sure that the post is informative. Avoid just posting an advertisement as a blog entry.
If your blog becomes very popular with a high readership, sell advertising to other people on your blog! It may take a long time to get to this point, but with time and effort, you will get there.
Always be on the lookout for ways to profit from your blog. Use every opportunity for profit as it presents itself. Just remember that while people like to buy, they do not like to be sold to. Use your blog to inform people about your niche, and also use it to build a relationship with your readers.
Once the relationship is established, and you’ve proven yourself to be an expert in your niche, you can easily make recommendations to your readers, and your most loyal followers will buy the product – solely based on your recommendation. This is very powerful.
Think about this. Is it better to market to a huge list or readership of people who really aren’t all that interested in what you are saying, much less in what you are selling – or is it better to market to a small list or a small following of devoted readers, of which the majority will make a purchase every time you make a recommendation? The second option is the one you want, and this is where you should focus your time and energy.