Blogging Brings Bling…and Buzz
By Christine Louise Hohlbaum
An Associated Press journalist recently told me she, and her readers, prefer blogs over book titles when it comes to expert attribution.
“Trust me, I’ve been doing this a long time,” she stated. “I know what readers, and my editor, want.”
Gone are the days of ‘author of…’ as a satisfying resource title. You now need a blog as the suffix to your expertise. Why? People want more information. And they’re used to getting it for free.
According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere from April 2007, there have been 70 million blogs tracked by their services since its inception in 2003. Most likely, that number has skyrocketed to add another few million since then.
Without getting into a long-winded explanation of keyword optimization, I would suggest you look into getting a blog for the expansive nature of this online vehicle. You can attract target audiences with intelligent commentary, expert reports, novel giveaways and product reviews by simply adding a few keywords into your blog entries. Typepad.com, for instance, offers a field for “Technorati tags” a.k.a. keywords that come up when people search specific topics.
Let’s look at an example. If you seek to attract wealthy clients who love golf, write about issues that interest that demographic: Tiger Woods, the Buick Invitational, getaway weekends, and the like. Make certain your entries are in alignment with your company message. Provide useful information and post often to garner as many return visitors as possible. Blogging can quickly build trust in your readership if you post helpful content. It’s a regular buzz machine.
Blogs bring bling, too (that’s cash for you non-rap fans out there). Add your amazon affiliate links to products you review or book titles you mention. Create a win-win situation by writing positive content with purchase links with your affiliate ID embedded inside. Include advertising, if it matches your purpose. Ad ad for an automotive company might not fit your blog on environmentally friendly lifestyles so be clear what you’re signing up for before you agree to place ads on your blog.
It doesn’t have to be costly to add a blog to your repetoire. A few free services include:
For more bells and whistles, some of them offer fee-based upgrades. I use http://typepad.com for its ease of use and classy templated style.
Whatever you choose, remember a blog is a minor commitment with a potentially major rate of return. May your blog fling you the bling, and fame, you deserve!
Christine Louise Hohlbaum is an avid blogger, PR consultant and freelance writer who lives near Munich, Germany with her non-blogging husband and two children. http://diaryofamother.blogs.com
Ps. Christine will be presenting Managing the Message: What Works with Media Outreach during the Women’s Media Summit on October 24th at 11 am Eastern Time.
To register go to http://womensmediasummit.com/register/
Comment by Shelly | October 5th, 2007
It should also be noted that blogging tools are very versatile. I know in my business, I have a hard time making some people understand that, if you’re not into blogging, you can still use the blogging tools as a content management system to run your site, and make it easier on you to update. You can make themes for them that are virtually indiscernible from a regular “static” site.
Most people who realize this use it, and it ends up being so easy to use that the next thing you know, they’re blogging by adding frequent updates to their site - which, of course, is SEO fodder (nothing like “fresh meat” for the spiders!)
Blogging should be looked at differently nowadays, really and truly. “Blogging” is no longer a word that means a personal online journal or something - it can be used to keep your site updated easily; with news, portfolios, tidbits of information - all kinds of things. A blog isn’t a “blog” anymore. SO take advantage of it!