Marketing Science Blog

Blogging is an activity that began to go mainstream in late 90s, early 2000s.  Historically, it was a way to comment an existing web page, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice their opinions on that page.

What started as single sentence commentary has evolved into complete web sites of personal opinions about anything and everything imaginable.  As blogging evolved, online advertising has tapped into the its revenue potential.

Here are 5 reasons why you should use blogging as one of your primary Internet marketing tools.

1.Blogging is simple.  The simplest way to get your say on the Internet is to blog.  Only simple skills are necessary: read and type, click a mouse.  It’s like having a digital notebook or journal where you express your experiences, ideas, new products and hope that the value of your articles motivates your reader to some desired action, like clicking relevant text ads that earn you money.  If you have a computer and an Internet connection (that’s almost everyone) then you can blog and advertise.

2. Blogging is authentic.  Today, when advertising is saturating our lives, we question more than ever the credibility of promoters’ claims.  However, with blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, uninfluenced by paid advertising.  Reading blogs about opinions of products is like talking to people about their first-hand experiences. Everyone wants to buy a tried and tested product.

3. Blogging is free.  Because blogging is now proving itself to be a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing and offer it for free. Any opportunity for free “web time” is a bonus, particularly to businesses that are just starting up.

4. Blogging builds your credibility.  As you write and post more of your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize they can depend on your posts for their own informational needs. You become an expert. As a result, more readers visit your blog and other bloggers link to you. As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon contact you to advertise on your blog page, or invite you to become an affiliate, which pays for every referral sale generated by your blog.

5. Blogging builds your market.  Unless you’re a celebrity, it’s very possible your Mom reads your posts.  Mom has a lot of friends, so she tells her friends how interesting your blog is. But you don’t have to depend on Mom to get visitors to your blog!  Look into the following ways to build your readership and market via blogging:

Through e-mail. Today, blogging is overtaking e-mail to quickly and effectively reach and expand a market. In our new age of speed and instant access, logging in and checking e-mail is time-consuming than going to your favorite blog. And you avoid all the unwanted spam. get people to explore your blog by using a short teaser e-mail message with links to your blog. If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site.

Using subscriptions. An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blog.  Hold back some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address.  Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.

Understanding your readers. Conduct surveys for your readers to understand their true wants and needs.  Ask consumers to give you feedback on posts, an ad link, or a free trial that you shared.  It’s like interviewing your readers without the hassle or intrusion of a physical interview.

Joining a blog network. A blog network is an organized collection of blogs that share similar interests, themes, readership, etc.  Consumers like the convenience of clicking one link to several blogs about a single subject.

Using RSS. RSS is still one of the fastest growing technologies on the Internet.  Having RSS feeds for your blog is another great way of creating awareness for your blog.  Having a variety of feeds also adds interest to your blog.

So, give your business a real boost by using blogging as a primary Internet marketing tool.

Posted by Bob Thomson