Any regular bloggers with some good success stories?

[websitedesigner]

Hi guys for my next free ebook I'm going to be looking at blogging for business specifically what things to do 'after' a business owner sets up a blog.

I'm keen to hear from people who blog a lot and have had some good results in terms of bringing in customers for your business. Not so much professional bloggers more just businesses who are using blogging (or content marketing in general) as a way to get customers for their existing business.

I'd love any case studies or examples or any tips you want to share.

I would be good exposure too my last ebook got around 500 downloads and is still getting 50-100 downloads a month.

To contribute feel free to reply here or email me dan@webcircle.com.au

Thanks

Dan

[bridiej]

Will drop you a line Dan

[MsLilyPonds]

Do you mean like tips for small business bloggers - like blog SEO sort of thing or http://www.talkaboutcreative.com.au/...ur-recipe.aspx or do you mean like actual "how I made a go of it with my blog" - I would suggest a great example of the latter would be http://brisbanekids.com.au or http://www.stayathomemum.net.au - they've both gone from just having a little thing that they did to really powerful money spinning blogs with tens of thousands of visitors. I am sure they'd love to do like a guest contribution or something if you asked them.

[NickHumphries]

Content is definitely king right now!

Posting 2 - 3x every week with good content on my blog doesn't only help educate your customers so they like and trust my company more, but attracts new ones aswell through Google if properly optimized through SEO.

Highly recommended, test it for a few months and you'll reap the rewards!

Good luck

[websitedesigner]

I'm not so much interested in successful blogs, more successful business's that have used blogging to help them become successful

[Steve_Minshall]

Hi Dan,

I have had pretty good success with blogging and personally rate it much more effective than facebook/twitter for my business.

My blog. is basically the personal/informal friend in the industry verses the 'formal' web site. My web site (in the main) is very structured, formally written, it gives features and benefits but avoids opinions. My blog on the other hand has a photo of me, uses my name, gives my opinions and I see it more like a virtual shop assistant rather than the 'powerpoint sales presentation' of my web site. It is the photocopied newsletter to my website's glossy brochure.

What it does for me is help me to start selling to the customer in person before they even meet me. I have customers come in the shop and talk to me like they already know me because they have read the blog. So I guess I use it for early relationship building.

One thing I think many people miss the mark on is assuming that if you blog you will have an audience that will keep coming back to read what you have to say. While it massages egos to think you have your own virtual newspaper column that people keep coming back to hang on your every word, unless you are already famous/a thought leader/have access to very unique information then people are just to busy and disinterested to come back regularly. Therefore your blog should be viewed as a repository for articles that people can get info on a specific part of a specific topic which people can find via web links or google search. For example if I search "BMW X5 towbar" my blog page comes up in number 4. Now this is only of interest to BMW X5 owners so I would irritate an audience of Twitter/Facebook followers who in the main have no interest in this what so ever, but for those that are interested they will find an article that is perfectly appropriate for a blog because it is written as guy telling you what he knows about stuff rather than formal, technical blurb.

[NickHumphries]

Originally Posted by Steve_Minshall

Hi Dan,

I have customers come in the shop and talk to me like they already know me because they have read the blog.

I think that sort of early relationship building is invaluable! Qualified prospects come into your store and Immediately gets you ahead of your competition just from the blog!

[Jexley]

For a long time, I tried to use my blog as SEO fodder (years ago) and while sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, it never brought quality traffic.

Then, I gave up on all that and simply decided to write when I felt like it. That turned out to be never. Heh. Not terribly successful that.

Then I started writing at least once a week on things that I not only knew about, but could speak well on the subject.

And that's when the quality traffic started rolling in.

My favourite (and most popular) post was pretty much just a rant, but to date is still in the Top 3 globally as a "how to do XX properly" (not into shamelessly self-promoting here any more).

So yeah, I consider that an overwhelming success, given that it was a rant, it got the point across, it brings in buckets of traffic, and occasionally some of those folks convert into paying clients.

I suppose for reference, my advice would be to write in Your Voice about What You Know. The latter'll get you Googled, the former'll get you business.

[Word]

I know an SEO guy who focuses on blogging, and I'll drop him a note to check out this thread.

Blogging is powerful stuff so you should get a few good stories - including with OUTSOURCING the blogging.

[websitedesigner]

Great thanks


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