Business blogs: Can a blog help your solo business?

Many businesses are now adding business blogs to their website to better communicate with their target market and build traffic to their website. Can a blog help your business? Or is it simply a fad?

What are business blogs?

The word ‘blog’ comes from the combination of the two words, web and log.

Blogs are online diaries or journals created by individuals or companies and stored on the Internet. Blogs generally consist of text and images appearing in chronological order with the most recent entry shown at the top of the page.

The word blog acts as both a noun (the name of the online diary) and a verb (the act of blogging).

According to technorati.com, a search engine dedicated to blogs, there are some 71 million blogs worldwide including more than 250,000 in Australia, and 175,000 new blogs are being launched daily.

Why blog?

For individuals, blogs can be a way to express views, build a social community with a similar hobby or interest, keep a travel diary or keep family and friends updated with all your news and photos.

Here are some examples of personal style blogs:

Snippets of Life by Karen Cheng is the online journal of Karen from WA who writes about life, art, partying, shopping and being a mother of two.

Trevor’s Travels is an online travel journal with stories and photos of Trevor’s travels in Nepal and Thailand.

Craft Gossip is a blog for craft enthusiasts to share ideas, projects, suppliers, websites and so on.

For business, blogs can help you build stronger relationships with important target groups such as clients, the media, the general public and/or shareholders.

Here are some other ways blogs can be used:

Simple, low cost PR. Blogs are a simple and fast way to put information online.
Establish expertise. Position yourself and your company as the expert and raise your visibility with your target market.
Extend communications and customer relationships. Blogs enable companies to present a human face and voice to the public. Blogs allow you to join customer discussions, respond to concerns, provide tips and insights or receive feedback.

Build community. Use blogs to grow group support around a cause, political issue, technology or hobby related to your product.
Test ideas or products. Because blogs are informal and conversational in nature you can publish an idea and see if it generates any interest or buzz.
Higher search engine rankings. Google and other search engines reward sites with a lot of content that is updated often and have many inbound links.

Here are some example of business blogs that take advantage of these uses:

Telstra’s blog Now we are talking aims to communicate with shareholders about new technologies.

Queensland politician Andrew Bartlett uses his blog to express his views and opinions and encourages feedback.

Realestate.com.au has several blog topics setup for the different target markets they communicate with from home owners, to real estate agents, to shareholders, to property investors, to shareholders.

Major corporates using business blogs include:

And it doesn't stop there. Examples of more novel blogs include:

If you have an existing website and are prepared to add something at least every week or two, then adding a blog to your site is probably a good idea. A good blog can help you build traffic, communicate and, importantly, build trust with your visitors.

Many businesses choose to host their blog separately from their main business website. This can be useful as it separates the formal from the conversational and prevents these two styles from conflicting. But don’t be surprised if your blog starts getting more traffic that your main site!

I would love to hear from any Flying Solo readers who already use a business blog and have found it a useful tool in their business.

Melissa Norfolk is an Internet expert who speaks to business, school and community groups about online marketing, email newsletters, effective use of the Internet, finding what you need online and Internet safety.

30 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 4 5 | Next» View all»

I have been considering adding a blog and newsletter to my site but am wondering, are there any reliable measures of increased revenues as a result of adding blogs and newsletters to sites? Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
Although of some value, they take up valuable time and for the solopreneur, time is of the essence. If it takes up too much earning or relaxing time, then was it a good idea or use of time? As a hobby, I think blogs or online diaries have their good uses and I have previously had one (no longer). My online diary of 3 years had more traffic than the website, but it didn't grow business. From feedback it certainly helped a lot of people but didn't make sales. Good information easily accessed is a priority for me. I would prefer time out rather than thinking of the blog as 'another weekly chore'. The past few months I did too many things that I thought were related to business or important but really didn't matter. I burned out and became ill. We need to be careful of what/where we put our energy. If the blog was just a hobby for me and it didn't matter when I updated, then it wouldn't matter so much. But for me, that wouldn't be good enough. I have found I need to focus on what's important for me and my business and not be sidetracked. Karen from Springwood NSW
I am in the process of setting up a blog. I am not doing it to directly make money but indirectly I am. I am setting it up in a related area to my primary business for the purpose of testing out the interest and the response. I would be very happy if what Melissa says above happens - that my blog gets a better response than my website. If that happened I would redirect my business to the business area of my blog. Regarding the making of money from blogs. Yaro Starak has just written an excellent free ebook (also in audio) on making money from blogs, called "Blog Profits Blueprint". He is also about to start on Thursday a mentoring program (fee) for people who want to make money from blogging. He earns something between $4000-$6000 month from blogging. And he's an Australian, actually living in Australia. He can be found at http://www.BlogMastermind.com. Oh, and by the way, this is not an advertisement for him. I subscribe to his newsletter and get all his info and I think it is excellent and he doesn't have all the hype that comes with some of the US stuff. But he wouldn't even know I exist. I'm just one of thousands on his list. Maree Harris from Ballarat
Hi Melissa, not sure if you've seen my blog! Actually I own several but have one attached to my business site (http://www.vadirectory.net/blog/) and it has a subscriber list and readership all its own. I'm also listed in the Top 100 Australian blogs list and I was thrilled when that happened earlier this year. I love blogging - it gets addictive :-)
With respect to Grant's comment here - yes, my business has grown because of my blog and I use it to educate people about my industry. And for Karen, writing for me is a passion and so blogging became the perfect outlet or vehicle for that desire to continuously write - hence why I own more than one blog! It is also a release for me and not a chore so hasn't become something that I don't want to do. Kathie M. Thomas, A Clayton's Secretary from Melbourne
I'm considering adding a blog to my website, but would want it to have some perceived value, such as free patterns or offers for those who read it. I also thought of having a separate blog with more of a personal slant, as it would allow my city and overseas friends/relatives to have a novel update on my new life in the country.
I haven't decided which to go with, so will read these comments with interest. I'm after something that will feel more creative than obligatory, so maybe the personal blog might do. From there I can then reference my website and see what reaction it gets. Kim from Rural Vic
Hi Maree, Actually Yaro is someone we are very familiar with here at Flying Solo. We, too, love his work! He has contributed a number of articles to our site. Here's his contributor profile: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p183667882_internet-business-coach-Brisbane-Australia.html Sam Leader from Flying Solo | Read my articles

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