Five Secrets to Promoting Your Business Blog
Blogs can be a powerful marketing tool, but not if they remain hidden. Here are 5 simple tricks all business bloggers should do to promote their blog and reach new customers.
- Create keyword-rich content on a regular basis. No matter what else you do on this list, if you're not regularly posting content to your blog, it will be difficult to attract regular readers.
- Comment on other influential blogs in your niche. Leaving comments on other blogs will create a link from their blog to yours. Leaving inane comments will get your comments deleted, and possibly get you banned. So, leave intelligent comments.
- Link from your Web site to your blog. Especially at the beginning when your Web site has more trust built up at the search engines and your blog has none.
- Ping the news aggregators to let them know when you've updated your blog. I use Pingoat; every time I finish a blog post I immediately go to Pingoat and ping dozens of news services in one step.
- Link to other blogs in your niche (and click on those links.) Whether in a blogroll or in an individual post, link to other bloggers and then click on those links to, a) confirm the links are right, and b) to show up as a referrer on their traffic reports. This should get their attention and maybe they'll end up linking back to you!
There are of course dozens if not hundreds of other things you can do to leverage the power of your business blog, but if there's anything on this list you aren't doing now, I recommend starting right away.
Do you have any techniques that have gotten you more traffic at your blog?
Rich Brooks
Small Business Blogger
Tourism's New Math: What Maine's Tourist Economy Needs Now
There's a front page article in the PPH today about a new method of calculating tourism's impact on the Maine economy, and a lot of people aren't happy about it. It's hard to know what the impact will be, but as the article notes,
If tourism promotion doesn't appear to be generating as much
bang for the buck as previously thought, [Vaughn Stinson, chief executive officer of the
Maine Tourism Association] said,
lawmakers could be less supportive of continued funding. His
concern is heightened by the state's budget shortfall.
The bottom line is that companies involved in the tourist industry here in Maine may be getting less support from the MTA, because there's less money to be spent on tourism marketing. This impacts ski resorts, hotels, B&B's, snow mobile rentals, restaurants, and a thousand other businesses that are part of or support the tourist industry.
If I were in tourism I would be planning ahead. Hopefully the funding will still be there, but the possible slack must be picked up by individual businesses. No surprise, but I'd be blogging, developing one or more email newsletters, budgeting money for search engine optimization, and reviewing my Web site based on my analytics. I'd be creating a presence on Facebook and MySpace. In short, I'd be preparing for the worst.
Even if the funding comes in at last year's levels, businesses that are marketing themselves--especially in a recession--will be in a better position to take advantage of it.
Rich Brooks
Web Marketing for Maine Businesses
12 Web Marketing Ideas to Jump Start Your Business
You know those "new" episodes of your favorite TV show when a character gets hit by a car, and then all their friends gather by their bed side and retell their favorite stories through a series of clips?
Welcome to my clip show.
Here's a quick list of the 12 articles we published in flyte log, our monthly Web marketing ezine:
- Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan
- How to Use Social Media to Reach New Customers
- Business Blog Success: 10 Tips for a Profitable Blog
- Increase Your Search Engine Visibility: Three Things You Can Do Today
- Nine Indispensable Online Tools for Your Web-Based Business
- Four Tips to Maximize Your Email Marketing Results
- The Secret to a Web Site That Sells
- Six Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back
- The Dangers of Relying on Google for Business
- Holistic Web Marketing: An Integrated Approach to Online Success
- Tracking Conversions: Does Your Web Site Turn Suspects into Prospects?
- Informational Products: Selling Your Knowledge Online
There's oodles of ideas in these articles that you can use to jump start your business and build it over the next year. If you'd rather not miss any new articles, please subscribe to flyte log in the box below.
Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan
There's light fluffy snowflakes falling outside my window this morning as I polish off another issue of flyte log, our Web marketing email newsletter...the last for 2007.
Rather than look back on 2007--as good as it was--it's time to look forward to 2008 and start making plans. Web marketing plans, that is.
Today's issue of flyte log is Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan, a month-by-month, itemized list of what you need to do to succeed in 2008.
Your Web marketing plan includes ideas on search engine optimization, blogging, social media, Webinars and more.
Why not take the first step in improving your chances for success in 2008 by signing up for flyte log now, so you never miss another issue?
Web Marketing for Public Relations
I'll be part of an all-day conference for the Maine Public Relations Council this Wednesday, October 17. The annual conference's theme is "The Art and Science of Communication," and goes from 8:30 - 3:30 at the Sheraton Hotel in South Portland.
My topic will be Web Marketing for Public Relations. This is a new lens from which to view Web marketing, at least for me. However, in putting together the presentation I was just blown away by the tools that today's PR professional has at his or her disposal. I mean, I got really excited. I was pacing around the kitchen table as I was creating my slides. And the future looks even more exciting.
If you're a public relations professional, or you're just looking for ways to gain more visibility for your company you can't afford to miss the MPRC's annual conference. Admission is $100 for members, $140 for non-members. Details and registration information can be found on their events page.
Rich Brooks
Web Marketing for PR
Free Web 2.0 Handouts to Download
Yesterday I spoke at the Maine Marketing Association's Web 2.0 Conference; my topic was Web Sites for Action! Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink spoke about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Aileen Cahill talked on Online and On Target which talked about the benefits of a Web 2.0 Web site and how to get your customers participating.
It was a great turnout--I'm guessing over 80 people--and there were a lot of good questions for all three presenters. Whether you were able to attend or not, the Maine Marketing Association has posted all three presentations up at their Web site for anyone to download.
PowerPoint handouts (or in my case, Apple's Keynote) are pretty hard to understand if you weren't there for the presentation, so if you review the handouts and still have questions on Maine Web Design or Internet Marketing, please feel free to ask.
What is Web 2.0 Anyway?
If you've been looking for information on Web 2.0 and how you can use it to turbo-charge your Internet marketing, I've got some good news.
The Maine Marketing Association will be putting on Web 2.0 - Internet Strategies for Power Marketing on Monday, May 21st, 2007.
There will be three workshops in this all-morning event:
- Online and On Target - Strategies for One to One Marketing at the Speed of Light by Aileen Cahill, author of Internet Marketing: Building Advantage in a Networked Economy
- Web Design for Action! by Rich Brooks (that's me!)
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by Anne Kennedy of Beyond Ink
The festivities begin at 8:30am and will be held at the Ambromson Center in the new Hannaford Hall building.
Registration is $35 for members and students, $45 for everyone else. Pre-registration is appreciated.
Drive More Traffic To Your Web Site
Would you like to drive more traffic to your Web site? Rank higher at the search engines? Understand how a blog or podcast could attract more prospects and customers? Would you like to know about new forms of Web marketing, like social bookmarking and tagging?
Well, we have just two spots left for this Wednesday's Working Lunch Seminar at flyte: Building Traffic at Your Web Site.
The session goes from noon - 1:30 and includes lunch. For details, directions, and to register for one of the last two remaining spots, be sure to check out our Web Marketing Seminars page.
What Is Holistic Web Marketing?
Too often Web site owners focus all of their attention on ranking well at the search engines at the expense of building a Web site that will convert this traffic into business. Or, they spend a lot of money on a Web site design, but never sink dime one into promoting their site. Or they build up a big email subscriber base, but don't know how to get these subscribers to take action.
The problem is that these site owners are focusing on just one element of their Web marketing, instead of viewing their Web marketing as a whole.
Web marketing these days takes an integrated, multi-faceted approach if you want to succeed. To better explain how to create a more effective online marketing plan, flyte has created a model called Holistic Web Marketing.
You can learn more about Holistic Web Marketing at flyte's blog.
12 Web Marketing Articles to Read Right Now
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm a big fan of email newsletters. They're very cost effective, they keep you in front of your best prospects and customers, and they help you establish your expertise.
The only downside is that once they're sent, they're gone. If you're producing a content-rich newsletter you should archive these newsletters on your Web site. This helps you with the search engines as well as providing this content for people who have just discovered you.
To that end, here's a quick list of the twelve flyte log newsletters flyte published in 2006. Enjoy! More can be found here: http://www.flyte.biz/resources/newsletters/
- New Year's Resolutions for Your Web Site
- Use Your Blog to Attract the Long Tail of Search
- 37 Calls to Action to Get People to Read, Click and Buy at Your Web Site
- PayPal: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
- Blog Marketing: How Blogs Can Increase Your Reach and Deliver New Customers
- Boost Your Search Engine Rank: Proven Methods to Increase Incoming Links
- Search Engine Optimization: Stop Guessing and Start Researching
- Keyword Research: Five Ways Your Prospects Search for You
- Lead Generation Online: Is Your Web Site a Leaky Bucket?
- The Secret to Great Search Engine Rank
- Broken Windows, Broken Web Sites: Why Your Web Site is Underperforming
- Search Engine Success Through Article Marketing
As always, you can subscribe at our Web site.
Internet Marketing Seminars in Maine
For those of you with a desire to learn more about Internet Marketing and a burning desire to meet me in person, next week is your Mardi Gras.
Monday, October 16: I'll be presenting "How to Plan, Build and Promote a Business Blog" for MESDA from 6pm - 8pm at their offices in Westbrook, Maine. Entrance is free, but they ask you to register for a door prize. (Directions.)
Tuesday, October 17: I'll be part of a panel put on by the Maine Marketing Association called "Right On! Staying on Message No Matter What: Crafting and Communicating Effective Messages That Will Break Through the Clutter." It's from 9 - 11:30am at the Glickman Family Library on the USM campus in Portland. Roy Heffley is the keynote speaker. The cost is $35 for members, $45 for non-members, and $15 for students or anyone with a fake student ID. You can register via email or just show up. (Directions.)
Wednesday, October 18: Is the first class of the Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses at the University of Southern Maine's Center for Continuing Ed. The classes continue each Wed. evening (10/25, 11/1 & 11/8) from 6:30 - 8:30pm. The cost is $195 and you can learn more and register here.
Thursday, October 19: I'll be taping a segment for WCSH's evening news magazine 207. Topic and broadcast date TBD.
Whether I get any real work done next week is also TBD.
Web Marketing Course at USM
If you enjoy the subject matter of this blog, but you'd prefer a little more interaction and perhaps specifics on how YOU can implement some of these ideas on your own Web site, blog or email newsletter, I've got good news.
I'll be teaching a course called Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business at the University of Southern Maine this month as part of their Center for Continuing Education.
We'll be talking search engine optimization, email marketing, blogs, podcasts, viral marketing, e-commerce, home page strategies and more. Last time we got into wikis.
The course will be Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30pm, October 18th - November 8th. For more information and to register online check out the Web marketing course page on the USM Web site.
Not sure if this class will help? Here's an unsolicited thank you email I received:
Rich,
Thanks to applying what I learned from you to my new site, in the last month I have zoomed up in the Search rankings (when any part of my name or ‘Maine’ is included with key terms, I get at least three listings on first page), increased the amount of time people are spending on the site, increased my new visitors to 25% of my traffic and tripled the rate of new subscribers to the ezine.
Chris Trout
OK, enough self-love. Hope to see you there.
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