Everybody has a blog. No matter the topic or discussion someone has got it covered. From online diaries in the mid nineties to becoming one of the foundations of the internet, blogging along with video and social bookmarking is changing not only how we get our information but also the manner in which online business is conducted.

This is why it would be a good idea for you incorporate blogging into your overall internet marketing plan. What blogging can do very effectively is to build your target markets and bring you a steady flow of internet traffic and customers.

Blogs are free and easy to run. Just go to Blogger or Wordpress.com, signup and start posting. Try to start out posting on a daily basis or at least a three to four times a week then use these tips to get traffic to your blog

Email Marketing List

In a recent survey, 100% of online users say they communicate using email. This is a good way to send messages to your opt in email list with links going back to your blog web site. Let them know you’ve posted a new article or video on your blog. Use snippets or summaries to entice people to click on the link and get further information. The more times people on your list see your blog the more they will get to know you and give a second look to some products or services you maybe offering.

In addition you can gain more viewers to your blog by giving away a subscription along with free report. Advertise in ezine publications that target your niche as well as forums and classified ad sites like US Free Ads.

Free RSS Feed

Rich Site Summary also known as Really Simple Syndication is the process of delivering constantly updated content to your blog by pacing a block of code (known as a feed) on your webpages. In our fast paced information age, RSS fits perfectly. It allows your visitors to stay up to date on any new information you’ve added to your blog without necessarily having to visit every page on your blog. Instead they view a window that list the headlines followed by a quick summary of what each article is about.

Having a free RSS feed accomplishes two things besides getting more site traffic. First since the content is updated frequently it keeps the search engines coming back to your site and crawling for the new information. Second it can increase your visibility among your blog visitors. This is important because while they may not visit your blog everyday, providing a feed to your subscribers is a good way to for them to stay in touch.

Network

A blog network is a compilation of blogs under a sole domain or company name. Some web visitors take comfort in clicking a link that takes them to different bloggers who cover the same topic. This is also an excellent way to get free advertisement and free web traffic to your site since people who visit the network will invariably be exposed to your blog.

You can also submit to blog directories or just ask your readers to give you feedback on something you posted (the search engines view comments as updating content on your blog). No matter which technique you choose, blogging offers a new way to connect with your readers. Simple, unfiltered and a perfect fit for today’s internet, blogging is a smart resource to have in your internet marketing online tool kit.

Are you looking for cost-effective ways to drive sales from blogs…?

Three Blog-Related Considerations

When using blogs to enhance your marketing, assess the full impact of the blogs, because they aren’t a one-shot promotion yielding immediate returns.

• Blogs require an ongoing investment. This point needs to be stressed, since blogs may be created by nonmarketing staff where there isn’t a management-reporting relationship. To help spread the workload, have several people work on entries. Use an editorial calendar to ensure timely coverage of relevant topics and to help employees schedule their time.
• Blogs can take time to have an impact on purchasing and search optimization. Unlike other online marketing formats where results are realized quickly, like e-mail or search advertising, the sales impact of blogs happens over an extended period.
• Blogs require transparency. As with any form of social media, this is critical and needs to be thought through before the blog is made public. Among the areas to consider are how negative customer comments will be handled.

Five Blog Metrics to Track

As with any marketing strategy, using a blog to enhance the purchase process must be monitored to ensure you’re achieving your goals. Remember, these metrics may take time to yield returns.

• Traffic and/or revenue. As with any Web site addition, measure the number of visitors. Once the blog has reached a critical mass of content, utilize other forms of marketing to help extend its reach. Where appropriate, track sales back to blog entries. Remember, customers may use blogs in the pre- or post-purchase phases, and more complex methods of assessing their sales impact maybe required.
• Internal expenses. As with any marketing program, track the associated costs. Since blogs may be an addition to one or more employees’ workload, determining costs may be a little tricky.
• Customer input. Monitor blog comments as well as input from other customer touch points to determine how consumers feel about your products and your blog. Circulate these comments internally to show customer engagement and give management a better understanding of customers’ perspective.
• Search rankings. Track search rankings for important keywords covered in your blog. Bear in mind that it can take time for the search rankings to build.
• Branding. Use surveys to monitor consumer perception of your brand and company across a variety of brand-related metrics before and after you’ve started blogging to calculate change in mind share.

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To properly implement blog marketing strategies with Web 2.0 features you have to:

1. Understand Them

You have to study each Web 2.0 feature and understand how they work in blog marketing. You must ask yourself these questions:

- How can RSS feeds make visitors come back to your site? - How do social networking sites work? - How can social bookmarking help to improve my traffic? - Are there other Web 2.0 features that can help me improve my site’s recognition?

The more questions you ask yourself, the more you are inclined to find out how these Web 2.0 techniques work.

2. Apply Them To Your Blog

When you know how these Web 2.0 features work, apply them to your blog and let your visitors know that you have these Web 2.0 features that they can make use of to make them feel as interacted as possible with your blog.

It is best to get articles or e-books that show you how to apply these features step-by-step, so that you won’t get confused. Or, you can just hire a web programmer or designer to help you apply them.

3. Test, Test and Test

One thing about Internet marketing is, you can’t just bet that once you have applied a technique, you can see it working. Testing out a new addition to your site is important because you have to find out in which part of the site is the most optimized position to make it work.

For example, your RSS feed logo can be placed at any part of your site for your visitors to subscribe to, but testing it at different parts of the site for a certain amount of time can make you gauge where most of the visitors sign up for your RSS feed at. For more information logon to www.instant-blog-and-ping.com .Once you have found that position, you can then just place the feed there as its final position.

Once you see these Web 2.0 techniques working on your site, you can then focus on other Internet marketing related strategies like how to turn your visitors into your subscribers or buyers, writing a good web copy, how to improve sales and so on. These three tips are the basic fundamentals for you to focus on when you are into blog marketing, so never forget about them when you apply Web 2.0 strategies.

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