Why are blogs so crucial to your business? I’ll break it down newbie style for those of you looking for a crash course… And let’s get this out of the way now: I’ve gone from hearing “oh, there are so few blogs out there, no one realllly uses them, no one realllly reads them”, to “oh, there are soooo many millions of blogs, no one would ever find mine, let alone read it”. Stop whining!

Guess what? If you have an ounce of personality and an opinion to share, you will have an audience. If you target the right audience based on your interests, writing style and expertise, then you’re in business- regardless of topic, and regardless of the number of other blogs that are out there. And another thing- the time is going to go by whether you start your blog now, next month or next year. Blogging is all about building a critical mass of followers, provoking thought and opening up a dialogue. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll get there. Chris Brogan (who I’m a huge fan of by the way!) recently wrote a post called “If I Started Today”, which gives more details on starting a blog. When you’re ready to jump in head first, call me and read this.

Bloggers very much have their own community. They refer to each other’s posts in their own writings, look to each other for inspiration and education. Read. Read a lot. Then read some more. Ideas are infectious- you’ll then have plenty of thoughts on what to write about, while being exposed to many different writing styles. Are you familiar with RSS? That stands for Really Simple Syndication. Whoever made up that name wasn’t kidding, it is SO SIMPLE. Check out a free feed reader like Feedburner or Google Reader and read the instructions. By copying and pasting RSS buttons into your feedreader, blogs that you’re interested in reading will come to you. Call or email me if you need help. You might be embarrassed that you had to call me when everything is said and done, but I won’t make fun you. Much.

So, here’s the juicy stuff. Besides fueling your ego with lots and lots of followers eagerly consuming your every post, why are blogs so great? There are three huge reasons (in addition to the aforementioned): 1) Search Engine Marketing, 2) Marketing, and 3) Establishing Expertise.

1) Search Engines eat blog posts alive. It might take a month or so for major Engines to find your blog, but once they do, they’ll be indexed almost immediately. Try this experiment: Set up your blog and start publishing posts. Go set up Google Alerts for your name and your blog. Give Google a few weeks to index your blog. You will find that you’ll receive Alerts about your new posts within hours of publishing. Amazing isn’t it? People have another opportunity to stumble upon you and your organization, and better yet, they find you as a relevant result in an online search.

2) Then there’s the marketing. For next to no cost and a small investment of time, you can publish loads of original content about your industry, your organization, what makes your staff, products and services special. Blogging is also a great brand-building tool. Tell anecdotes about your work day, or stories about clients, overcoming challenges with sourcing or vendors. Whatever it is, you are able to provide vital information to your audience about what you do, and you might just find that prospects respond well to finding out that you know what you’re stuff.

3) Last but certainly not least, blogging establishes your expertise. Your readers will discover that you know your stuff when it comes to your products and services, and then they begin to respect you as a knowledgeable leader in your industry. Invite readers to contribute their opinions and ask questions. Follow through with thoughtful answers, even if it requires some research. Your audience will appreciate it, and other bloggers will happily use your thoughts for inspiration and hopefully link to your post (hint, hint Chris).

So, that’s it. Pretty simple and painless. Need help? There are loads of ways to reach me. Pick a link, any link, call me, email me, invite me out for coffee, stop by. I’m happy to help!

What tips do you think are crucial for new bloggers?