Five Steps to a Successful Blog

1. Have a reason. A blog without a purpose is just a daily blah blah blah. You should have a vision for your blog from day one. There needs to be a purpose for it to fill the voids in your website advertising and marketing plan. Use it as a testing ground, a news release center and a central location for all of your info to trace back to.

2. Optimize the darn thing. There is no point in wasting time on unutilized content. We can‘t say it enough: make SEO a habit for every single thing you do. Print out your keywords and keyword phrases in large type and tape them to the wall above your desk. Live, breathe and think those words until optimizing becomes second nature Use distinct title tags separate from the on page titles. Tag. Tag. Tag. Tag. Do you hear me? TAG.

3. Plan ahead!! If you have a new product or service coming out, start creating a buzz. You have the power over your blog. It is a tool. Use it. You can run polls, take surveys, have contests. Use your blog to disseminate information,. Link back to it from articles as well as linking back to your website.Double the fun, and give your customers what they need.

4. Make your blog part of the social network. Think long and hard before enabling comments. You need to be responsive. Link to other blogs in your niche. Make your blog the natural hub for all of your social applications – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, LimkedIn, etc. All roads should lead back to Central – your blog.

5. Track your blog’s success – Decide what your objective is, then take a few minutes to determine your blog’s bench mark. Track your visitors and see who you are attracting, and what demographics you are weak in. ROI can be a sketchy idea in social marketing, but track the time you put in with the conversion rate from consumers who make the jump from your blog to your site or who click an affiliate and you can get an idea of performance.

If you can actually make a blog productive, it is more than well worth your time.

admin