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Why a website & blog should be your online hub - Aug '10 Bright Ideas Blogzine
Sent Tuesday, August 3, 2010
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Bright Ideas Blogzine - August 2010 Publisher: Laura Christianson http://www.bloggingbistro.com mailto:laura@bloggingbistro.com ___________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE ___________________________________________________________ 1. FEATURE: Why a website and blog should be your online hub Bonus content exclusively for Bright Ideas subscribers: a. What publishing platform should I use? b. Is Blogspot.com truly the slum of the Internet? c. What's the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? d. How can I create an all-in-one website/blog combo? e. Special of the month 2. Join the Monday Makeover Challenge 3. Submit a Guest Column to Blogging Bistro 4. Upcoming Speaking Engagements 5. At the Barista's blog... 6. My Hangouts 7. Share Bright Ideas ___________________________________________________________ 1. FEATURE: Why a website and blog should be your online hub ___________________________________________________________ Today I received an e-mail from my friend and writing colleague, Carolyn. She writes: "I've been researching the possibility of setting up a website and beginning a blog." You might be thinking, "Doesn't everybody already have a website?" Nope. In fact, upwards of 50 percent of the folks I meet - particularly owners of small businesses - do not have either a professional or personal website or blog. If you're on the cusp, wavering about whether to launch a website/blog, the following information will help you make an informed decision. The value of a website Always open for business. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you hang a "Closed" sign on the door several hours each day. But your company website -- your virtual storefront - is open 24/7. People from all over the world can window shop, learn more about you, and get directions to your physical location. If you install a shopping cart system on your site, they can even buy products from you while you sleep. Makes you easy to find. If you don't show up on Google, you don't exist. It's a sad but true fact of life in our wired world. If someone wants to find your business, the first thing they'll do is Google you. And if they don't find you in 30 seconds or less, they'll likely take their business elsewhere. A website -- one that effectively incorporates keywords that turn up in Google's search results - ensures that others can find you... ...and that brings us to blogging. A blog (short for web log) is an interactive website. A theme-oriented blog that's embedded into your website will encourage visitors to: * spend more time at your website * explore more pages on your site * return to your site more often * purchase more of your products and services Blogging is both a quantity and quality thing. It takes 8 to 10 "touches" before your name (or your company name) lodges itself in someone's long-term memory. A blog allows you to touch people's memory banks on an ongoing basis. Quantity. Search engines index every blog post, so the more articles you publish, the greater your chances of being found by people searching for information about your topic. Quality. Engaging, insightful blog articles help your readers learn to trust you. Tailor each blog post to one primary key word or phrase (so search engines know how to index your post), and use that key word naturally in the body of your article. Isn't blogging overdone? According to a Nielson Company study, 20% of U.S. adults who are online publish or own a blog. That means there's still plenty of room for growth in the blogosphere. And lots of people read blogs - 75% of U.S. households visited a blog or other social networking site in May 2010. Nearly 1 in 5 small business owners are integrating social media into their marketing plan, and if the predictions hold true, those numbers are going to drastically increase during the next five years. If you don't have a website and/or a blog, now is the perfect time to begin building your virtual infrastructure, with a website/blog as the hub of your online presence. 1. What publishing platform should I use? 2. Is Blogspot.com truly the slum of the Internet? 3. What's the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? 4. How can I create an all-in-one website/blog combo? To learn the answers to these four critical questions, click here to continue reading this issue of Bright Ideas: http://www.bloggingbistro.com/choosing-a-blog-publishing-platform/ And don't miss our Special of the Month, exclusively for Bright Ideas subscribers. http://tinyurl.com/24o6zvl ___________________________________________________________ 2. Enter your blog in our Monday Makeover Challenge ___________________________________________________________ Is your blog in desperate need of a makeover? Submit it to our Monday Makeover Challenge. Every Monday, we review a different blog. It's free and it's fun. What do you have to lose? Click here for details on how to submit your blog for review: http://tinyurl.com/2f9tryd ___________________________________________________________ 3. Submit a Guest Column to Blogging Bistro ___________________________________________________________ Would you like to share what you're learning about blogging, Twitter, or Facebook? Submit a guest column to Blogging Bistro. Here are our guest post submission guidelines: http://www.bloggingbistro.com/submit-a-guest-column-to-blogging-bistro/ ___________________________________________________________ 4. Upcoming Speaking Engagements ___________________________________________________________ September (TBA) Blogging 201 for Real Estate Agents During this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to customize your own, pre-installed WordPress.org theme. To indicate interest, contact Blogging Bistro. October 1-3 Write on the Sound Writers' Conference Frances Anderson Center 700 Main Street Edmonds, WA 98020 "Shaping Your Social Media Strategy" Learn what online communities can -- and can't -- do for you; time management techniques for using social media productively, and strategies for linking intelligently among your social networks. ___________________________________________________________ 5. At the Barista's blog... ___________________________________________________________ Three ways to leave your social media footprint (August column in Snohomish County Business Journal) http://tinyurl.com/296rhhs Video Tour of WordPress 3.0 http://www.bloggingbistro.com/wordpress-3-0-video-tour/ An Easy Way to Offer Your Blog Articles for Reprint http://tinyurl.com/233dcgp 7 Simple Ways to Get More Comments on Your Blog http://tinyurl.com/26nkza3 How to Create a Unique Twitter Background With Twilk http://tinyurl.com/2e3cxkn How to Recycle Blog Articles for Trade Magazines http://tinyurl.com/28h7lul Three Great Places to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities http://tinyurl.com/2c5ya48 ___________________________________________________________ 6. My Hangouts ___________________________________________________________ Twitter: http://twitter.com/BloggingBistro Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bloggingbistro LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurachristianson YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/bloggingbistro Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/bloggingbistro ___________________________________________________________ 7. Share Bright Ideas ___________________________________________________________ I invite you to reprint any of the articles from this blogzine in your own e-zine or on your Web site/blog, as long as you include the following blurb and a link to BloggingBistro.com: Laura Christianson founded BloggingBistro.com, a company that serves made-to-order social media solutions for individuals and businesses. Please forward Bright Ideas Blogzine to others who want to maximize their social media marketing. To start your e-mail subscription, send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com. 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