Blog To Great

Publicity Tips and Sales Ideas for Your Blog's Success

          Blog Tips - Whether you want better personal or business publicity for your blog, or increased sales, you should  know about John Chapin (CompleteSelling.com ) and the book he's co-authored, The Sales Encyclopedia, (order here thru BtG).  BtG found it very helpful, in its clear, easy-to-digest style, John and the other authors provide a comprehensive guide that will enable you to gain the equivalent of years of experience, and remind veterans of why their game stays sharp.  A great number of tips, that will benefit your blog, and other facets of you life !

You can also hear Laurie Pehar Borsh's interview with John on this podcast at Blog Talk Radio, to learn more-

A Good BLOG Can Do So Much for Your Small Business

     BLOG TIPS - Your small business likely has a website (no?, well it should), so you know you need to stay on top of these four main areas to remain relevant :

• Provide fresh, valid content to your readers/customers
• Remain connected to your customers / clients.  Engage them!
• Get high ranks on search engines so folks can find you
• Keep up to date with new, exciting changes in technology and show your customers

One of the easiest ways to do all this, and more, and with little hassle and expense is thru the use of a blog ! As Entrepreneur.com recently said on MSNBC.com, "Build a Website in Blog's Clothing".  And that's a great way to sum up all that blogs can do with not a lot of tech training or work.  Domain names are cheap too, so you can have a blog for each business / division.  See their tips for blogs at MSNBC.

 

Help Let Customer Buy What They Don't Want

     BLOG TIPS - Thought this story appropriate, especially with of the swine (H1N1) flu fears & pork craziness around the globe this week.  It's a remarkable report nonetheless, a counter-intuitive study recently was published that uncovers the food choices people make.  The Journal of Consumer Research's basic conclusion is that, if you're a restaurant like McDonald's and you really want to increase french fry sales, the very best thing to do is add a side salad to your menu!   The effect is called "vicarious goal fulfillment," in which a person can feel a goal has been met if they have taken some small action, like considering the salad without ordering it, said Gavan Fitzsimons, professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, who led the research.  Wow!

Does this relate to blogging, websites and retailer?  I'm not a scientist, but the consumer behavior is likely to be the same.  So note what you're trying to "sell" and how you present your products (or brand) to the consumer and how to overcome their resistance.  Consumers, we now see from this report, will buy what they know they shouldn't if they can somehow have their guilt level reduced.  Having the right product mix is key in order to increase sales of your "core" item/s.   That's certainly good info bloggers and businesspeople that can help your blog and business.

See report at Journals.uchicago.edu and news release at Eurekalert.org

Should Your Small Business Have a Blog ?

     BLOG TIPS-  I've gotten a number of e-mails lately from small business owners (surely due to the economic problems worldwide) on whether a blog can be helpful.  Well, if you run a small business and want another way to easily market your business, keep in touch with your customers (and add new ones), a blog is the way to go!! Some people see it as a waste of time, but I disagree strongly. Maintaining a blog can take up some of your time (especially at the beginning), but it won't dominate your day, especially after it's up & running.  You'll find that even if you're not a great writer, you'll easily come up with info about your business to write about in order to keep in touch with your clients/consumers. 

• Let customers know about new products/services that you offer. 
• Announce new specials or sales, seasonal products, etc.
• Publish basic information- services offered, hours of operation, locations
• Proudly tell of the company's history.
• Accept orders/inquiries via the blog !!
• Display photos of your past work (or store/shop) 

And since most businesses have more than one employee, share the blog job!  Try scheduling specific time where each employee is required to write a post about their function in the business. This will takes care of both the time and content issues.  Even if you already have a full website for your biz, a blog adds value to that site and give you an opportunity to fill in the gaps from your website updates.  Two great places to start are TypePad, to host your blog, and 1and1 to secure your blog name!

Give it a try, or if you already have a biz blog, let us know how it has helped.  Blog to Great !!!

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