Why Blog?
Blogging refers to keeping an online log, or web log, (which is where the name comes from), where you regularly publish new content. Blogging can be a critical part of your overall strategy for organically increasing traffic to your website and improving your professional credibility.
What should I blog about?
The short answer is that you should blog about your industry. Blogging about changes in your industry, developments in it's technologies and business practices, people who are important contributors to it, and specifically what you're doing to offer great products and services within your industry will increase the amount of web pages search engines index on your website and eventually increase your web traffic. In addition to the impact blogging could have on the number of pages search engines index within your website and your search engine ranking, it will also encourage the development of a readership, which in turn will increase regular traffic and inbound links. Blogging is also a great marketing tool in the conventional sense, as it gives you the opportunity to position yourself as an expert in your field and increase your target market's familiarity with your brand.
How often should I blog?
There's no magic number in regards to how frequently you should publish new blog posts. The key is consistency and regularity; you want to publish new content frequently enough to keep your website on your readers "radar" so to speak, but not so frequently that your readers feel like they can't keep up. While the perfect interval changes a little from industry to industry, publishing a blog post about once every week or two is a great place to start.
How do I get people to read my blog?
There are a few simple methods for improving your readership. One great method is to discuss topics likely to be of use to your clients on your blog, such as your business process, new products, or significant personnel changes, and then direct your clients to your blog to learn more about those topics. This method guarantees that your readers have a reason to be interested in your blog posts, and may help your readership grow naturally through word of mouth.
Another good way of increasing traffic to your blog is by keeping up with other blogs that pertain to your industry, and participating in discussions about their posts by leaving comments. Your participation in these conversations will help to establish you as an expert in your field and may pique the interest of other blog's readerships enough to seek more information about your company or expertise. Often, comment forms on blogs have fields for a URL so that you can submit your own company's website along with your name and comments, further improving the likelihood that readers will link back to your blog.
