How important is a blog to your business?
Depending on the nature of your business of course does depend on the importance of your blog. So since I’m in the online marketing business and I’m assuming you are to because you are reading my post, that’s where we can focus our efforts.
So how important is a blog to your business?
My blog plays an integral part to providing information to its readers. I write about topics which I find helpful to myself, helpful to others and also provide hints tips and product reviews which also help my readers. So you could say Marketing From Scratch is a helpful blog and an important tool to get information across to my readers.
But that’s not all
Providing blog post information is only a small part of what your blog can do. Here are some other uses that you may not have taken into account:
- Point of contact (obvious)
- An extension of your social media pages e.g. Marketing From Scratch Face Book Page
- A place to add bonus items using hidden pages
- A full back end membership infrastructure
- Squeeze pages for free downloads or video courses
- Integrated sales pages
- Podcast central hub
- Organic traffic magnet (Google loves blogs)
- A viral traffic tool with the use of social media plugins
You are only limited by your imagination…
Did you know that you could use your blog for options 3,4 and 5?
Use as a bonus hub – I have a few bonus pages on my blog which are not publicly displayed. I had a lot more on DanSumner.com due to the length of time I ran my personal blog for. You see, you can use a bonus page to advertise affiliated products from your blog which is very easy to do. However it is best to use a page without a sidebar for the simple reason, you don’t want people heading off in different directions and forgetting the purpose of their visit, which is to buy the product via your link to claim the bonus.
However, by using your blog as a bonus download page and by that I mean where bonus claims can be downloaded from, you can direct all bonus visitors anywhere you like from that page. You could send visitors to another free download, a high end offer or something else. Even if you don’t do this, people will also look around your blog after they have downloaded your bonus so using your blog in this way is a great way to push visitors in alternative directions.
Membership infrastructure – I bet you didn’t know that my blog has a full backend membership infrastructure? I have it setup and ready to go just in case I want to open a membership training/mentorship product. The whole backend of my blog is almost ready to go with integrated membership levels as and when I want to use them. Depending on the blog you have it’s easy to install a membership option. Check out Optimize Press for an all in one option. Alternatively check out Wishlist Member for an integrated membership software plugin. Both of these products are very good for integrating memberships to any WordPress blog!
Squeeze pages – You may have seen some of these within my blog. If not here they are here:
eBook Squeeze – http://marketingfromscratch.com/increase-your-online-business/
Video Squeeze – http://marketingfromscratch.com/increase-your-online-business-video/
I use these for generating traffic from free eBooks and Advertising. They are very simply to setup using the Optimize Press frame work as the pages are already added into the software, so it’s merely a case of point and click. All I need to do then is run ads and direct traffic.
Setting them up with a conventional blog theme is a little different but it is doable. To do so simply create a simple single blog page and integrate with an Aweber or Get response subscription box, or a third party squeeze page plugin. Alternatively, code from lead pages could also do it. There is always a way.
So when I’m asked the question:
“If you have to start again, what would be the first thing you would start in your new business be?”
My answer would be “A blog”
Round up
Most people only see or use one side of a blog. It’s not until you dig deeper into WordPress and the tools that can be integrated to it you find out how versatile and how powerful your blog can be. As a business tool they are an amazing asset to have and if you don’t have one, I suggest you add it to your to-do list today!
Thanks for reading and please feel free to share with the buttons below.
Hi Dan,
Good looking blog. never really realized all the tings a blog can do for your business. I like the optin from right at the top under the header and also on the side. The there’s a pop up too. I’m listening here. Just not sure how to do all that stuff. I’m sure it’s probably explained on the Optimized Press site I’m guessing.
Everything looks polished and professional.
Hi Dan,
I totally agree, a blog is a great port to everything about you! If done well it may just end up being one of your most important assets in Internet Marketing.
Regards
Stuart
Thanks Stuart
Hello sir
Thanks for sharing this nice and informative post. you are right sir that the blog is very important to help your online business to given a fully knowledge about your brand, product or business. Internet marketing is a best platform to doing these activities.
Regards
Juan
thanks for giving such an useful and interesting information about blog..blog plays a vital role in online business. please keep sharing..
Awesome tutorial about how many nice things you can do with Gmail.Really helped me in my marketing techniques.Thanks a lot.
Awesome tutorial about how many nice things you can do with Gmail.Really helped me in my marketing techniques.Thanks a lot.