The Key To Marketing With Blogs

I've spent months answering questions from marketers about blogs and blogging and how they fit into the marketing mix. Still, 99% don't understand the power of blogging.

What most marketers don't seem to grasp is the "people element". People have wants and needs and a desire to fill them. People want to belong to something bigger - a group, an organization. They want to be recognized and respected by their peers, noticed by leaders in their group and looked up to by their followers. Social. Community. Acceptance. Fellowship. Trust.

Key Marketing Concept: Fill people's wants and needs. Help them feel a sense of belonging, a sense of trust and they will spend their money.

In other words, build a rapport with people. People. Not Traffic, not Visitors, not Prospects? People.

Don't just post articles on your blogs, post "messages". Forget salesletters on your blog, post "reviews". If you want to include an affiliate link in a post, say so.

How do YOU feel about the product or service you're blogging about? Are you passionate or confident, based on personal experience, that a product is all or more than it's cracked up to be? What's your real opinion on the product? Have any ideas or tips on how that product can be of even more use to your followers?

Blog about it, honestly, passionately. And for heaven sakes enable your blogs commenting feature so you can discuss your views with your community. That's where the real power of blogs is - the personal interaction.

Paul Short is a veteran internet marketer, professional blogging consultant and owns the popular blog directory http://www.getblogs.com For more information on blogging and marketing with blogs, check out Paul's site at http://www.bloglogic.net

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://mashable.com/2008/10/10/onsugar/cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNES3Due5rmIUh6lrpCcHBWO624vKAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=8uRUTP-XtQEJimgurl=mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/choices.jpg width=62 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Mashable/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://mashable.com/2008/10/10/onsugar/cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNES3Due5rmIUh6lrpCcHBWO624vKAPublish Sweet Looking bBlogs/b OnSugar (Video)/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMashable,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Start Following link appears on all bblogs/b and acts like the subscribe to bRSS/b feed option that we see on all bblogs/b these days. When you create a new post b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://newmediamarketing.entrepreneur.com/2008/10/09/wrong-link-strategy-kills-profits-on-your-business-blog/cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNGHDYmhN7p6PKxEc1Yc5CZlNLtoVwCaptivating minds with bblogs/b,/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEntrepreneurnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Your main goal is to build a prospect list with names and contact info, not just generate traffic or show off how many bRSS/b subscribers you have. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/10/11/any-place-any-time/cid=1256337357ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNG9RzZQoWGG1G8H0vX8sUkJid41cQAny Place, Any Time/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFeministenbsp;-/font nobr52 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b October 11th, 2007 at 7:35 pm and is filed under bBlogging/b, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the bRSS/b 2.0 feed. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/10/10/new-digs/cid=1256337357ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNGTGEn_5hIiNhEww8X119gdVdgmowNew Digs/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrFeministe/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256337357hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20081010/NEIGHBORHOODS01/810100328cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNFNPELbBFaXUUQqwFPdie23UWIqEwUpcoming non-profit workshops/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBattle Creek Enquirer,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1So, you#39;ve read a bit about bblogs/b, bRSS/b feeds, wikis, SMS, and social networking sites, but you#39;re not sure exactly what any of these tools can do your b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Scholarly-Blogging-and-Profiting-From-Publishing-Today-51090.htmcid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNE-wqarB8GOjMmsgDfb4OcPfYNP5AScholarly bBlogging/b and Profiting From Publishing Today/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEContent (press release),nbsp;CTnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Eric Olson from Draper Fisher Jurveston Portage spoke about using bRSS/b feeds and sites such as Feedburner to syndicate and monetize bblogs/b. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/its-blizzcon-day/4167cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNFnaiDwbwG-PppKCNJreT0OCl4DJAIt’s BlizzCon day!/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fOCRegister,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1I’ve been bblogging/b over at our new Blizzard bBlog/b, which covers the Irvine game developer known for the World of Warcraft. Today is the first day of the b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_much_do_top_tier_bloggers_make.phpcid=1256040057ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNEo0sv0i9FQ8qCdQ1nBDMBmaa2BPgHow Much Do Top Tier Bloggers and Social Media Consultants Get b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fReadWriteWeb,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b on how to set up and run bblogs/b, how to reach out to and relate to bloggers, how to use Twitter (seriously) and how to make advanced use of bRSS/b. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://globalvoicesonline.org/2007/04/11/blogging-business-west-african-bloggers-inc/cid=0ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNG7GewkhvO3n5Po1k5fYd-cknf6SAbBlogging/b Business: West African Bloggers, Inc./abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fGlobal Voices Online,nbsp;MAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1by Benin Mwangi This week, while perusing the Africa business bloggers section of my bRSS/b reader, I noticed a peculiar thing, or maybe this is not so b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://politicalblogs.startribune.com/bigquestionblog/%3Fp%3D1160cid=1256242010ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNGXl3LMXsnYQKwIy1W6GfTBgmaYGQLive bblogging/b from Lakeville: McCain arrives/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMinneapolis Star Tribune,nbsp;MNnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1You can follow any responses to this entry through the bRSS/b 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketingvox.com/blogging-hits-mainstream-integral-to-media-ecosystem-041373/cid=1255622511ei=8zPwSP-LIKbU6gPfx6yMAwusg=AFQjCNHRA1Vk7dsRTTCS2r28kIbM-EX5xQbBlogging/b Hits Mainstream, Integral to Media Ecosystem/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketing Vox Newsnbsp;-/font nobrOct 8, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Top audience-building strategies include listing a bblog/b on Technorati and Google, commenting or linking to other bblogs/b, tagging bblog/b posts using bRSS/b feeds b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
blogging rss - Google News


Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Advertising in RSS Feeds: Are we risking disaster?

Advertising in RSS feeds is something that Google is considering... Read More

Bloggin for a Reason

For some it's just a fun thing to do, while... Read More

Blogs As A Marketing Tool

Blogs are the biggest things to happen to the Internet... Read More

Using Feedburner to Add Statistics to Your RSS Feed

Out of many of the free RSS and blogging services... Read More

Marketing With Blogs - Part 3

In part 1 and part 2 of this article series... Read More

Why Would You Use Blogs Instead of a Web Site For Your Online Business?

Why would you use Blogs instead of a web site... Read More

Make Money Blogging Using These Nine Powerful Strategies

The question "How to make money blogging" sits high on... Read More

Blogs and Networking

In the middle 1990's everyone started talking about needing a... Read More

Blog Marketing: Guerrillas Stalk the Internet

Blogs, are often defined as frequent and ongoing publications of... Read More

Blog Construction

Blogs like all forms of writing are an art form... Read More

Making Money with RSS Feeds

First it was banner ads, then Google AdSense and now,... Read More

Small / Medium Business Blog Process Outsourcing as a Website Traffic Building Service

You are a small or a medium business owner. You... Read More

RSS Meets the Needs of Direct Marketers

Contrary to general opinion, RSS meets the needs of even... Read More

Blog Problems

What in the world is up with the world of... Read More

How and Why to RSS

RSS feeds and blogs (and blog and pinging) are part... Read More

Marketing With Blogs - Part 1

Marketers have found that blogs are excellent tools for communicating... Read More

If an RSS Feed is the Yahoo Backdoor, is a Blog Google?s?

Though the answer is in a book I wrote this... Read More

Blog or Ezine? Top 7 Reasons to Blog Now!

Many of my small business clients ask me: "What is... Read More

For Wordpress users version 1.5 new feature ?Pages?

After many requests from wordpress users, the latest version of... Read More

RSS Feeds and How to Use Them

RSS feeds are the most important technology to arrive on... Read More

How RSS Advertising Can Help Business Gain A Higher ROI

I recently read the case study conducted by Pheedo, an... Read More

What is a Blog?

Q: Not to ask a ridiculously obvious question, but what... Read More

Choosing Your RSS Reader

If you want to be able to read RSS feeds... Read More

The Hybrid Blog and Ping

For the past two years, one of the best SEO... Read More

How to Write A Blog... And Survive

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah The... Read More