I get all kinds of funny looks and skeptical emails when we run people through the first two weeks of the Information Product Profits Training Course and they hear so much about building an authority blog…
"Isn’t this course about developing an info product business?" some people ask.
"Why do I need a blog when I already have a website" is how some others put it.
But those who follow the program closely and do what we recommend see incredible results in terms of list building, reputation building, traffic and of course, sales.
There are 3 main advantages of starting your online business off with a blog…
1. Blogs are well structured for generating traffic. They optimize and syndicate content to help you structure your content in the best way possible for search engines and attract high quality inbound links from partners and major directories.
2. Your blog is a key way (if not THE key way) to attract attention to your content and engage your audience in ongoing discussions helping to build your credibility AND supply a good source of user-generated content. One of the main factors in how often search engines visit you and how well they rank your content is how often you post quality information. With a steady supply of user-generated content, you have lots of fresh, on-topic, quality content to draw the search engines.
3. Your blog gives you, your business and your products AUTHORITY. Take a look at this recent study that found that ads placed on blogs received nearly 50% better response than on other types of social networking sites – the main factor attributed to this bump in response is the Authority your blog gives you and it’s impact on your audience.
Simply put, your blog will capture lots of new, highly targeted traffic, provide you a simple way of communicating and engaging that audience and will ultimately help you become THE authority on your marketplace laying the foundation for a strong, healthy online business.
If you don’t already have a blog, install WordPress (either from http://www.wordpress.org) or as a simple install included at no charge in many web hosting admin panesls or setup your own Google Blogger Blog where you can even push a domain you already have to host your blogger blog.
Before you begin, study the basics of keyword research. How to uncover top keywords and keyword phrases that will attract your audience and where the competition is not massive so you stand a chance of positioning your content near the top of the search engines.
Then, post each day for the next 2-3 weeks and notice the incredible surges of traffic and response you will see.
Finally, don’t be afraid to monetize your blog. Yes, your blog should deliver value daily in terms of information, resource links, opinions, case studies, factoids, etc… but you can very effectively position in-line links as well as run ads for your own (or affiliate) products near the header or along the side navigation panels.
Oh…and don’t forget list-building. It’s quite simple to ad a form from your favorite autoresponder to your blog so you can begin the process of turning your growing authority into a red-hot subscriber list.
If you aren’t yet blogging regularly, hit the comment button below and tell us why not. Is there something standing in your way – since blogging can be the catalyst to growing any type of online, money making business – it’s critical that you figure this one out.
To discover the bigger picture of starting and growing your own internet business, take the 6-week, intensive Information Product Profits Course inside InfoMarketer’sZone – watch your business really take off.
