To Blog, or not to blog...

I've long been asked "Why do you blog?" and I've struggled, in all honesty, to come up with a clear way of explaining my passion for posting. I usually blurt out - "I just like to blab", but really, it goes deeper than that. Another question I get from people is "Should I blog?" and just as quickly I say "Yes - Absolutely".

Part of the reason why I love to blog is that I feel Blogging is a wonderful way to get to feel an intimate connection to a business, or person. I was recently interviewed on my use of blogging for business by American Express who was doing a small business feature, and alas, my piece got cut because of lengh. (Maybe it was once again my blabbing?) But it reminded me that my blog, is an extremely important aspect to my business. I'm able to show you new product ideas on a whim, and write posts like this.

A lot of my customers are also small business owners, so I though that a little pep talk on blogging would be helpful to you. Here are some commonly asked questions about blogging that I get, and hopefully they will help you perhaps add that extra element to your own venture.

Q: I have a website - but why should I blog?
A: Some people have hired outside companies to build them a website, and it's hard for the average person to modify the layouts, say for example, if you have something new you want to share. A blog is an easy way to post updates on what you're doing, for free. I always suggest when consulting to business owners to ALWAYS have a blog link on their website. Post pictures of your store, new products - I visit blogs on a regular basis that I know are updated frequently, as it's fun to see whats going on in other people's lives.

Q: What blogging software do you use?
A: I've always used Blogger, but some people love Typepad. Blogger is free, and extremely user friendly.

Q: Your blog looks different than other peoples? How did you do that?
A: Blogger allows you to modify the blog code in your settings. You need to know HTML in order to play around with it. As an example, I wanted to have bigger pictures in the middle, and two coloumns which allowed me to feature more links & details. This layout is not offered by Blogger, you need to "re-work" their code. On a regular basis I work with small & large businesses to modify their blogger code so that they have something like I do. (Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like your blog re-worked)

Feel free to ask questions here if you have your own business or are simply thinking of how to. Post below, as maybe others are thinking of the same thing! I'm absolutely delighted to share any insights & tips!




Image is sourced from this website - and unfortunately no credits to the artist were provided. :(