New York SBDC Research Network

From:  NameCheap You’ve heard it a million times: your website should have a blog. But why? You’re probably imagining a lot of work going into something no one will read anyway, right? While it’s true that a blog can represent a significant investment of time (or money, if you hire a writer), in this article we’re going to suggest that all businesses—from small one-person shops to major corporations—can benefit from having a blog on their website. Do you have enough customers or clients? Chances are, you’d like to bring in more business. A blog offers you a great opportunity to find—and keep—your customers.  First of all, blogs offer a great way for people to find your website. By writing about topics relevant to your business, your blog posts will start showing up in search engine results, bringing more people to your website. Solid content is also a signal that your site is relevant and reliable, which will boost your overall site ranking.

From MarketingProfs : You did it. You built a solid hub of corporate content. You turned to the abundance of advice available out there—on how map out the content strategy, create newsroom-worthy content, build a following, and engage with users—and you did it. But now what? You've got a well-planned behemoth of a content machine, but is it sustainable? Will it thrive? Will it survive a year, two years, five years later? Or a few months, even? Unless all the sweat equity you put into building it continues at the same intensity and pace after it's built, likely not. Fact is, your blog is destined for a sad end if it's not carefully nurtured and fed engaging content that changes with its readership. It takes more time, attention, and resources than it took to build it. It demands a long-term strategy and an invested team. And without those things, you'll destroy the very thing you worked so long and hard to create. Here's what happens when a good blog goes...

An article from Expanded Rambling . Also, Infographic: The history of online advertising from My Customer.

On average, 80% of people will only read the headline of an article or post. Headlines either pull people in or they push them away. While this is a bothersome reality, copywriters must find ways to harness their skills and write the most effective and attention-grabbing headlines they can muster. Otherwise, four out of five people will never make it to your very first sentence. Here are some ways to strengthen your headlines and grab hold of the limited attention of your readers. More from Black Stag Group

If you are creating 500-word me-too blog posts that get read by no one, you are completely and absolutely wasting your time. It's not your fault. You've been told by so-called experts for years that if you blog consistently, you will see truckloads of traffic, thousands of subscribers, and millions of dollars in sales. The thing is, a lot of these experts cut their teeth in the early years of the Web, when 500-word blog posts could win you fame and fortune. Now? Not so much. If you're serious about standing out from the 2 million blog posts pumped out every day, here's what you need to start doing. Read more at MarketingProfs .

Ideas for blog posts are endless, but sometimes it helps to have a little spark to get your ideas flowing. In this post you’ll find 103 “sparks” for you along with 50 more places to look for inspiration. These ideas range from serious to silly and you’ll find some are a better fit than others for your style of blog and your goals. But before you choose any of these ideas, stop to answer these two questions: 1. How can I make this post valuable for my readers? 2. Will this post create value for me? More from Michelle Shaeffer .

Burke, VA - The America's SBDC 'Biz Blog' was featured on Forbes.com on November 12, 2013 as one of the "100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs." The article stated that they searched high and low for the best of the best. Whether an entrepreneur was seeking capital, growing their business or just looking for general assistance the Top 100 sites listed were "worth reading." Natalie Robehmed, Forbes Staff wrote "America's Small Business Development Center blog presents friendly lessons from founders who have been there and done that." "Recognition from Forbes is a real tribute to our blog contributors and partners. Content from leaders like Gina Watkins of Constant Contact, Ramon Ray, Eric Spellman, Benetrends and so many others is what makes us successful, relevant and a premier resource for our SBDC business advisors and their small business clients," said Charles "Tee" Rowe, President & CEO, America's SBDC. ...

“If a company doesn’t have anything interesting to say, they have bigger problems to solve than where their next blog post is coming from.” That’s a bit of a jibe, but it does reflect the need for a change in perspective. Many companies see themselves as a vessel, with a finite number of ideas and pieces of information. In other words, their view of content is fairly static and self-centered. Once they’ve said all there is to say about their own products and services, the well goes dry. This is in contrast to what many successful business owners and entrepreneurs are doing with blogging and content creation. They create a blogging plan with topics and ideas to write about that customers would actually be interested in. They look at blogging as a byproduct of the ongoing listening and engagement that occurs between brand and customers, between brand and prospects and the community at large. More HERE .

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched a new web page and blog dedicated to educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act. The new tools will serve as a gateway for small business owners connecting them with information provided by SBA’s federal partners responsible for implementing the law, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "The Affordable Care Act provides small business owners with access and opportunity to provide affordable health care options for their employees," said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. "SBA’s new Affordable Care Act web page and blog will serve as a resource for small business owners who want learn more about how to take advantage of these benefits." The Affordable Care Act has many beneficial measures specifically for small businesses, including slowing premium cost growth and increased access to quality, affordable health insurance. SBA’s new web page, www.sba.gov/heal...

Blogs provide an excellent platform to engage with customers. WordPress blogs reach more than 70 million readers and Tumblr blogs reach up to 39 million. With numbers like those, you can see how important a blog can be, both as an extension of a business site and as a standalone destination. But many bloggers make basic errors that lessen their blogs' effectiveness. Are you making the same errors? Review the following list of nine unforgivable blogging offenses to make sure you are not committing any of them. Read more

From here : Also: Blogging, competition and commitment Someone recently asked me if I thought it was a good idea, for them to start writing a business blog. Whilst you may imagine my answer would automatically be a resounding ‘yes’, it wasn’t! I explained that in my experience, blogging is only a worthwhile commercial investment if you invest in it appropriately. Plus other blogging tips by Jim Connolly .

From Social Media Today : Most experienced marketers agree that a business blog is an extremely useful tool to expand online reach, build brand loyalty, and generate leads online. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 79% of marketers with over three years of experience use blogging as a social media marketing tool. Whether you’re just getting started or need to revamp your approach, here is a proven four-step formula your business can use to reap the many benefits of blogging: (DEFINE+LISTEN+ADDRESS) X (COMMUNICATE) = BLOGGING SUCCESS Clearly define your target audience, listen to them, and then communicate solutions that address their pain points in a simple, concise and relevant way.

"Do you have a blog for your small business? You should consider it. Blogging enables you to build credibility, expertise and thought leadership in and around your business. It is also a great way to showcase information about your product or service in a way that provides you flexibility to add information on-line without having to make changes to your primary website. Given all of these advantages the biggest challenges in blogging typically revolve around generating ideas to write about and the time to create posts." More HERE . I would add that you can take your blog and post the link on your Twitter or Facebook page. You DO have one, right?

What are the influential blogs in Canada? Try Blog Rank . Noticed that Travel blogs dominate the rankings. You can use the main site to check out other categories as well.

From Step by Step Marketing : Unless you are the owner of a small business technology or communications company, the idea of creating and managing a blog, on top of the need to manage a website just to stay “in the game,” can be a little daunting. And of course, there are lots of kinds of businesses that don’t need to produce a blog at all. But even if you are one of those, read on, there’s some other good advice in here for helping you affordably manage your web presence, whatever that may be.

From BNET , by Jon Gelberg: So you’ve decided you need to blog. As the owner of the business, you want to put a human face on the brand and become a source of valuable information for customers. Good for you! The big question now is, what the heck are you going to write about? And, more importantly, will anyone read it? Obviously you’re going to have to get a feel for what your target audience wants to read. That will come with time. Right now you just need to start writing. To give you a jump start on your blogging efforts, I’ve come up with 10 specific post ideas that I’ve found work well with most any audience.

" Manufacturing Industry News is your go-to resource for latest news and trends in manufacturing. Our mission is to help manufacturing companies keep up with industry news, stay ahead of the competition and achieve business growth. Affiliated with HubSpot , a Cambridge-based inbound marketing softare company, Manufacturing Industry News seeks to offer you practical takeaways for sustainable manufacturing and growth strategies."

Launching a blog for your business is an exciting way to generate continual buzz and to boost your word-of-mouth marketing efforts. Blogs are a more personal, conversational way to communicate with your customers, and they help foster customer loyalty. Through helpful, entertaining posts, you can start and maintain conversations with customers about your business and position yourself as an industry expert. More HERE .

From onlineclasses.org: If you’re preparing for a career in the business world, you’re undoubtedly devoting a lot of time and effort to your schoolwork, internships and networking. But keeping up with business news is equally important, and these websites can help you apply what you learn in class to real-world situations, from the stock market, to international business, to starting up your own company to social media marketing. Here are 100 best websites for your business news and know-how . The list includes General Media (Forbes, Fortune), Blogs (the Curious Capitalist), Social Media (Fast Pitch, PartnerUp), Stock Market and Finance (CNNmoney, Business Index), Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship.org, SBA), Business Education (Harvard Business Publishing, MIT Sloan School of Management), Tips, Tools and Tutorials (All Things Workplace, Business Owner’s Toolkit), Career (Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, Wisconsin School of Business Careers), and my favorite, of course, Green Busines...

Unsurprisingly, we at the Research Network are keen on blogs and blogging. But it's true that a blog that's not updated regularly is probably more problematic than no blog at all. Chris Crum over at Small Business Newz addresses this issue in Business Blogs Only Work if You Use Them . After he notes all of this blogs lying abandoned in cyberspace, Chris notes the benefits of sticking with it: Chris notes that a business blog "can inspire trust and keep the public informed about your business activities. However, it's only going to be a great tool if it is maintained. "I realize an update every day is not always practical, but I wouldn't advise against it unless there is nothing to say. You probably don't want to force your writing, but regular updates are key to making sure people know you are taking the blog seriously, and it will give them reason to come back (or hopefully subscribe via RSS). If your business is on Twitter (or other social media sites)...