An overview of the differences between a website and a blog, the benefits of blogging and why it's beneficial. The presentation also includes common objections to blogging and insight into why blogs some blogs fail and others succeed.

1. THE TRUTH ABOUT
BLOGGING
Blogging is a waste of time – Fact or Fiction?
By Beth Browning
Discoveryourcustomers.com

2. Blogging for Business – Look and Then Leap
• What is a blog?
• Should my website have a blog?
• Why should I blog?
• I tried a blog it didn’t work

3. Differences between a blog and a website
Website
• Static pages (information doesn’t
change often if ever)
• Content is focused on
describing products and
services
• One way communication
• Transactional
Blog
• Online journal or a series of
articles in chronological order
(Posts)
• New content (posts) are added
frequently
• Content is intended to inform,
engage, and/or entertain
• Informal
• Interactive – comments and
social shares

4. Benefits of Blogging
• Improve search engine placement – it’s not unusual for a blog to
outrank a brand for key search phrases
• Attract new customers
• Engage customers and keep them coming back
• Become the authority in your niche
• Reach a wider audience than through traditional newsletters and
industry publications
• Build your brand
• Build Trust
• Generating links for SEO and direct traffic

5. Why Blog?
• Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic & 70% more leads than those that don't
• 65% of daily internet users read blogs.
• 46% of daily internet users read >1 blog/day & 36% read 5-10 blogs/day

6. Common Objections to Blogging
Objection: There’s already too much content and competition in the
blogosphere.
• Reality: There are more readers than bloggers and 65% of daily internet users read
blogs
Objection: My company sells products that no one wants to read about.
• Reality: People that have a need for your products or services also have a need for
information.
Objection: It’s impossible to create unique content, everything has already
been written about.
• Reality: Everyone has a unique perspective on their industry and area of expertise.
Objection: Blogging doesn’t drive traffic or generate leads.
• Reality: Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic & 70% more leads than
those that don't

7. Before you decide if blogging is right for your business…
• Why do you want to have a blog?
• Who do you want to read your blog?
• What do you want to say? What’s your story?
• Is your competition blogging? If so, how often are your competitors updating their blog?
(this isn’t the most important question but it’s good to know)
• How are you going to get people to read your blog? Are you already engaged in the
social networks that your potential visitors use?
• How much time can you devote to writing posts?
• Do you have someone in your organization that can write? Do you have the budget to
hire a professional writer if you don’t have an internal resource to write content for your
blog?

8. Reasons Blogs Succeed
• There is a passion for sharing information
• The blog has a practical purpose and is relevant
• Content is optimized for humans and for search engines
• There is a plan in place – editorial calendar
• The blog is consistently updated (it doesn’t have to be daily)
• The content is high quality
• Posts are promoted and distributed through social channels
• Comments are replied to
• Social sharing is made easy
• The performance of the blog is monitored and measured

9. Reasons Blogs Fail
• Lack of planning and oversight
• No passion for the topic
• Because SEO that focuses only on keywords and getting links is dead
• Inconsistent or infrequent updates
• Purely self promotional
• Information is off-topic and isn’t relevant
• The content isn’t promoted or distributed
• The content is of poor quality
• The content isn’t easy to share

10. The Truth about Blogging
• Blog with a purpose – or don’t create one
• Focus on your visitors – they will turn into leads and customers
• Optimize your content – the search engines will reward you (as long as
you also focus on your customer)
• Engage – socialize and promote your content, don’t forget to promote
others as well (share what others are saying more than you talk about
yourself)
• Be relevant – you’ll become a go-to resource and an authority in your
niche
• Be consistent (and patient) – stick to your schedule and keep
publishing content, even if you think no one is listening
• Be generous – give away free information, it will pay off

11. Discover Your Customers
Taking the mystery out of SEO - my services
Website Analysis and Competitive Intelligence
- Provide insights regarding strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity for improving and optimizing an
online presence within the competitive landscape.
Teaching
-Conduct hands-on search engine optimization workshops for beginners to advanced – Workshops, Onsite
Training, and Virtual training
Search Engine Marketing
-Develop marketing strategies and plans to promote both brand and business through search engine
optimization
Mentoring
- Relationship based training and knowledge transfer of skills to accelerate the growth of individuals and improve
retention and performance.
Content Creation
- Generate online content that is interesting and engaging for website visitors and is optimized for search
engines.
Register for one of my workshops at: http://seotrainingpennsylvania.com/
For more locations, visit: http://www.searchengineacademy.com/
Subscribe to my blog for regular tips and insights (plus occasional musings): http://discover-your-customers.com/blog/

12. THANK YOU!
Contact Beth @ bbrowningdiscoveryourcustomers.com for more
information on about training and consulting services.