Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool, Part 4: Blog Buzz aka Word of Mouth Advertising

Halo 2, a popular video game for the Microsoft Xbox, created one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns ever with the creation of the “I Love Bees” pseudo-game. At the release of a final trailer for the game, shown in theaters around the world, flashed the Xbox logo on the screen with a web address for ilovebees.com. People who visited the site found mysterious messages and a countdown to an unknown future event—which eventually was found to be the launch of the game. The I Love Bees campaign created a buzz to the world via millions of curious people visiting the website and creating their own blogs and websites all connected with trying to solve the bee mystery. [1]



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l 2 r: Bumble Bee fine art photo - Sara Montour Photography, Antiqued Bee necklace - seph & shug handmade studio

Great Content for Business Bloggers

Bloggers are writers, publishers, opinion leaders, risk takers, and entrepreneurs. They have passion for their medium and believe in the content of what they write. Many people that read blogs think much like those who write them. [2]

The information on a blog should always be written with the reader in mind. If a blog is meant for business, make sure you know what will make good business content. Good quality writing adheres to the unique atmosphere that a blog creates, also known as the Blogosphere. The goal is for readers to bookmark or subscribe to your site and return again to read future entries. Information that is easily accessible to readers—both original writing and information collected from other sources--can increase the popularity of any blog. Credibility of information is important for gaining the trust of blog readers and can be accomplished by demonstrating the writer is an authority on the subjects, which are presented.

Consider the following tips for writing great blog entries:

Talk, don’t sell. Blogging is the environment of a no sales pitch attitude. Blog visitors want to read what other people care about and what they know. They will either trust the author or they won’t. Talking, not selling, to readers builds their trust.


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l 2 r: Trust giclee print - Martha Lever Lettering & Design, My Memory Often Plays Tricks On Me original collage - Stiletto Heights

Post often and stay interesting. Effective bloggers post their thoughts at least once per day. Posting often keeps your blog alive in the Internet search engines and keeping the subjects interesting ensures readers will return.

Write about issues you care about. The best blogs have passion and show authority. Expressing what you know and care about in a blog makes a much bigger impact than using a blog to sell a product.


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l 2 r: Zoja Contemporary Dancer fine art photo - Kleno Photography, Chirp Ceramic clock - Lure Arts by Pam McFadyen

Blogging saves money but costs time. A well-written blog can reduce or eliminate the need for public relation and ad support in a business but creating a great blog requires an investment of time. Lack of time is the number one reason cited by people who start a blog and then quit writing. [3] Writing for 15 minutes per day is a fair amount of time to dedicate to a blog that can improve your business--without overwhelming your schedule or sacrificing great content.


This post is part four of a marketing series. Please visit my archives for parts one through eight.

The photos displayed in this post represent items sold by our talented fellow small business owners, in their online Etsy stores. Please click on the links under the photos to visit the artist shops for fine quality handmade items.



[1] Wright, Jeremy. Blog Marketing. First Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006.
[2] Bly, Robert W.. Blog Schmog. First Edition. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2006.
[3] Wright, Jeremy. Blog Marketing. First Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2006.

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