Series: Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool - Part 8: Businesses Perfect for Blogging

Any business that wants to increase their web traffic, improve their search engine rankings, build their prominence and reputation, influence customer choices and communicate more personally with customers is a candidate for blogging. A few examples of businesses that are considered perfect for business blogging:

Professionals – Doctors, Attorneys, Real Estate Agents, Financial Advisers and Accountants.

Service Industries – Restaurants, Retail Stores, Wedding and Event Planners, Consultants, Mechanics, Salons and Spas.

Arts and Entertainment – Musicians, Artists, Photographers, DJ’s, Theaters and Movie and Stage Production Companies.

Tourism and Travel – Restaurants, Hotels, Tour Providers, Travel Agents, Cruise and Airline Companies.

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t 2 b, l 2 r: make a jazz noise here fine art photo, vincent teuliere, elizabeth luxe hair comb - lulu splendor, sunset sakura tunic - ahpeele, vintage upcycled red leather travel case - get ready, set, go!

The bottom line on blogs is simple--any business that would benefit from building their reputation and improving the trust of their clients and potential customers can benefit from blogging. The cost is low, the advantages are high, and the outcomes can be very rewarding for companies, the bloggers and their readers.

Items displayed in this post are from the handmade and vintage shops of Etsy. Follow the links above to find more in these and all the shops of Etsy!

This is the final segment of my blog marketing series. If you missed parts 1-7, please visit my archives to read the entire series.

Copyright pfeiffer photos 2009 - all rights reserved. Please do not use my writing or photographs without permission. Contact me HERE for more information or permissions.

Etsy: Handmadeology

Handmadeology = the science of handmade. Handmadeology is the brainchild of Timothy Adam, a self taught metal artist who makes his living selling handmade goods online.


Adam is also dedicated to helping others achieve their goal of successfully selling their handmade goods through online venues including Etsy, Art Fire, Red Bubble, and others. Over 700 blog followers agree, he has THE blog to read if you've been considering trying social networking tools--Facebook, Twitter, etc--He can help you maximize their potential for your online small business, and he writes in non-tech language so the rest of us can actually understand...nice.

Beginning January 26, 2009, we can all learn more from Timothy at Handmadeology.com.

Follow Handmadeology NOW on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

You can also sign up for the FREE newsletter on Timothy's blog for news you can use and updates about Handmadeology!

Items displayed in this post are from Timothy Adam's Etsy shop...visit, shop, enjoy.

Series: Blogging - The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool: Part 7: Trackbacks and why they are important

In October 2008, Part Six of this marketing series covered the cons for businesses without a blog--a list of reasons why not blogging could affect your bottom line. This addition to the series will cover the importance of using Trackbacks.



l 2 r: Away fine art photo - aral33 photography, Doc Holiday hat - Moe Sew Co., Delicate Furry Necklace - Sara Lagace Original Designs, Gold Spalding dress - Makool Loves You.

Trackbacks are a tool used by bloggers for linking to other blogs. For example, if the author of a blog finds a great blog post on another person or company’s blog they might want to link it back to their company blog. The old-fashioned way to link would be to manually insert a link on the authors’ site to the discovered blog of interest, but the person whose blog is being linked to would not know you had linked to them unless they were informed. “A trackback program will notify the original blogger when one of their posts is linked to another blog by setting up a link at the bottom of every blog post.”[1]

t 2 b: Large Green Bowl - sirius.fnord, Montana fine art photo - Kerri Bastin, Origami Ornaments - Paper Red Shoes, Slate Bottle Trio - Sara Paloma Pottery.

Trackbacks are important to bloggers because they increase awareness of blogs and improve the credibility of a blog. A post about the referenced blog accompanies a trackback on one blog, which is the equivalent of receiving free advertising for the referenced blog. Readers will follow the links, learn of the referenced company, and possibly visit that blog again if they enjoy the content presented. The result of a trackback equals more traffic for the blog and more opportunities for making new connections.

“A growing number of American CEOs rate blogs
effective as employee communication tools.

59% of CEOs polled said they find blogs useful for internal
communications.
47% of CEOs stated they see blogs as a tool for external
communications.
18% of CEOs say they plan to host a company blog over the
next two years.”[2]

l 2 r: Sample Soaps - Kelle's Kitchen, O, Christmas Tree holiday cards - Jumping Jack Designs, 6-bottle Wool Wine Holder - Etcetera Media.

This post is part SEVEN of a marketing series. Please visit my archives to read parts 1-8.

The photos featured in this post represent items sold by our uber-creative, fellow small business owners, in their online Etsy stores. Please click on the links under the photo grids to visit the artist shops on Etsy.

Handmade fine arts, crafts, jewelry, metalwork, furniture, edibles, organic, eco-friendly, toys, decor, clothing, fibers, home decor, paper goods, accessories, supplies and all kinds of retro-good vintage items are waiting to delight your shopping sensibilities for the holidays and all-year-round on Etsy from all around the globe!

[1] Detty, Terry. "Why Trackbacks are Useful For Blogs." [Weblog WebReference.com] 2008. Webreference.com. 25 May 2008 http://www.webreference.com/promotions/trackbacks/.

[2] Sharma, Dinesh C.. "Study: CEOs find blogs useful." cnet.com 7, November 2005 25 May 2008 http://news.cnet.com/Study-CEOs-find-blogs-useful/2100-1047_3-5937387.html.

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool, Part 6: Cons for the Company without a Blog

In Part Five of this marketing series, I listed the pros for starting and maintaining an active blog to support a small business. The list of the cons includes reasons why not blogging could affect your bottom line.

By not blogging companies could lose potential customers, lose current customers, lose influence that could be wielded and eliminate building relationships to define a company. Businesses can benefit from being aware of other company blogs even if they are not blogging themselves.

LISTENING - Blogs help companies listen to what others are saying about them.

TRACKING - Blogs help to track where, why and how a company is (or is not) growing.


l 2 r: Thrillville Carousel fine art photo - Pfeiffer Photos, Dodgem fine art photo - Photobox

TRENDS - Blogs can indicate trends a company is starting or is a part of.

RESPONDING - Blogs let companies know what people are saying about them—the good and the bad--and help them decide how they should respond.

SOLUTIONS - Blogs provide a safe, often informal, place for companies to respond to customer feedback and to offer solutions and follow up for unhappy customers.

NETWORKING - Leaving comments on other blogs lets blog writers know other companies are listening to them and it builds more connections between companies.

l 2 r: Key Card custom design biz pkg - S Type Creative, Great Bowl O'Fire recycled steel, 37" - John T. Unger Studio

Community and Cataloging of Blogs

The collective community of all blogs is known as the Blogosphere. Discussions on blogs are often used by members of the media as a measurement of public opinion on many topics. Numerous online communities have been created to connect people to blogs and people whom blog to other bloggers, including BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog.

l 2 r: Gluten-Free Plain Donut Hole Mix - Glutenada, Happy Dog fine art photo - Ondago Arts

Blog search engines, such as Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati exist to help readers search the contents of blogs. Technorati, the most popular search engine for blogs, displays the most up-to-date statistics on searches and tags used to categorize blog postings.

Keywords are being replaced by other information to help navigate more efficiently through the large amounts of information on all the blogs on the Internet. Blogs are ranked for popularity based on the number of incoming links and web hits by people searching for blogs to read on the Web.

This post is part SIX of a marketing series. Please visit my archives to read parts 1-8.

The photos displayed in this post represent items sold by our ever vigilant, super creative, fellow small business owners, in their online Etsy stores. Please click on the links under the photos to visit the artist shops on Etsy!

Etsy is the pefect place to shop for gifts. Share joy and buy quality, handmade, edible and vintage goodies from local and international artists and sellers.

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

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.

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool - Part 3: Case Studies of Successful Business Blogs

David Harlow, a lawyer and health care consultant in Boston, began writing his blog, HealthBlawg, to market his private practice after leaving a large firm. Two years later Mr. Harlow says he is happy with the results. His blog gets about 200-300 visits per day and has been utilized as a reference site for publications seeking commentary on issue in the health care field. He also stated that he has gained new clients because of his blog, has met many people and has been able to communicate with other bloggers in his field across the country.[1]


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l 2 r: Cherry Blossoms Lavender eye pillow - small city styles, Ripe White tea - ruaTea, Circles Yoga Mat Bag - small city styles, and Raspberry Minis Anna's Oatcakes - Down from the Mountain

Sarah E. Endline, chief executive of sweetriot, a producer of organic chocolates, started her company blog before the company launch in 2005. Endline wanted to have a place for customers to get a behind-the-scenes look at the business of making chocolate treats. Being personal with customers is a common reason cited for blogging, especially for companies that want to be known as mission-oriented or socially responsible. The sweetriot blog includes an entry written about their first cacao shipment from South America, greeting the truck on Labor Day weekend after it cleared the customs process at Kennedy International Airport, and the appreciation she felt toward the delivery driver who helped her sort through and inspect her product.[1]


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l 2 r: Chocolate Chili Cashew Biscotti and Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows - whimsy & spice, Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies - Vegan Propamanda, Chocolate Chai Bread - Get In My Belly

A company blog guarantees that the blog author can tell their side of their story, in their own words. The best bloggers type fast and talk a lot. They are chatty people and are into relationships. Blogging provides small businesses global reach for a very low cost. Blogging is soft marketing and can work in place of an email newsletter and with better results. Companies that already have a website can add a blog and achieve higher rankings in search engines. Examples of the benefits of a company blog can include but are not limited to:

IMPLEMENTING IDEAS - One person can come up with a good idea but it can take 100 or more people to implement the idea--blogs can help provide resources for both.

INCREASING REVENUE - Great ideas that can come from the conversations and feedback between a blog author and blog readers can increase revenue and marketing power.

KNOW THE CUSTOMER – Blogs can link companies directly with their customers, help them to understand their market, and aid in discovering ways to deliver new products on time and on budget.

FEEDBACK - Relying on a small sample of customer feedback can hurt development of products and ideas. With blogging, you can ask your entire blog readership for their opinions. Insight to what a larger community of readers want can help you to deliver better products.

VISIBILITY - Blogs allow marketing visibility and help to reach the right people and make them aware of the right products and services at the right time.

MESSAGE – Blogs can help a business connect to individual customers with a specific message instead of marketing a generic message to a global mass of random buyers.

SPREAD THE WORD - Blogging, a component of viral marketing, can create word-of-mouth advertising about a product or service and introduce incentive programs and contests for customers to interact with the company and create relationships.

This post is part two 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 their links to browse their shops for quality handmade and edible goods.

[1] "Blogging - Low Cost, High Return Marketing: NY Times." [Weblog smallbiztechnology.com] 6, Jan 2008. The New York Times. 24.4. 2008 .
[2] Alboher. Marci. "Blogging - Low Cost, High Return Marketing: NY Times," The New York Times 27, Dec 2007. The New York Times. 26.5. 2008

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. Contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool - Part 2: What is a Blog?

The term “blog” is short for “weblog”. A weblog is a website that uses a dated log format and links to other web sites along with commentary about those sites. Blogs are updated frequently and can be grouped by subjects, such as politics, news, personal (think: public online journal), or types of businesses and issues related to them.[1]

In 1998, blogs were a very new concept and most bloggers were familiar with one another and could link their websites together with code built into their pages. Web developers who hand-coded their websites both designed and wrote the content of most blogs. In 1999, free weblog-creation software programs, which were easier to use and did not require users to write HTML code, became available to the public online and blogging grew in popularity. In August 1999, the invention of Blogger was introduced online and was quickly embraced. The Blogger program provides templates and designs for any user to create a unique look just for their blog. By October 2000, 300 new blogs were created each day on Blogger, and 5,500 blog owners were registered. In November 2000, 10,000 blogs were reported active on Blogger, and by 2002; over 750,000 users were listed with Blogger.[2]


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l 2 r: Individuality 1 by Rosemary Pierce-Lackey, Organic Double-Chocolate Pecan Brownies by Vanilla Bean Organic Bake Shop, 2 Plus 1 Woods necklace by i.heart.mies, Gone Fishing cotton tote by Yunny)

How can blogging benefit a business?

In addition to decent ideas, great product, visibility and a well-trained people you need good marketing, great customer relations, support, and other factors to succeed. Until blogging, the most common wisdom was that press coverage was the most credible way to reinforce the company image, product and reputation. Press coverage can be expensive and often receives negative or inaccurate feedback.



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l 2 r: Gold Bangle Bracelet by Metals Girl, Mid Century Slipper Chair from Lunar Lounge Design, Gray & Ochre screen print notes by Michelle Brusegaard, 50's Glam Flapper Dress from Cherry Pick Vintage

Any company that has something to say that will add value to what their core product is should look at blogging as a new marketing tool. Blogging provides direct access for businesspeople to get their message directly to their target audience and to receive their feedback.

This post is part two of a series. Please continue the journey with us in the next installment!

The photos displayed in this post represent items sold by our talented fellow small business owners, in their online Etsy stores. Please click on their links to browse their shops for quality handmade and vintage goods.

[1] "Ask Yahoo!." Ask Yahoo!. 15, December 2002. Yahoo! Inc.. 26 May 2008 .
[2] "Ask Yahoo!." Ask Yahoo!. 15, December 2002. Yahoo! Inc.. 26 May 2008 .

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

Blogging: The Low Cost, High Return Business Marketing Tool - Part 1: The Power of Communication

“What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate.” ~Captain, Cool Hand Luke

Today’s consumers crave human contact. We’re tired of voicemail with its menus full of options that don’t offer us solutions. The deluge of professionally prepared information that is intended more for influence our decisions more than to provide us with answers to our questions or speak to our concerns. Mechanical voices try to assure us that our calls are important but the humans that record the voices don’t answer those calls.

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(l 2 r: Incomplete - fine art photo, AliciaBockPhotography, You Don't Say original painting, Hilarie Galleries)

The humans we are able to reach are often barely able to speak our native language and they read responses off of a script. Buyers distrust corporations because of a lack of connection. Headlines tell us tales of corporate abuse, ethical scandal and illegal conduct. Companies are seen as monoliths without souls, run by slick lawyers and crooked accountants calling the shots and keeping their drone-like employees in line. Many people have a negative view of marketing. A suspicion has built that there is no human behind the refined language of a press release or advertisement. Consumers have built up their mental filters, purchase technology such as TiVo, and use spam filters to evade marketing messages.

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(l 2 r: Code Green tee, Binary Winter, Robot Notecards, Creative Apples)



Into this atmosphere of distrust comes the culture of blogging. Blogging brings interaction, it’s informal, it allows for typos, grammatical error, and the occasional forbidden word. Real people write Blogs and they allow discussions to begin with real customers who want to talk back. Blogs permit participants to move from one topic into another and back again. Bloggers feel free to interrupt one another to ask questions, make suggestions and challenge arguments.

A recent American Express survey found that only 5 percent of businesses with fewer than 100 employees have blogs.[1]

This post is part one of a series. In spring of 2008 I completed a marketing class as a requirement for my degree program. My final project was a 20-page research paper and I chose the subject, "Use of blogs as a marketing tool". This series will contain pieces from that paper. My hope is simply to inspire those, like us, with small and micro businesses, in their blogging (and marketing) endeavors.

So why should you care about this information? Simply put, because it could affect your business in a very positive way!

This post is part of a marketing series. Please see my archives for parts two through eight.

The photos displayed in this post represent items sold by our talented fellow small business owners, in their online Etsy shops. Please visit their shops to view other terrific handmade items.

[1] Alboher, Marci. "Small Business: Blogging's a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool." [Weblog newyorktimes.com] 27, Dec 2007. The New York Times. 26 May 2008 .

Cartoon courtesey of toothpaste for dinner, copyright 3.07.

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved. do not use my writing or photographs without my permission. Contact me HERE for info and permissions...thanks!

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Pfeiffer Photo Blog Stats (UPDATED: 4.1.09)

• 350-400 visits per week and growing!
• 68% new visitor traffic
• 63% referral site traffic
• Readers from every continent around the globe! 
• 3.5 pages viewed per visit (average)
• 3-4 minutes per visit (average)
• 205 Regular Followers and growing daily!
• My Google Page Rank: #1 (since 3.09)
• Top (non-blog) referral sites bringing traffic to my blog include: Google Search, Etsy, Twitter, Flickr, Craftcult.com, Facebook, and other blogs via ads & comments.

I promote my blog regularly on Etsy, Twitter, Facebook and other social network sites and hold ad space on other blogs with good traffic flow.  I also follow a number of high traffic, creative content blogs and comment regularly which brings readers to my blog.

I promote Etsy artists, shops and items regularly on my blog and support both handmade and vintage sellers!

I am a member of the following groups and networks: Photographers of Etsy aka POE Street Team, POE PDX Street Team, Etsy Sellers Who Blog, CAST Street Team, We Love Etsy Ning, and a handful of groups on Twitter and Facebook.

I promote my blog weekly through direct posts on my Facebook personal and business pages.

I am active in the Flickr and Etsy communities and operate shop space on Etsy, ArtFire, Red Bubble and Art Cards Wanted.

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