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!