Blogging is hands down one of top online marketing methods today. What started out as mostly a hobby for many (and still is) has been gradually molded over the years into a solid business platform. It can be a be a part of your business or it can be your entire business. That says a lot.Â
For affiliate marketing, this is where you connect with your audience… Establish your expertise… Build relationships…. Build your subscriber lists… And market your products. All in one place.
There are tons of blogs out there that teach how to set up a blog, how to monetize it, and how to get it ranked. So I’m not going to spend time on that here. It’s up to you to get out there and learn that stuff!
If you disagree, that’s fine. I’m not here to convince you. What I do want to talk about is the importance of keeping your blog ‘alive’. As we just said above, your blog:
Builds readership, reputation, salability (if you choose to sell your blog later)
Connects your brand with the rest of the internet (Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, and other experts in your niche)
Attracts both sales and subscribers (who you can also sell to later)
All this only happens if your blog is ‘living’. A blog that is created and immediately uploaded with 20 articles – and that’s it – is not living. Google won’t pay attention to it. It’s not that it doesn’t matter how much or how little content you have on it, it’s the frequency which you do it. The blog with 40 articles added in one day is not going to do as well as the blog with those 40 articles added at regular intervals – say twice per week.
Now someone could accept that challenge and I’m sure figure out a way to grow an inactive blog. PPC ads, social media, etc. But if you did that, you’re still taking regular, daily action for your blog. Do both – promote and build your blog – at the same time and you’re really harnessing some power.
Google goes around and checks web sites on regular intervals. And it adjusts based on how active or inactive a web site is. You want Google to recognize yours as a live site, that is active and being used regularly. Your site needs to be:
Constantly growing with new content
Updated regularly (ANY change to the site, not just a new post)
Train Google to look for changes regularly from you. Get on your site at least every couple of days and update it. Whether it’s a new post, changing some copy in your sidebar or menu, changing your home page, or changing your banner ads. These are all changes that will be noticed. And keep in mind, any changes you make should always be tested!
Don’t just change the order of banner ads or the verbiage of the menu or what your homepage looks like without paying attention to the change in stats. These are all opportunities to learn about your audience and optimize your site.
Again, without consistent action, Google will learn to only check on your site very infrequently. Your work will struggle to gain momentum and grow.
As an aside, I use WordPress and I love it. It allows you to automatically connect to all your social media accounts and other blogging platforms, so that your posts (or notifications of new posts) are automatically sent out to all those sites every time you publish something on your blog. Not only are you letting Google know that your blog is alive and well, but you’re sending direct notice to all those other sites. You build readership, backlinks, and increase your traffic without doing any extra work. (Except for setting up those other social media accounts).
The most important part is to just get started. Just get in motion and learn as you go. There are many resources that will teach you how to set up a blog. I never go into much detail on how to SET UP a blog with my students because, truthfully, I don’t want to work with someone who won’t take the initiative to get started.
If you’ve started a blog and now need some direction and help to build momentum, that’s a different story. That’s something I’m happy to work with you on.
To Your Success,
Adel
Adel (‘Oddle’) is a longtime internet marketer and online marketing coach. Far from perfect, he has spent many years (and many dollars) learning just about every mistake there is to know when it comes to online marketing… all just so you, dear reader, won’t have to suffer through that same agony.
He now works online full time, doing things the right way. You can visit his newest blog – www.RecruitingForMLM.com – for more helpful information, to contact him or to add his Facebook page and follow him there!
