The VAR Guy

How can you use a blog to generate new business opportunities and keep your clients informed? Here are four great tips to ensure your blog attracts the right clients to your business.

1. Understand your market – Before you can begin to use a blog to attract new business opportunities you need to understand the marketplace that you are in. What specific challenges do businesses in your region have with technology? Does technology affect different market segments differently? What are you an expert at? How can your company help the business segment that you serve? All of these questions need to be addressed before you can start to blog about the challenges your company sees in your area and how you can help them.

2. Keep it simple – Unless you are blogging to provide technical expertise or help, use your blog as a strategic marketing tool. When you are using a blog to attract new small business clients, you must ensure that it is kept very simple and to the point. Remember many people do not read in depth; they prefer to skim information. Make sure you use key phrases that someone in a small business may use to search out an IT service provider.

3. Call to action – Your blog must have a call to action that is easy to find. Like any marketing campaign, it is very important to have a clear call to action associated with your blog — and your postings must make the reader hungry for more information. Do not be afraid to put your email and telephone number on your blog to keep that dialog going.

4. Keep it fresh – Stale blogs do not attract readers. Active blogs are able to use search engine optimization tactics to attract new readers. Determine a blogging schedule and stick to it. If you are committed to adding new content weekly it is critical for you to pick a time to write. Many blog packages will also let you write an entry, and then schedule a time to post it to your blog. Keep your information fresh, as accurate as possible and utilize keywords whenever possible.

A great blog can be a wonderful addition to your marketing activities. When you take the time to make your blog look professional, the content is fresh and accurate, you are using keywords to hit the people that are looking for the information that you can help them with and you have a clear mechanism for people to engage with you, a blog can drive new client leads to your business.
Contributing blogger Stuart Crawford provides mentoring services to Microsoft Small Business Specialists across the world. His third book on Goal Setting is now released at http://www.goalsettingforitprofessionals.com. Join his free monthly IT Professional conference calls at http://www.freeitmarketingseminar.com.