Many professionals ask, “Why Should I Blog?” Many have heard about it but they don’t necessarily understand what blogging is unless they’ve actually done it. The primary reason you, as a professional practitioner should be blogging, is to showcase your experience and expertise, which will help you become a Branded ExpertTM in your field. Here’s how it lays out:
Become Published in Your Field
Blogging provides an article publishing platform from which you can share information and educate others. In addition, you can syndicate that content. This means that you can use and reuse your content – for newsletters, email blasts, eZines, physical newsletters, and even physical collaterals. I’ve had clients print out their blog posts to hand out at presentations, to give people at networking events, and more.
Build a Library for Your Readers
Blogging also gives your audience a library of information and knowledge that you have shared. A blog is very much like an article archive on steroids. It’s searchable, indexable, and naturally enhances search engine optimization (SEO), allowing others to find you and your content more easily. Currently, search engines strongly favor online content in blogs and other content management, and database driven systems. Making the search engines happy means that you get more visitors to your blog and more people paying attention to what you have to say.
Reach Your Target Market Immediately
A blog allows you to provide valuable content directly to your target market. Additionally, with each post, you can reach your referral network / Centers of Influence (COI’s), and your current, potential, and past clients. The idea is to provide something of value for each of them. Your content should not be self promotional. Instead, focus on providing knowledge, education, and information that your readers will find valuable.
Keep in Touch Quickly and Easily
Blogging helps you to maintain relationships and regularly stay on the radar screens of your readers. Whether your content is syndicated out through newsletters, social media, or to subscribers to your blog (RSS), it keeps you at the top of their mind, and may open up opportunities for you to present in your field, or to speak publicly about your profession, which will enhance your reputation as an Branded Expert™.
If blogging is done with consistency and a focus on providing value, it really increases your exposure to those around you, including those that can refer you business. Social media engagement also means that your blog article becomes highly shareable and reusable.
Start Your Blog Today
The most important thing for you to do is just start writing/blogging. Over the next couple of blog articles, we’re going to be talking about what you can and should blog about — the different subjects that are best for you to focus on and the type of content that your audience would find valuable.
Next up – We’re going to teach you a little bit about blogging platforms — WordPress, TypePad, Posterous, Tumblr, and a number of others from which you can choose, and generally how they work. Then we’re going to talk a bit more in depth about what to do with those blog posts – how to syndicate them, how to distribute them, how to reuse that content, and how to get and stay on your audience’s radar screens in a valuable and interesting way.
 |  Mark Bullock Co-Founder of phoneBlogger.net Partner / Advisor / Coach Practice Marketing, Inc. 631-754-0800 Mark@phoneBlogger.net  |
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