Business-Building Action from Terry Brock
[Note: Be sure to get the enhanced, “really spiffed up and cool” audio MP3. Scroll to the bottom of this post and you’ll see it. You can listen streaming or download. 7:58 and darn well worth every morsel of it! You’re welcome!]
Blogging is one of the best ways today to build your presence and influence. In today’s fast-paced world of Social Media and crazy schedules, there is an important formula for success:
Influence = Business and Sales
Without influence, you’re toast. Done. Finished. With strong influential skills you can build your business the way you want.
A Blog (done right) can enhance your reputation personally and your company’s image. Influence is critical in business today, particularly in personal services. You’ve got to be known as the “Go To Person” in your field — on at least one topic. Find that topic, your niche, and live there. Own it. Be that for your buyers. A blog gives you the ability to reach people in a pleasant and contagious way.
My friend, Joachim de Posada, is a best-selling author (over 3 million books sold), a professional speaker and thought leader. As a psychologist, he has a lot of ideas on how to succeed. His blog, “Joachim’s World” is packed with great ideas on growth. Blogging is one of the tools that he uses to build his audience and thus influence and his multi-million dollar personal business.
You can build your own business by following these 5 steps for successful blogging.
- Target the Needs Your Buyers Have — Forget About Yourself. It doesn’t matter what you think is interesting. What matters is what your buyers think is interesting and compelling. Focus on their needs and their problems. Research. Ask. Listen. Help them to solve problems through your Blogging and you’ll build a loyal following.
- Be Yourself. – This might sound contradictory to step #1, but you want to be personable in Blogging. Be authentic. A Blogger does best when the copy is not too stuffy and formal, but lives within the confines of decency as defined by your target market. Comedy club and “out there” activists have a different comfort zone than those in academia or most business settings. Yet, within even academia or the most formal business settings, we’re becoming more “open” and informal in society. Know the limits and operate within the range of what is acceptable, but take risks in “pushing it” without going over the edge. Difficult to do? Sorry. That’s just the way things are today.
- Use Rich Media. Today you want to combine text, audio, video and pictures. Make it an engaging experience for your readers/listeners/viewers. Use the benefits of video to do things with video you can’t do with other media.
- Educate with Links. Blogging is about educating. Tie your Blog into other sources through links to relevant sites. This means your readers get even more valuable information from reading your material. Reciprocal links help to create people liking you and wanting to help you.
- Like Exercise, Be Consistent. You don’t build health by exercising once a month. You’ve got to engage in a sustainable, regular program to achieve results in health as well as in blogging. Being there is important. Make sure you provide valuable, compelling content that your readers consider “must read” on a consistent basis. For many, this means a minimum of once a week. Is that too much? Is it too much for the WSJ to publish 6 days a week? It all depends on your market and how relevant you can be.
Blogging is a powerful tool that gives you the ability to build your brand, cultivate influence and yes, build your business. It is not easy. However, it is well worth it. I’ve had the privilege of Blogging on my website since 2003. I also did a lot of Blogging for the good people at Skype. (click that link to see a great interview with successful blogger, Chris Brogan) Now I’m Editor-in-Chief for AT&T’s Networking Exchange Blog. It has been a rewarding journey and it continues to educate me and help me help others.
Blogging requires discipline and creative thought. It requires work, but it is well worth it in the long run.
Please leave a comment on how you’ve used blogging and the results you’ve achieved from it. What has worked best for you in Blogging? I look forward to hearing from you.
Terry
Terry L. Brock
www.TerryBrock.com, Terry@TerryBrock.com
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