Blog Writing / Ghost Blogging

I offer blogging services. Consultation on starting your blog – how to get your blog up and running, what blogging software to use, how to publicize your blog and how to write for your blog. I also ghost blog - that is, I will write the blog posts for your site. You can commission me on a daily or weekly basis. You can supply the topics for the posts or leave it up to me. I currently write for 20+ blogs. If you need examples please email me.

Here are some examples of pricing for blog writing - $15 for up to 200 word posts. $25 for up to 300 word posts. $35 for up to 400 word posts. Invoicing is on a monthly basis.

ABOUT BLOGS

Blogs have revolutionized the business world as well as the communications of individual businesses. Blogs are becoming essential on the local and national level. They also benefit the everyday individual looking to further their career, share their personal life, network with others in the same field, or just learn more about the web community.

I will look at what blogs are, how blogs began, and the advantages of blogs for businesses and individuals.

WHAT ARE BLOGS?
According to Wikipedia, the term "blog" is a contraction of "Web log." A blog is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.

HOW DID BLOGS BEGIN?
Blogs could be found in their earliest forms when individuals began keeping online personal diaries in the 1990s. Early weblogs were simple, manually updated components of common websites. Corporations and businesses jumped on the bandwagon by creating sections such as “In the News” and “What’s New.” With the creation of software that even the most non-techie individual could understand, blogs became increasingly popular and morphed into what we see today on the web.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A BLOG?
The advantages of blogs are numerous, so I encourage you to do your own research as well. As someone who has a blog and spends 90 percent of online time reading on blogs, I am a big proponent of how essential a blog can be. Here are just five of the advantages of a blog – there simply is not enough space to list them all.

1. Networking: Blogs provide a forum to network with other people in an area of shared interest. Most small business owners rely on blogs to exchange ideas with others in their field. Large businesses use blogs as a way for employees to communicate with one another.
2. Self-Promotion: Blogs are a great way to market yourself as an employer, employee, writer, cartoonist, photographer, etc. They allow people to see your work as well as get to know you on a more personal level.
3. Marketing: Blogs are a fabulous tool to market your business. A blog allows consumers to see the personal side of your company and/or employees. People are more likely to buy a product from someone they know than someone they never met. A blog allows consumers to know that person.
4. Increase Traffic: Blogs can bring in a ton of local Internet traffic for sites. Search Engines love blogs and just incorporating a blog into your website can send you skyrocketing in the rankings, which could turn into many new customers. On a local level, people are beginning to use web searches instead of the yellow pages, so a blog can bring them to your service or product faster.
5. Repeat Visitors: Blogs are updated frequently (most likely the reason search engines are fond of them). People will come back daily to read reviews, see what is new, etc. Reading the latest post becomes an addiction. Add to that the capability to sign up for RSS feeds (which alerts readers of new postings) and repeat traffic climbs in numbers. All this repeat traffic can translate to more sales.

IS A CORPORATE BLOG RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Corporate blogs are transforming the way that people are doing business.  They have changed the ways that both internal and external communications are handled in corporations.   They help to give your audience an insight into the true nature of your business by opening a window through which they can interact. It builds relationships and communicates your corporate values.  If done with passion and creativity this can enhance all aspects of your business.

Currently there are 600+ corporate bloggers at Microsoft.  They use blogging as one of their greatest marketing assets, generating an astonishing amount of online and offline word of mouth interaction.  Microsoft takes blogging seriously and these blogs are all linked to the corporate site.  They help put a human face on the corporation by injecting individual’s passion for the company.  What they are really involved in is building relationships on behalf of Microsoft. 

A blogs or 'weblog’ is a regularly updated internet journal of organized personal thoughts made usually by an individual.  In the business world this may be either as an official corporate blog or in an unofficial capacity.  Business blogs usually incorporate news, issues, and ideas and speak to customers, vendors and employees.  What makes blogs unique is that they link with other blogs and websites and solicit comments making them the ideal platform for an ongoing dialogue.  Blogs are inexpensive, easy to set up and use, and require no technical skills such as HTML.  The collective term for blogs is the blogosphere.  

The blogosphere continues to grow. As of October 2005, Technorati the leading web search engine is tracking 19.6 million blogs. About 70,000 new blogs are tracked every day. The total number of blogs continues to double every 5 months or so. There are between 700,000 and 1.3 million blog posts made every day.  Both Google and Yahoo are introducing blogs search engines.  Yahoo is currently showing a beta version of blog search results alongside their news results.

News travels fast through the blogosphere.  In times of disaster such as Hurricane Katrina or the London terrorist attacks, blogs were instrumental in getting news, photos and opinions out at a remarkably fast rate.  They often beat journalists for the scoop on news or scandals.  In fact you can be sure that these days’ journalists keep a close eye on blogs and use them as a source for stories.

What does this growth in blogging mean for your business?  It means that you should give serious consideration to adding a blog to your business.  You should also consider whether a blog would fit in with your business objectives.  Because of the different tactics that blogs can be used for, you may want to weigh up the options as to what benefits it can offer you and your business. 

BETTER WEB PRESENCE
If you have an established online business you can add another vehicle to communicate your message and pass information on to your clients.  Because blogs continually have new content they are indexed regularly by the search engines.  It is another way to get your name and your products out into the search engine space.  You can also use your blog to target additional keyword phrases. 

CUSTOMER INTERACTIONS
Your blog can be used to build stronger ties with your customer base.  The opportunity to exchange information and expertise is one of the main reasons that explain why corporate blogs have grown in popularity in recent years. Corporations have recognized their customers are using blogs to self publish their opinions about products and services. This has led to customers getting actively involved in business situations such as product development.

BRANDING TOOL
Use your blog as a branding tool for your business. It’s an effective way to get your brand message out there.  Your brand represents an exchange of ideas between you and your audience.  It is a relationship.  Brands exist in the mind of your customer therefore brands that aren't in touch with their customers miss out on innovation opportunities.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
You can use your blog to speak directly with the media.  There has been an ongoing debate as to whether blogs should replace the press release as the main corporate communications vehicle. As far as I am concerned both will do a good job and each has their own unique value.

BUSINESS MARKETING
Blogs are being utilized more and more as a business marketing tool. And this is creeping into more and more business areas. Word of mouth advertising and independent testimonials are two major benefits of running a marketing focused blog.  This is a great alternative to advertising.  Blogs can also attract and develop a regular audience for your message and foster an atmosphere of trust.

CEO BLOGS
A CEO blog is used as a way to speak directly to customers and vendors.  And it can also be used to advance industry issues.  There are pitfalls of course.  Saying something controversial may be picked up and reproduced in many different locations.  This can include many peoples conflicting feedback and opinions about your statement.  However some controversy is good as it gets people engaged. 

A blog does require a commitment from you.  Remember that writing and maintaining a blog takes time.   You should really have an interest in writing and communicating with your readers. A blog also requires an injection of personality and passion. 

Blogs are an increasingly common way to communicate about your business.  As Businessweek magazine said in their recent article on business blogs – ‘catch up…or catch you later’