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Blogs, it seems like everyone has one these days. From teenagers to big corporations, blogs seem to be overtaking the internet. There are blogs to talk about celebrity fashion and blogs that talk about the mundane, everyday details of a regular Joe.

Blogs can be a great business tool too. A local coffee shop chain near me has a blog where the CEO post regularly about his trips to stores and new things on the menu. Big businesses and small businesses have them. They are finding that having a blog is a great way to drive customers to their business.

Should you have a blog for your work at home business? I think the answer is a resounding Yes! Here are ten reasons for why I think that.

1)Blogs are easy to update. A traditional html website can be cumbersome and difficult to update. Most blogging software on the other hand is very simple to use. The back side of a blog is very similar to a word processing program, making posting very simple.

2)It can be free. You can sign up for a free blog from www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. This can be a great addition to your business and it will only cost your time to maintain it. Other services such as www.typepad.com start around $4.95 a month, which is great value added to your business.

3)Search Engines love blogs. I will say it again, search engines love blogs. Mainly it is because blogs are frequently updated with new content. It is also because blogs tend to link to other blogs and websites and all of that linking is super important to the search engines. You may gain new readers and customers if people do an internet search on something relevant to your business and your blog comes up in the search engine results.

4)It’s Personal. A blog is generally more laid back than a formal website. It can be a great way to put a personal spin on your business and introduce yourself to potential clients. People may be more apt to do business with you if they feel like they know something about you. There is no need to feel like you have to share everything about your personal life, but just a few details can go a long way.

5)Keep customers informed. A blog can be a great way to update your customers on monthly specials and new products. It can also be a good way to highlight products and share tips and tricks about them.

6)People can leave feedback. Most blogs welcome comments from readers. By opening up your blog to comments from the public you can gain valuable feedback from customers and product reviews. This can help bring in new customers as well as give you areas to work on if there are complaints.

7)Feeds. Many people read their favorite blogs through a feed reader, such as Feedburner. They are able to subscribe to their favorite blogs and easily see if they have new content. If you are posting regular content to your blog, they will be more likely to subscribe. This can translate into more customers.

8)A Blog can be your Website. If you own a business it seems like it is necessary these days to have a website. Something to put on business cards and advertisements and clients can check quickly to learn a bit about your website. A website can add legitimacy to your business. A blog can be a very easy way to get a website up and running.

9)Linking. Bloggers love to link to other blogs and websites that they have found and love. Another blogger may discover your website and find the content there very useful. They may want to share it with their readers and add a link to your site on their blog. This could bring in new customers, which is great for business. You can also link to other blogs as well. If that blogger finds your blog is driving traffic to theirs (by analyzing their site statistics) then they may be willing to add a reciprocal link to their blog.

10)You can track statistics. Unlike sending out an email newsletter, a blog generally has site statistics that you can analyze. You can see just what people are reading, how long they are visiting your site, how they are getting to your site, what links they click on within your site, and if people are finding your blog through the search engines. If you find a large amount of people are visiting your website to learn about a specific product or service, then you can focus your efforts and blog about it more.

Do you have a business blog? Is it a helpful tool to have for your business? Hopefully these ten reasons have shown you the great reasons for having a business blog.

Warmly,
Mia