David Markowitz blogs about food and drug laws, aiming to “provide timely and useful information to people working in FDA-regulated industries”. In fact, Markowitz refers to his site not as a blog, but as a “web portal”.  Whatever you call it, in blogging for business, Markowitz has hit on a valuable strategy for drawing readers to his blog and then to his training company’s corporate website.

Working with my ghost blogging corporate clients, whatever the nature of their business or professional practice, I always advise that we use the blog to provide information – especially new information – related to their field.

Couldn’t online searchers go directly to more complete and authoritative sources?  Markowitz has the answer to that question down pat, although, by his own admission, most of the information in his posts comes from the FDA website itself.

“Going to the FDA website is like visiting the Library of Congress,” he points out.  “We sift through the information and present what is most relevant to our readers.” Sure, I explain to clients, searchers can go to government or academic sites to find data, but they need you as an expert in your field, to help them make sense of the information, which you do by highlighting and explaining just one important concept in each blog post.

Blog maven Ted Demopoulos compliments Markowitz’ technique, explaining that each of David’s posts includes a link to a page of his website, where his training products and services can be purchased.

The Markowitz strategy of using your business blog as a sort of “Reader’s Digest” is especially appropriate for businesses in industries undergoing changes – new legislation, new discoveries,  new technological advances.  Real estate, mortgages, and life sciences are three areas that spring to mind, but keeping blog material relevant depends on staying current, no matter what the industry.

Blogging about what’s new – and why it matters – may go a long way in making your blog the “go-to” site for information in your area of expertise.  In other words, keeping up may be the secret to moving up (in search engine rankings, that is), while offering real value to your existing clients and all those soon-to-be’s!
 

"Some people go on and on about blogs," remarks web designer John Raleigh, "often missing the point that it is basically a web site." "Web sites are pretty cool when they’re done right," he adds, "and blogs make it pretty easy to get it right."

I thought about John Raleigh the other day while opening my refrigerator.  On the door, a magnet held an article I’d saved from the Indianapolis Star, called "Ways To Get Stuff Unstuck", by T.J. Banes. I’d kept this list, so if I ever have trouble peeling decals off the tub, removing encrusted food from supposedly nonstick pans, or getting gum off the sole of my shoe, I’ll know just what to do.  The message I’d found in this useful little piece of journalism was – if you make mistakes, there are ways to fix them.

That’s the thing about blogs, you see.  Raleigh says blogs are "trivial to update", as compared with corporate websites, which are more difficult to change frequently. If your blog two days ago wasn’t stellar, you can blog more skillfully today.  What’s more, since the posts appear in reverse chronological order, your better blogs are the ones people see first!  As your research gets better and you become more confident and focused, blog marketing gives you a chance to get "unstuck" from old marketing and networking habits, and to use blogging as the wonderful communication and customer acquisition tool it can be.

with the terms "stuck" and "unstuck", I’m reminded of the term "sticky blog", which refers to an introductory blog post that tells readers what your intentions are for your blog and what kinds of information you’ll be offering there in your blog posts. My own sticky blog, for example, is "How Say It For You Blog Was Born". My "sticky" is where I explain why I became a professional ghost blogger and where I invite busness owners to visit my blog for "how-to’s" on business blogging.

I now know WD-40 helps remove labels.  Mineral spirits can help get tar off my automobile. The very next time I get gum stuck on my shoe, I’ll wrap that shoe in plastic and put it in my freezer overnight, then zap it with cooking spray.

Meanwhile, I’ll be busy helping business owners who are "stuck" for time keep up the frequency of posting relevant content on their business blogs!