What the Heck is a Blog Anyway?

That's the question a lot of business owners are asking today. And although the concept of a blog is fairly simple, the explanation is not.

In simple terms a blog is an abbreviation for a Web Log.

Think of a blog as an online journal, a bulletin board or another public type of forum for information you want to share with potential prospects and customers or others.

Sharing Information

In the early days of blogs, people blogged to express personal, religious and political opinions rather than to publish for business purposes.

Today, many notable publications, organizations and agencies offer blogs as another way to communicate news. And businesses have jumped on board -- not just to share news and opinions however.

Blogs & Search Engines

Blogs are text based for the most part and offer information. It just so happens that in many cases that information is keyword and link rich -- just what search engine spiders are looking for. The interesting result is that because search engines like blogs, blogs are helping business sites get better visibility.

Thought about publishing an e-newsletter?

A blog could be the ideal answer for you. You do not need to commit to a precise publishing schedule or worry about whether or not people are opening your email messages. However, as with most things worth doing, there is a caveat...

What's involved?

It might sound like blogs are easy. In a way, they are. They can be set up quickly and you can add content with a friendly easy to use interface. However, they are also work. You still need to think about your content that is interesting an relevant and devise ways to encourage other blogs to link to you and to your site. And of course, routinely changing the content is important as well. With a newsletter you have to commit to publishing dates, with blogs you don't. Yet you still must stay on top of your blog project. Furthermore, if you don't like writing, you aren't going to like blogging.

Who should blog?

At the risk of sounding too general, any business owner who is in a changing industry ... an industry where design, techniques and information change on a regular basis. Here's just a sampling of who could benefit from a well written blog:

• real estate professionals
• travel agents
• writers
• coaches
• trainers
• lawyers
• fashion and accessory designers
• architects
• interior designers
• business advisors
• publishers
• animal care professionals
• and the list goes on and on

The numbers blogs available today is staggering.

My Blog

I've set up my own blog for you to see what a simple one might look like. I can't promise it's up to date. As I mentioned above, it's theoretically easy to set up a blog, but it does still require work and some kind of commitment. I haven't yet found the time to balance my work and writing a blog. But that could change.

Why don't you read this article which you might find helpful about how to find a blog. There is a list of recent business blog winners in the right column as well. Take a look at what's out there, think about how blogging could help your business visibility and if you believe you're ready to blog, then let's talk about a plan that's right for you