TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

Quote:How many raving press stories have you seen on corporate blogging recently? We decided to take a look under the hood of one ecommerce site's blogs that have gotten enormous press attention. Are they really as successful as everyone makes out? The answer is ... a mixed maybe:...

seven rules of thumb:

#1. Look like a blog -- not a company site...
#2. Don't totally hide ownership...
#3. Hotlinks are your friends...
#4. Tag every posting with search-friendly terms...
#5. Don't promote the blogs on the main site...
#6. Do let other bloggers know you're out there...
#7. Let the press know you're out there...

full article: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=29667#

A related article:

Quote:The efficacy of blogging as a marketing vehicle is unproven...

Depending on your business, starting a blog could be a low-cost method of boosting your profile with potential customers and the media and even helping your Web site's ranking in "organic" search results. It could also be a time-consuming effort that yields relatively little benefit to your bottom line. It all depends on the commitment you're willing to make to your blog and its content..

Blogs that are merely transparent marketing vehicles and carry only ad copy or promotional messages are probably destined to fail. They will likely be ignored because they're not perceived to have any real content or value...

full article: http://allbusiness.businessweek.com/expe...sp?ID=8151&Expert=8181

A really good article, Mandy! Much of the content I was already aware of, however, it answered a question for me that I have wondered about and was not able to find an answer for.

Quote:Generally, blogging is probably better suited for service providers (where reputation and other intangibles apply) than for product sellers (where price or location are typically bigger factors)

Being aware of this simple point will save me a lot of wasted time! ;D