Chicago Blogger Shares Final Thoughts

Hello, again! Thanks so much for following along on my about blogging and business and my last post where I answered some of your questions. Today I will be answering the final few questions I received. If you still have lingering thoughts and questions in the future, please feel free to ask me a question here.

• While I do consider myself to be pretty social media literate, I have never explored or considered a blog. I would probably have tons of questions, but to cure my blog-deficiency.....can you start with the basics? How do I appeal to my target market? How do I find my target market?

The best way I can explain blogging simply is to share how it relates to the idea of a cocktail party. By setting up and writing on your blog, you are entering the "blog cocktail party." You can choose to invite your current customers and fans to your site and act as the cocktail "host," entertaining them with content about your products or business. As a host, keep things interesting and relevant so they come back day after day (or week after week, depending on your posting frequency).

Blogging for your current fan base means that your target market is your existing customer base. Get the word out to these customers by sharing the blog address on your receipts, email blasts, or on any other social media sites you are already a part of. For instance, if you have a Facebook page for your company, post links to your blog posts there for people to find it. Or, ask people to take business cards with your blog address on them. 

The second way to enter the blog cocktail party is to find new people who may be interested in your company via finding and following your blog. This method is honestly often slow-growing, but worth the investment if you personally love blogging. If you don't have a passion for blogging about the topics you share, it honestly may not be worth your time to do so in the first place. It's easy to get frustrated early on by the lack of initial awareness and interest. Many people start strong and fizzle fast. 

That said, the quickest way to help people find you, your blog, and your company is to start reading other blogs that relate to your industry or personal interests. Mingling online means commenting on other blogs and sending out emails introducing yourself to people. I have found that reaching out and interacting with other bloggers, has helped me create a lot of great personal and professional friendships worldwide. And often, this also leads to new customers in the process.

To reach new people, it's a good idea to spend time introducing yourself to people on Twitter, Facebook, email, or by commenting on their blog posts. Basically, it's like networking at a live event, only the tools you use to connect and find people are virtual. Comments and emails are like the real life version of handing out your business card and shaking hands.

To find the people you want to interact with, try asking friends or customers for blogs that they read and recommend. Or, try searching Google for your industry name and the word "blog" to get started. Often times you'll notice that bloggers list the blogs that they enjoy on their site's sidebar under the term "blogroll." So if you find one blog you like, check out the links to other sites they support and enjoy. Hopping around many sites and a fair amount of trial and error can take you very far.

• How do you build an audience for your blog? Do new customers or loyal followers tend to read it?

A thriving blog will have both new customers and loyal followers most of the time. The trick is to keep getting your blog name out there while providing the same great content that your loyal readers love and appreciate. Doing guest posts on other blogs, attending blog meet ups in your area, or asking a different blogger to do a guest post for your site all inform a new group of people about you and your site. 

And, if you are really delivering great content to your loyal followers, they are likely to share your site with their friends too.

Above all else, great content is the only sustainable way to expand consistently.