Our team over at Ulistic.com are launching our newest Workshop in a series of Internet Marketing related programs.

Join Stuart and I on June 23rd at the Blackfoot Inn where we will not only give you a powerfully tuned installation of WordPress, we are going to show you how to use it. But not just how to blog… how to make you blog a magnet for natural search traffic. Once you understand the power of the blog in terms of gaining it’s own following, we’ll teach you how to focus that attention to your marketing website.

Blogging for Business is June 23rd, 2010
8:30 am to 4:30 pm – Blackfoot Inn, SE Calgary, Alberta

Learn in a small group envirionment, seating is limited - Register today.

Did you know that blogs naturally attract visitors and that they almost do their own search engine optimization?

Learn about blogs and the applications that make them run. Learn why blogs are so effective at generation of targeted traffic. Learn how to cross optimize your blog and your marketing website to make the perform like a lead generating machine. Understand what syndication is and why it works…. go her to learn more about this Blogging Workshop in Calgary

Cheers,

David A. West

eKzact is sponsoring a new Calgary networking opportunity for Entrepreneurs who are blogging for business. This is not just another “bloggers” group…  Our focus is very much on business.

Who is this Calgary networking opportunity for?

If you are a Calgary business blogger or if you think you would like to better understand the power of blogging, then this group is for you.

Blogging for Business is a powerful way to generate valid traffic to your marketing efforts. By brining together a large group of Calgary bloggers we plan to work together by sharing ideas and by blogging about common topics. Furthermore, by blogging about each other we and help our members to leverage the power and ease of cross-optimization for each others blogs and marketing efforts.

Come and share writing ideas, tips and tricks. Build relationships and start cross-optimization of your blogs and business websites by writing about common topics!

This meetup is being co-hosted by me, David West a Calgary website design company owner and Stuart Crawford of Bulletproof Info Tech, a Calgary IT computer support company.

All people who Blog around a “business topic” or are interested in becoming a “Business Blogger” are welcome!

To learn more and join this group – click here and start blogging today!

We presented the first Blogging for Business seminar in Calgary on February 19^th and received excellent feedback from the attendees. In fact one of the participants was so pleased by the value and quality of the training that she insisted on sponsoring another session for her networking group.

So, on March 19^th, 2009, we are re-running our Blogging for Business seminar and are proud be be presented by Ronda Bertram and Carman LeFrance, both Publishers of WOMANITION in Alberta.

Here is what Ronda Bertram wrote;

“Do you know what google alerts, keywords and adwords are? I attended Dave’s course on February 18, 2009. It was hands down the best business course I have attended on the most up-to-date information available about blogging. This one course alone can increase your business ten fold if you follow the easy steps that Dave gives you to create your own blogs, and how to cross market yourself on the internet, search engine optimization for the lay person and how to increase your ranking on google….”

If you are not blogging for business, you really should consider joining me and the group from Womanition on March 19^th at 10:30 am.

To learn more about me and the seminar, please visit the “Blogging for Business” seminar page.

ODIOGO is a service where you can give your blog a voice… free. I like free.
With a few keyboard strokes and a quick download of the WordPress plugin I had my blog talking within 10 minutes.

From the Odiogo site… “Odiogo’s media-shifting technology expands the reach of your content: It transforms news sites and blog posts into high fidelity, near human quality audio files ready to download and play anywhere, anytime, on any device. “

So, how can something so good… be free?  Advertising revenue of course.  While it is not initally apparent, a short dig around their site and you will find that their business model includes the insertion of audo ads into the audio stream.  I will be listening for the ads in my blog stream.

As noted on the Odiogo site “The Odiogo Advertising Servers insert audio spots into the content. The Odiogo Billing Servers calculate the revenue share among the parties.”

I like cool things on the Internet that seem to have great potential.  Way to go Odiogo!

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

Raise awareness of your business and services through blogging.

Basic strategies:

• Target a specific audience based on a theme or series of topics.
• Try to keep your blog on topic.
• Write subjects that make them want to read more and use catchy headlines to drive intrigue.
• Select the right blog support service. A professional Internet Consultant can help you extend your blog and help you with marketing tips and tricks.
• Ensure your blog sends alerts to blog feeds when you post a new entry, this will help build traffic to your blog.
• Ensure you get alerts when someone comments at your blog so that you can review the post and respond.

Be compelling, open in your views and sincere. Link to other blogs and topics related to your blog. Other bloggers will start linking to you, if you have quality articles.

Keep your blog up to date with fresh content. Weekly blogging or more should be your goal. This will keep your blog content fresh and interesting. Your blog can become sticky and keep people returning… but only if you make an effort.

Search engines like Google and Live will help attract viewers to your blog. Add rich keywords into your article titles and content. Use the SEO component that we install as standard with our blog service to boost your on page optimization for search engines.

Your blog should support RSS feeds for the articles and comments. This will help your readers and fellow bloggers stay up to date with your writing. RSS is simple to use and has gained huge popularity in the past several years.

Take the time to reply to blog posts, even if they are negative or offer a conflicting view. You don’t have to agree with the comment, just be honest and state your opinion or provide support material for you position. Most blog-ware allows you to hold comments for moderation. As a business blogger, you may want to moderate comments at your blog prior to allowing them to go live.

If you are not a writer and are not comfortable with blogging, ask your staff to do it for you. Ask a family member, friend or service to assist you with your writing.

One of the most difficult things about blogging is the “ideas”. Keep a small “blog book”… I call mine “my blook”. Keep your blook handy so that when an idea hits you, you can make a note of it.

Blogging is a powerful tool for small business owners to make their brand recognizable. You should position yourself as the “expert” in your industry. When you have a great blog, full of helpful articles and news, refer your clients to your blog to help answer their questions. They will appreciate the depth of your service and commitment to their needs.

A business marketing website tends to be static. The “sales” message seldom changes and they tend to lack the educational information that people are seeking on the Internet. Business owners are worried that they must give the absolute best impression at their marketing website, and I wouldn’t disagree with this thought. A blog on the other hand is a more casual writing opportunity. Your clients will get to know the people “behind” the company and your relationships can grow.

If you want to start a professional business blog, with a custom design, contact us and my team will help you get rolling.

We recently launched a blog for our client, Brenda Videnoff. Brenda is going to start blogging in the next few days! Brenda is managing partner for Spice Wellness. Her blog is going to focus on her years of experience in business and franchising.

Regards,
David A. West