Build Your Business by Building a Blog For It

John Nardini of Denali Flavors wrote a wonderful article on Entrepreneur.com entitled “Create a Blog to Boost Your Business” According to John:

Since Denali’s main objective is to drive people to the Moose Tracks’ website, we measure the impact of the blogs by the effects on the main site. To date, the blogs have helped Denali achieve the following results:

• Site visits are up 25.7 percent.
• Hits to the site are up 21 percent.
• Total time on the site is up 23.4 percent.

These initial results are very positive, and the costs to get these results has been very low: Other than our blogger’s time, the company has spent less than $700 on these four blogs.

That is an extremely low dollar amount for such a large return. John continues on this front to explain the advantages businesses have by blogging:

… while writing a personal blog can be fun, business blogging can be a powerful tool, allowing you to communicate with a significant number of consumers and achieve many of your business objectives. And best of all, these results can be delivered in a very cost-effective manner.Here are some additional advantages for businesses that blog:

• Word-of-mouse. Because so many people have access to electronic forms of communication, it’s easy for information to spread quickly. If you have a great new product, an innovative idea or an exciting marketing strategy, you can be sure your blog readers will pass it along via e-mail to others who will pass it along, too. Soon, your marketing message has reached hundreds if not thousands or millions of people.
• Speed. If something goes wrong or if you have quick-breaking news, a blog can get the word–or your response–out immediately, much faster than any other form of media.
• Awareness and loyalty. Purchasers of your product can read about it, post comments and engage in discussion. You can respond. Others can comment. This personal communication can create an open, honest, trust-building dialog that will make consumers more aware, more willing to try your products and more loyal to your brand.
• Feedback. Businesses can find out immediately what people think of their company, products and ideas. But be warned: This takes a thick skin, as all feedback is not positive. But if you’re really willing to listen, this information can be invaluable. Better yet, feedback can be generated quickly–over days, if not hours. A blog can act like a never-ending focus group that gives a company great insights into their consumers’ thoughts, likes and actions.
• Community halo-effect. Overall, most bloggers are friendly, helpful (by linking to each other’s sites), and eager to cooperate to make the blogosphere–the collective group of blogs–a better place. By simply being an active part of the culture, you get the benefit of the doubt and your product becomes one that bloggers will consider purchasing.

John’s insights are wonderful and can be extremely helpful for any business looking to start a blog. John has given us a real-life success story for blogging – what benefits it can give your business and what results you can expect to receive in return. I wish John and all of Denali’s blogs the best of luck.

Technorati Tags: Denali, Business Blogs, and Moose Tracks

Scott Goldblatt also writes daily at his personal blog The Parental Olympian