Blog Design Archives

If you consider getting a Business Blog answer first the following 4 questions:

1. What do you expect your blog will do for your business?

2. Do you fully understand your blog’s main difference over a static web site?

3. Can your blog be properly optimized for search engines?

4. What do you need to promote – your services, your product, yourself or all?

 

A blog can be configured to be a website. Advantage? You have more personal control over the content because you don’t need webmaster skills and HTML programming to put content onto your blog.

But then you still don’t take advantage of the blog concept. A blog can define exactly who you are – and promote a feel that you stand out above others in your field. It can turn a prospect into a loyal customer or client.

But you can’t have a blog that makes more business unless it fills a need and attracts strong, relevant traffic (visitors) first.

To take advantage of a business blog, you will need to make sure you incorporate at least some of the following goals and tactics into your blog planning strategy:

- Continue to increase your web “presence”

- Showcase your customers – and their successes. Yes, use testimonials!

- Display throughout the blog your industry expertise and credentials

- Keep it current! Be the “go to” place for the latest industry or product news

- Share resources such as free reports, audio files or “how to” videos

- Give your potential customers what they want or need to learn or hear

- Connect social media sites to your blog. It’s an excellent match!

 

Think of your business blog for what it actually is: your voice, speaking directly to potential clients, when you aren’t around. It’s like having a partner who’s hard at work, while you’re asleep!

Give your business blog a chance to bring in new traffic, new subscribers, new credibility and authority – and more profit than you thought possible with a website.

Don’t underestimate the importance of your blog domain name, it should reflect the business name.

Consider whether or not you want to attract readers by branding or just through most relevant keywords or do it both! If you don’t know what branding is check some of our resources.

There are more effective ways to improve traffic to your blog then to your website: a blog integrate distribution as RSS feed. When you create a feed for your blog, a relative simple, one-time process, you might double its effectiveness and desirability.

Nowadays, your visitors (readers) wants fast, easily read content that is punchy and to the point. A blog allows that better than a website. Just look to Twitter success, punchy and to the point in 140 characters!

 

A business blog allows you to easily:

- run efficient and pleasing to the eye photo galleries

- create slide shows for your products or services

- to display and run videos

- add a new “famous quote” to be randomly generated every day

- increasing your search engine efficiency

- display buttons so that visitors can instantly promote your business across their favorite Social Networks

- and so much more…

 

It is difficult to think of any reason why you shouldn’t start with business blogging.

Cost? Initial cost is much lower than a business website. Outsourcing maintenance is also much lower.

Contact us if you need a quotation for YOUR Business

 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_Lotgering

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What Color To Use For Your Business Blog

When you design your blog use colors that are relevant to your target market. For example, if your blog deals with developing your inner spirituality and creativity, tones of violet (a color traditionally associated in New Age circles with the “crown” or spirituality chakra) may be highly appealing to your target audience. However, if your site is basically advertising your on-line food products site, and you want your reader to order bags of specialty food, you may prefer to use colors traditionally associated with food and hunger: Oranges, golds and red.

There have been many studies done on the subject of color. Here are some of the most commonly accepted “meanings” for different colors:

Red
Associated with energy, vitality, dynamic activity
Should be used for design, food, shopping websites of blogs

Pink (Soft or muted pinks)
Often associated with femininity
Great to use for mom blogs and baby sites (girls)

Magenta
Expresses Energy, creativity, playfulness, fun
Can be used for a youth based blog

Blue
Used for trustworthiness, conservative values
Clearly most used for legal, financial, corporate business blogs

Pale Blue
Expresses peacefulness and masculinity
Great to use for Baby (boy) and relaxation web sites

Green
Commonly used to express trustworthiness, abundance and nature
Use for finances and service-based, ecology-friendly products and gardening sites

Light Green
Reflects spring and life
Used often for natural beauty products

Yellow
Used for life, happiness and enjoyment
Great for travel, shopping and food sites or youth-based blog

Gold
Expresses rich and abundance
Typically used for luxury products sites

Orange
Yes used for fun, food and activity
Mainly used for “Kid” sites, but also excellent choice for creativity and food sites or blogs

Violet
Associated with spirituality
Appealing for mourning, psychic awareness and comfort websites or blogs

Brown
Gives ecological awareness
Use for nature websites

Black
Associated with “Coolness”, masculinity
Very often used for technology, cars and music

Don’t take these meanings as gospel. Combinations of colors will also affect how your visitors perceives your site. For example, black with red accents may instantly mean “counter-culture” or “heavy” music to your teenage son or daughter.

And depending on the particular tone of green, people may see this either as “old world luxury” or “a nature site”.

Also, consider the meaning of colors to other cultures. For example, the traditional wedding color – white – is actually the color of death in certain other countries.

The important thing here is not to get too hung up on the color issue – just be aware that color can strongly affect how your visitor perceives your website or blog. Don’t forget that some colors are much harder on the eyes than others!

Fred Lotgering is a professional Internet Marketing consultant working from multiple locations around the world. He is dedicated to help to grow small and medium sized businesses by offering a variaty of Internet Marketing tools! He is the owner of LotCon. (“LotCon” comes from Lotgering Consultancy). LotCon is registered in the Netherlands, soon also in Brazil). For more products suitable for “YOUR” business please go to: LotCon Biz Solutions Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_Lotgering

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