A: That's a good question and one that's on the minds of many small business owners. It's great that you already have a Web site going, but that's just the beginning. As you know, your Web site exists to promote your business. Whether you sell your vitamins online or not, your Web site should be creating new customers for you.
Advertising your Web site on search engines such as Google and MSN can be effective at bringing in new traffic to your Web site, but these services can be very expensive and do nothing to encourage repeat traffic.
Once new visitors arrive at your site, it should accomplish two primary goals:
1. Hold the visitor's interest long enough to poke around.
2. Encourage visitors to come back.
A blog is a great way to accomplish both of these goals, says J.S. McDougall, author of "Start Your Own Blogging Business" (Entrepreneur Press).
No matter what your business is selling, it is inherently part of a community of people who share similar interests. In your case, your customers are interested in healthy diets and fitness. By building a blog on your Web site where visitors can find current information through health articles, industry news clips, diet recommendations, and such, you are providing a place on the Web for your most likely new customers to convene and, if your blog allows, converse. McDougall recommends that you post information that you know would grab the interest of your most loyal customers - that's the type of person you're looking to attract.
Your blog will also encourage new visitors to come back. Blogs are most effective when they are updated regularly and frequently,
McDougall says. Aim to post new information two to three times a day, if not more often. This steady stream of information will bring interested visitors back to see what's new. Your visitors will become your readers and your readers will become your customers.
For additional information, please visit www.fruition.ws
(Bruce Freeman, owner of a small business and an adjunct business professor at Kean University, is always looking for interesting success stories and lessons learned. Entrepreneurs can e-mail their ideas to bfreeman(at)proline-com.com or visit www.smallbusinessprofessor.net.)
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