Businesses may have realized the importance and benefits of a business blog but they simply don't know how and where to start. Although there are a lot of free blogging software that are easy to use and are available today, blogging is a serious work that requires investment on time and resources to be effective and successful.

A business blog humanizes the company. It adds a friendly personality to the company- someone who listens and responds to the public. But establishing a connection between the company and its customers is not the only purpose of having an online business blog; it is also about maintaining and nurturing communication. Sounds easy, but it is not a simple task. But don't give up yet! With careful thought and planning, you can have a successful business blog that represents your company well.

Plans are made only by winners

Everybody recognizes the necessity of planning in every task but most of the time is it overlooked. Your company may fully know the benefits of business blogging and will jump right away into it, but without careful planning, your business blog will end up dead. Why are your entering the blogsphere? What are the goals of your online business blog? How are you going to gauge the results? Determine the answers to these essential questions before putting up a business blog. Plans are made by winners, simply because you don't plan to lose. Business blogging works, if you will set time to plan it well.

Sincerity is more important than words

Blogging requires more than just publishing posts. Anyone can write but few can blog well. You may easily come up with a good topic but your readers can easily tell if you are not passionate about your topic and that you simply go with the norm of publishing something relevant to your company. Blogging is about building relationships and communities that is why it requires sincerity. Sincerity is the most effective way of communicating your message to your readers. It works like a magnet that keeps your readers coming back to your blog site. You can't simply make your readers stay with beautifully-crafted words. Words are for the mind, but sincerity speaks to the heart.

Choose and use the right words

You came up with a great business blog post but nobody even bothered to comment about it, or worse it drives no traffic at all. It's the same as publishing a textbook but it remains on the bookstore's shelf over a decade until somebody notices it. So, what's the problem? Your online business blog is not SEO-friendly. Give careful thought on keyword density. Use it effectively but avoid stuffing it on your post. Use titles that are simple, short and easy to understand. Make your blog crawlable to search engines by choosing and using the right words within your blog post.

Build your own community by joining other communities

What makes a business blog different from your company website is that blogging allows your customers to put comments and share their opinions. But blogging is not all about your company and your existing customers. Develop your presence and network by spending time in building and joining communities. Have a blog roll that links to others you respect. Promote your online business blog by participating in forums and by commenting in other blogs within the same community as yours. Although these activities will consume much of your time, the things you will learn from others and the relationships you will build are invaluable.

Monitor the statistics

You've got everything planned and you got a great traffic on your business blog posts. Your readers are participating well in your post and you have a good set blog roll. But it doesn't end there. A blog serves as an effective feedback mechanism if you can monitor the blog statistics well. The number of views, comments, backlinks, RSS subscriptions and others provide real numbers on how to accurately assess the effectiveness of your online business blog. You use these numbers for future improvements on the products and the blog posts as well.

A business blog can make a difference in your company. Plan it carefully and use it well.