The Recruiting Animal taps Brian Clark and boils business blogging to the basics – build better business relationships (like that alliteration – it’s my Friday gift to you).
Animal’s take from this post at Copyblogger (a great place to learn about writing online) is that successful business blogging (aside from SEO and traffic benefits), ultimately depends on the success of the connections that you make with other bloggers. To build strong relationships, you have to gain respect, and in the very process of writing, you establish yourself as a person with something to say. As a blogger, you’ve differentiated yourself as more than drone.
So how does a poor recruiter get through to this kind of sophisticate? You have to prove somehow that you know what you’re up to and that you’re not out to bamboozle anyone. What does that mean? That you have to build a relationship first. Before you do business you have to get them to trust you. It takes time but you’ll have many opportunities to make deals after you’ve convinced someone that you do deliver the goods. This makes tutorial marketing on a blog a smart way to present yourself online. A free introduction to your subject starts the relationship and your regular blog postings keep it going. And eventually, you’ll turn some readers into candidates or clients and get some referrals.
If you give out good information that helps people do their job better, they will refer you to others who need the training. And the more people you have giving you good word-of-mouth referrals, the better your business.
That’s it. Blog, and find people who evangelize your products and services to your target clients. That’s the basics of all marketing.