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Every new business needs to advertise. When you're starting out a blog is one of the best tools at your disposal for doing just that.

A good business blog should be a small part of your much larger online marketing plan, which in turn should be a small part of your overall marketing plan. If you haven't taken the time to create a marketing plan do that now, or all the time and effort you'll spend on blogging will be a waste.

Assuming that you have a comprehensive marketing plan in place and one that uses online and offline strategies to spread your message how can your company's blog best fit into your overall marketing picture?

First and foremost, your blog is free. Short of your time and the internet connection there need be no costs associated with your blog - there are plenty of free templates, free hosting sites and free add-ons available on the internet. You don't need to hire a writer to create posts for you, a graphic designer to come up with an eye-catching layout or a computer programmer to write the code.

It's even possible for your blog to earn you money. If you have a product to sell you can quickly and easily link to your online storefront. You can earn a few pennies a day with programs like Google Adsense (and more than a few pennies if you have a truly compelling blog and follow Google's optimization tips). You can earn some serious money by selling the advertising space on your blog outright to suppliers, complimentary businesses and civic organizations.

Once your blog is set-up and ready to go the final component that you need to make it useful is great content. Post regularly about your products, services and special events. Post employee profiles, customer testimonials and humorous anecdotes. Post reviews, industry accolades and any awards you or your employees have won. Post about the charitable work you're involved in or your membership in the Chamber of Commerce or other local business association. Post about what your business is, what it is doing and how it is doing. Most importantly, post about how your business is improving the lives of your customers, and why.

In other words, content is king. If you have something interesting to say then chances are good that people will read it (that is assuming, of course, that you've taken the proper steps to promote the blog itself to your customers). If enough people like what they read, some of them are sure to tell others (or post a link somewhere). In turn your blog will be read by more people who weren't your customers, who will pass on the information further, and so the chain reaction of viral marketing will begin.

At least that's the hope. There are no guarantees that even a great blog with plenty of traffic will mean instant success. But if you want to use your blog to help your business succeed then post content that shows your business in it's best possible (but still truthful) light. If you have something truly interesting and important to say and you've done everything else right then chances are very good that your efforts will be worth it.

Learn more about this author, Eric Goudie.
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