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How a blog could help your business

What the experts say about blogs
"It is no longer a question of if blogs are valuable to businesses or not. Every business needs to formulate a blog strategy." - Matt Lohman, Director of Market Research at research firm KnowledgeStorm Inc., in Alpharetta, Ga.

Once the domain of hobbyists and amateur publishers, weblogs-or "blogs," as they're most commonly known-have developed into exciting and valuable tools to help businesses raise their visibility, communicate their brand, and increase their market share. Although it's true that blogging might be easier than you think, there are a few tips and tricks that can help increase the chances that a blog contributes to your bottom line.

Quick tips and tricks to get your blog online fast

#1 Choose your software.
Blogs are self-contained publishing platforms, often driven by software available for free. Examples of free blog publishing software include WordPress, Blogger, and Movable Type. Each of these software packages (and others) represents varying degrees of flexibility, ease of use, and installation.

#2 Get a host.
One of the key questions you'll have to answer when setting up your blog is where it will reside. Yahoo! Web Hosting hosts more than 30 million web sites and blogs. We also have a partnership with the publishing software company Moveable Type that could make your blogging setup easy, professional, and inexpensive. Get the details here.

#3 Start publishing.
Blogs are unique because they allow for publishing in ways different than more traditional marketing schemes. Their posts can be short, conversational and to the point. As a result, it's important to decide what you want your blog to say and who will say it. Do you want to:

• Talk about new products?
• Describe a service you provide?
• Showcase the talents of your people?
• Create a "group blog" that includes your employees, and highlights a sense of community between your business and your readers?

#4 Get involved and stay involved.
In order to develop a successful blog, you have to be committed to its success. Even if they are easy to operate, you must incorporate your blog into your business completely, especially if you wish to create fresh, compelling content on a regular basis. Blogs that post new information on a daily basis, for example, generate a larger and more loyal audience than those that post only occasionally or erratically.

#5 Measure your results.
Yahoo! provides usage statistics that can tell you how many and what kind of people are coming to your blog, which can help you measure its effectiveness. And, a number of blog software providers, like Movable Type, allow you to send email messages to readers who sign up for regular updates, which can also help you gauge the usefulness of your blogging efforts.