Why Blog? (and why you should blog here)

Every profile on NetworkedEvents.com has a blog built in. That means that if you have a profile on NetworkedEvents.com you have a blog that you can start posting to right now. This begs the question - Why blog? and why you should blog here at Networked Events.

Let me start by offering some reasons why you should consider blogging:

• Become The Expert - If you blog regularly and consistently you can build your reputation as a Thought Leader in your field. You also have the chance to build a relationship with your readers, gain their trust and teach them about what you do.
• Build Customer Relationships - Since most blogs are not written like sales letters, they are more personal and often perceived as being more genuine. You will have the opportunity to build rapport with your customers outside of a sales process and this means you can use your blog to gather feedback, provide tips and/or join in the conversation your customers are already having about your products or services.
• Test Your Ideas - Blogs are a great way to test out ideas, brainstorm and collaborate with peers, customers and members of your network. Your customers and network can comment on your posts and let you know what they think of your ideas. This means you have a turnkey tool allowing you to collect feedback from your clients whenever you need it.
• Create A Showcase - Your blog is an easy way to share photos of your products, staff, customers, locations, etc. Amanda Reid has leveraged the photo sharing features built into Networked Events by posting photos of her work and creating a mini virtual portfolio right on her profile...now we just need to convince her to start blogging about these pics :)
• It Is Easy To Manage - Blogging is a really easy way to publish online. You just log in and start posting. It does not really require any technical knowledge to start posting. You can get started in minutes and post whenever you want...you can even post from your iphone or mobile device.

There are a ton of other reasons why you should start blogging. There are also a ton of tools available to help you create a blog. Many blogging tools are free. For example, you could start your blog on Google's Blogger or Wordpress.com. Of course, you could also hire a web designer to create a blog that seamlessly integrates into your website.

I have decided to blog on NetworkedEvents.com (and so should you) for a few reasons:

• Your Network Is Here (or coming soon) - The people who are members of Networked Events are all people you could meet at a Boston Networking Event or Worcester Networking Event...this means that the people you are going to meet at an upcoming event could already know about you from your blog here. It also means that the people you meet at an event tonight could be seeing your blog posts tomorrow. It also means they are more likely to see your posts in the future.
• It's ready to go now - At the top of this page you will see a link that says "add a blog post". Click it and you are officially a blogger. The posts are automatically posted to the homepage of the website, the blog page and your profile...your blog will have an instant audience. By the way, it is free.
• The Features You Need Are Built In - The blogging system on this site does not include every feature included in some of the big blogging systems, but it includes the features you really need. The website will automatically generate a RSS feed for your blog so people outside of the Networked Events community can subscribe to your blog feed and keep up with your posts. You can categorize your posts and they are automatically organized into chronological archives. People can leave comments on your blog posts. You can write 10 posts today and schedule them to appear once a day for the next 10 days. You can upload pictures, add links, add lists and more.
• The Search Engines Will Find You (and your profile) - This site is Google friendly. By blogging about topics related to your products and services, Google will start relating your profile to the keywords important to your business and you could dramatically increase you visibility in the search engines.

So...are you ready to start blogging? are you ready to start blogging here? If so, click on the "Add A Blog Post" link at the top of the page and dive in. You can't go wrong by publishing informative, interesting posts.

One parting note - If you only ever post promotional messages on your blog, everyone is going to get bored. The blog is not just about promoting your stuff...it is about starting a dialogue, informing and building relationships. Teach us something! Tell us what your thinking about!

What do you think?