Unless you’ve been under a rock we’re pretty sure you have heard about blogs. Heck you’re reading one right now. A blog is an online diary or journal, using text or photographs detailing either personal events, concepts, idea, opinions or informative articles. Pretty much anything goes on a blog, although it is recommended if you have a personal blog you avoid talking about work, or the people in your life who may end up reading what you “actually” think about them. Outside of this, blogging is a great pastime, a way to keep your writing skills sharp, and let friends and family know what’s going on in your life.

But I know you’re asking: “Why should I have a blog and what does this have to do with me?” A blog is a great tool you can use to communicate with your customers about new products and services. It is a way to share info, and to add a personal side to your website. Imagine for example, you run a bakery, you discuss a new recipe for cookies. A reader might suggest you use vanilla. Or rather, hearing about your great new cookies, they ask about ordering three-dozen for a party next Sunday. And then they come back to blog and comment on how great your cookies were, and how great a baker you are.

Baked goods aside, there are many industries where having a public face can be useful. The only limit is your imagination. Just to prove it, let’s take something like insurance, for example. You could create a blog talking about your services with real life examples where it came in handy. You might even offer a glimpse into your personal life as the owner of the company, and in passing plug your products directly or indirectly with ads. The goal is to ad a personal touch that your competitors lack. The benefit of a blog, as well, is that you can syndicate your content using RSS Feeds.

Now comes the real question. What’s setting up a blog cost? The cost to start a blog is also low, it’s the time to create content that requires investment, and most of that is just time. There are several really great free blogging providers that can get your blog platform started right away and even let you have control on your servers. We highly recommend Wordpress for it’s ease of use, but there are many places to create your blog including Blogger if you don’t have your own website yet. As for content, that is something which will take longer and you should first think about your goals and the types of people you want to have reading your blog. The goal is not to make every post (or article) sound like an ad. Remember the goal is to personalize the consumer experience. You also need to figure out who will “represent” your company online. Will it be you personally, a hired writer , a character you create? It’s important to figure all of that out before you start (and if you need help we can assist). Be warned, though, once you start blogging, it can become addictive.