Some of the people I've met in various web conferences have asked when tutorials will appear on this site, and so let's get started with blogging for your business. Before you actually blog, however, you'll need to make the following preparations.

1. Choose the top 3 main topics or themes that you want to write about.

They don't have to be all closely related, but each should be broad enough. By broad I mean you can write 30 to 50 articles about each topic (over time). Your most favorite topic will be the focus of your main hosted blog, while the two other topics will be covered in your free blogs.

For example, your fave topic might be centered on a particular aspect of the professional side of your life. The other two topics might involve your hobbies, collections, non-professional interests, political commentaries, showbiz fascination, or even your favorite sport.

The main point is to identify three themes that you are interested in, and which you can write answers to questions others may have regarding those topics.

NOTE: By blogging about your professional and recreational interests, you will be able to attract others who may later on turn out to be your avid customers. You'll be able to generate web site traffic that you can funnel to your e-commerce or business site in the future.

2. Get a domain name.

Register a domain name, preferably one that ends in dot com (i.e., ManuelViloria.com) You might consider registering your name, so that you can brand yourself on the web. You can get domain names at www.000domains.com

You will use your domain name later on when you decide to create your hosted or non-free blog.

I'm assuming your main e-commerce site already has its own domain name. Chances are, though, it is not a blog but a traditional brochure on the web (i.e., About Us, Our Products/Services, What's New, Contact Us). It is also probably graphics-intensive or has Flash elements (i.e., moving images that merge with text). It is possibly not that visible in the search engines.

The domain name I'm referring to in Step 2 will be for your own blog, which can be used as a partner site for your main business. It will contain mostly text and will therefore be able to attract people using the search engines.

3. Get a free Gmail account.

Getting a free Gmail email address allows you to easily take advantage of various Google services. Choose a username that looks like your domain name. You can sign up for a Gmail account at:

https://www.google.com/accounts/SmsMailSignup1

4. Set-up your Blogger Beta account.

Once you have your Gmail account, sign in to Blogger Beta at:
http://beta.blogger.com

You'll find near the upper righthand corner a login box. For the username, use your Gmail username, and for the password it will be the same as your Gmail password.

Why get a Blogger Beta blog? It is owned by Google, and if you build a credible and useful blog, Google will reward your site with higher visibility in the search engine results.

You can start with just one blog in Blogger Beta. Later on, you can build even more blogs if you have the time or the inclination. But for now, just start with one topic.

You'll find a link called Create A Blog, and as far as choosing your blog's name goes, use something that describes the main topic or theme of your blog.

Post about 7 articles (no, it does not have to be done in just one day).

Try to get those seven articles up within a month. That's about two posts per week.

If you are unable to do this, find someone who can help you write. This is important because having your words on the web is the first step in your web marketing journey. Without words, your web site won't even make it to the search engines.

Think about it. How will you be able to attract people online if you have nothing to offer them?

5. Set-up your free Wordpress.com blog.

After you've posted those seven 250-word articles, or while you're building your Blogger Beta blog, sign up for a free Wordpress.com blog at

http://wordpress.com/signup/

This second free blog will focus on yet another theme you identified in Step 1. The difference between this and your Blogger Beta blog is that you will see how a Wordpress-powered blog looks like. This will help you become more familiar with Wordpress, which is what you'll use in your future hosted site (using the domain name in Step 2).

In addition, you'll gain exposure in the community of people blogging over at Wordpress.com, and that's the key in web marketing: Find out where people congregate online, and make yourself visible there.

What are you waiting for? Get started today! I've heard of others who put up a free site at Blogspot.com and then later got their own domain name after seeing the amount of interest their free site generated. Today, their sites are earning modest advertising revenues.

But it all starts with your unique words online, so start writing and blogging today.

(For those wondering what topics to write about, stay tuned for Part 2.)

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"Web Marketing Blueprint Part 1"
First Posted: December 17, 2006 | Filed in: Marketing

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