Why Should A Business Blog

It's very easy to come up with reasons why not to blog. Blogging takes valuable time, a lot people just aren't that comfortable in the medium, and many business owners just don't see the point in blogging. While those are all valid reasons to avoid blogging, there are also some important advantages that are worth considering:

• Builds the long tail - they say only 50% of searches have every been searched before. Therefore the more you write about your business and industry and your customer's problems the more likely you are to hit upon that magic two or three word (or longer) phrase that someone types that puts your blog entry right at the top of the search results for a very specific query. That's a targeted customer find you - the person with the answer to their exact question.
• Your competitors are - Because there is no jumping off an actual bridge involved, this is one case where you might want to do something because others are doing it. In an advertising class I once asked, "Why doesn't McDonald's just stop spending so much money on advertising since everybody already knows about them?" The answer? Because they'll be left behind in people's minds as their competitors fill the space with their ads. Oh. Good answer.
• Helps you hone your other, offline sales arguments - the more you write about your self, your business and how you solved your customers' problems the more insight you'll get and the better you'll get at telling the stories in concise and compelling ways.

My friend Chuck at Charleslinart.com has a good blog post with more on this topic, Does Your Business Need a Blog? http://www.chucklinart.com/your-business-blog