Content Marketing Today

Five Essential Reasons to Launch a Blog-Based Website Right Now

Too many people–and I used to be one of them–think of a blog as an out-of-control rant by a fanatic about some topic or other. Sure there’s plenty of that. However, today, business blogs are pervasive. They provide enormous value by delivering relevant content on a myriad of topics.

But, more importantly, an increasing number of what have been termed ‘blogs’ in the past are really websites.

They are full-featured websites with as much capability is anything that could be built from scratch by talented programmers. I’m indebted to my new friends at ContentRobot.com for the new term, ‘ blog-powered website’ that I will use from now on. They’re doing some great stuff. Be sure to check out their website ,which is the featured graphic to the right.

The secret sauce behind the ContentRobot.com site, ContentMarketingToday.com, and thousands of others is the powerful and often free software that will enable you to establish a content rich website. I happen to be a fan of WordPress which is an open-source content management system whose roots are in blogging. But, whatever tool you choose, you now have the ability to create a full-featured website with a minimal expense in a short period of time.

You no longer have an excuse to stick with the brochureware website that your sister’s cousin’s nephew built for you in some kind of JavaScript that nobody knows how to modify.

Since your excuses for change are gone, here’s why you need to launch a blog-based website right now:

1. Your website should be your number one marketing priority. You should be prepared to invest more money in a content rich website that can turn visitors into buyers than you do in any other form of marketing.
   Such a website gives you instant credibility with prospective customers and acts as your salesperson 24 hours per day 365 days per year. No other marketing component provides this level of potential return on investment. But, unless your website delivers information that is truly valuable to your customers, it will fail. So, if yours doesn’t measure up, it’s time to create a new one right now. The really good news is that even though you should be prepared to invest more money in your website than in any other marketing effort, you won’t need to–see point number three below
2. A blog-powered website is easy to design, easy to fill with content, and easy to update. That old out-of-date content and those five-year-old press releases can be tossed out the window.
   You can provide current and compelling content whether you write it yourself or hire someone else. Once you have a press release, a feature story, or a list of resources prepared, you can post it on your blog-based website within a few minutes. You don’t have to know anything about HTML or programming. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can keep your website current.
3. There are now hundreds of talented designers who have become specialists in blog-powered websites. They no longer need to build content management systems from scratch. They can easily customize WordPress with its core capabilities and its many add-ons. The result is a website that looks as good and functions better than anything you would have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for in 1998. Depending on how extensive your website is, you can expect to pay from $1000-$20,000. For most small to medium-size businesses, there is no need to invest more than that. Compare that to what you may be spending in the increasingly irrelevant Yellow Pages.
4. Because blog-powered websites are built on software that enables multiple authors to contribute articles, you can develop content using the very best of your internal knowledge base and of free and paid external resources. You can solicit contributions from around the corner or around the world. Because blog-powered websites are driven by web-based software, you don’t need any internal infrastructure to support these efforts.
5. Blogs are by their nature interactive. They encourage communication. A blog-powered website is your opportunity to spark conversations within your organization and with your customers. You can ask and answer questions. You can create forums. You can solicit feedback on new products and services. You can ask your customers how are you doing. The ease of interaction inherent in a blog-based website strengthens your content and ultimately strengthens your relationship with current and prospective customers.

That’s it then. No more excuses. Get started today on rethinking what you’re doing on the web and how you can create a website based on blogging software.

To get an idea of how easy it can be, go to WordPress.com. You can start a basic blog for free, using standard templates, and with pretty impressive functionality. You can do it yourself. You don’t need to be technical. Although you will certainly want to hire somebody to create a final website, a few hours improvising with WordPress should prove to you why you need to launch a blog-powered website right now.