How to Use a Business Blog For Informational Marketing

What is the purpose of business blogging?

It is surprising how many businesses start a company blog without really asking this question. A this is the thing to do attitude comes over people, and a business blog is started as an experiment. The result is usually haphazard content of little merit that nobody ever reads. Before long, the experiment is over and it's been months or years since the last post.

A business blog is a marketing tool that should support business development goals. The purpose of business blogging is to:

• Increase online exposure via SEO and social media
• Create an affinity with prospective clients
• Establish expertise and authority using an informational forum
• Help fill sales funnels and increase profits

Unless these goals are recognized, it is unlikely that a business will expend the resources necessary to maintain a blog, and there may not even be enough initial buy-in to get the blog started.

What type of content should be used in a business blog?

A business blog is not a place for sales content or to rant about how great you think you are, but rather is used to create an affinity with prospective clients. The content must deal with pain-points, questions, and concerns readers have, and address them with concise, useful information. At the same time, the content should direct them towards solutions provided by your products or services.

This type of content is known as informational marketing. It addresses the prospects need to be informed, particularly early in the buying process. Think about:

• Questions prospects commonly have about your products and services
• Pain points your solutions solve
• Benefits you provide that require explanation
• Industry and cultural trends that relate to what you do

If you provide information that has merit and value upfront, clients will ultimately reward you with their business.

What are other benefits of business blogs?

Your informational marketing material is only useful if people find and read it. Blogs are an excellent search engine optimization (SEO) and online marketing tool:

• Blog software works as a content management system that allows you to easily update your website without any HTML skill. Search engines favor websites that have fresh, updated content.
• You can create a large number of keyword optimized pages on a blog. Each post is a new page on your website that builds relevancy around keyword groups.
• Blogs are interactive, allowing readers to post comments and actually add to the content development for your site.
• You can direct people from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to comprehensive articles on your blog.

Beyond online marketing, blogs are an convenient tool to manage your informational marketing collateral. Whether a client finds you on Google or gets your URL off a business card, the informational articles you create in your blog can be accessed at their convenience. You can also link to blog content from online newsletters and email marketing campaigns.

Professional, well-written content that deals with legitimate concerns and topics of interest is a powerful way to create an affinity with top prospects. A business blog is a perfect tool to develop and publish this informational marketing content.

Shopping Online is Here to Stay

Shopping online is here to stay, and online sales growth is explosive. In addition, online entertainment will be a $15.7 billion market in 2007 , only approximately 22 percent of that total will come from digital goods and services. Shopping online is something anyone can do, with a bit of coaching, a bit of training, and the right tools. You can find what you want at the price you want to pay. This is no exception. In fact, with the sophistication and speed of online shopping tools, consumers are spending more and more on shopping mall sites.

Shopping online is a fabulous time and money saver and with promotional coupon codes saves you even more. It is also far more convenient, as you do not have to leave your home or office. The simple act of shopping online through a member organizations online Marketplace helps that member organizations grow, prosper, and continue to serve the people of their community.

Internet marketing is essential for anyone selling a product or service. More than two thirds of all consumers visit the web for some type of product or service information. Internet marketing is about people knowing each other. It is about people knowing each other's interests, values and preferences. Internet marketing is the use of the internet to advertise and sell products and services. Within the definition of it you will find mention of pay per click advertising, banner ads, e-mail marketing, search engine marketing (including search engine optimization), blog marketing, and article marketing.

Internet marketing is hard, technical, detailed work, but can offer everything you need to succeed. It is a procedure of mounting and promoting a group using the online medium. Factually, internet marketing doesn't simply mean to build a website. It is much more than the field of dreams concept of "if you build it they will come".

Internet marketing is no longer limited to banner ads and e-mail newsletters. Interactive websites, search marketing, online affiliates, and social media have expanded your marketing mix options. It is the lifeblood of your website. Without marketing, your customers would never find you amongst your countless competitors. Internet marketing is by far the fastest growing advertising method for all companies in this day and age. The advertising company dealing with internet marketing solutions have to keep themselves updated daily to keep up with the competition and the pace set by new products being introduced.

• Email marketing
• Article marketing
• Targeted traffic
• Optomized press release
• Search engine optimization
• Blog marketing
• Banner adds
• Pay per click advertising

E-commerce is an internet marketing business model, where product or services are sold directly through consumers through publishing or the sale of advertising. The exposure of the product and the convenience to the consumer in buying through internet is the benefit derived from internet marketing. E-commerce has now become a key component of many companies in the daily running of their business.

Why Shopping Online Is Good For You

People were slow to adopt to shopping online when ecommerce was first introduced. Other than the convenience of shopping from home, people didn't think it was worth the risk. Online shopping was viewed as a risky way to shop where your credit card information could get easily stolen. The media spread horror stories that kept people away.

How time has changed! The volume of online transaction has been growing at rapid pace over the last decade. Now almost everyone who has internet has at least tried shopping online while many rely on it on a regular basis and some even shop exclusively online.

People are not as scared of their credit card information being stolen anymore because online security technology has made huge advances that they feel they are sufficiently protected. Major banks and payment companies also offer protection or guarantee against online fraud.

What is luring customers away from the traditional physical shops is that online shops are offering far cheaper prices. Great deals are found online and searching online for great deals is a process that takes minutes sitting in front of a computer while comparing prices from different physical stores would be a far more arduous task.

Online shops are able to offer customers significant discounts on their goods because they don't have the high overhead costs such as rent, utilities, sales staff and property maintenance that traditional physical shops must deal with. Running a shopping website requires just renting a web server, which costs anywhere from tens of dollars per month to no more than a couple of hundred dollars and a webmaster to keep the website running smoothly. Online shops don't have to tie up large amount of capital in stock while physical shops must keep enough inventory to fill the shop floor. A physical store is designed to serve the local community while an online store can reach customers anywhere in the world. This gives online shops the ability to achieve far larger economies of scale and pass on the savings to their customers.

eBay is probably the website where you will find the best deals online. These days if you do a search on eBay you will find incredible deals on anything from rechargeable batteries that cost $1 a pop inclusive of delivery to inkjet printer cartridges that cost $5 a pop inclusive of shipping. Such things in a physical store would cost two to three times more in your local shop because the shops need the extra margin to cover extra costs like rent, utilities and staff salaries.

Many people are already shopping online for most things they need. If you do the same, you will realize how much money you can save. The experience of online shopping has improved significantly over the last decade. These days people can feel safe shopping online and most online merchants are reputable reliable businesses that supply high quality goods and handle customer service with speed and efficiency.

Trading As a Business

It is everyone's dream to generate income simply by sitting at a computer in their home and spending minimal efforts. Trading stocks from your home is an attractive option in order to have your home based business and live this dream. You get more freedom when working from home, do not need to report to a superior, have more time with family and generate an income by just spending a few hours behind a computer. Your hours are flexible depending on the type of trades you are planning to perform and also the stock market hours. You can go as less as an hour a day to as long as the whole day performing all your analysis and placing trades.

With the advances in technology and internet, trading as a business has become much easier and with a few clicks on your computer you will become a stock investor. You can also get a higher return on your investment because of the much cheaper costs for brokers. The role of stockbrokers and agencies as intermediaries is reduced substantially. There are many options out there for online brokers with different services and fees. Based on your business strategies and budget you can pick from a variety of online brokers available. With online trading, you also get rid of all the paperwork involved in the stock trading. You can access your account securely through the Internet with your private password and trading is just a few clicks away.

One benefit of trading as a business is that unlike other businesses you do not need to invest huge amounts of money in it to get started. This type of business does not require an organizational setup, space rental, employees, and a huge fund to run the business. All you need to have is a computer with an Internet connection, a bank account, and a basic knowledge of the stock market and finance.

The potential revenue in trading a business can be as high as 100K annually and even more for professionals and experts. You can also generate substantial income by diversifying your portfolio and planning systematically. Just create some strategies and stick to them. Do not let emotions get in your way of buying or selling stocks. This is the most important factor in becoming successful in this business and being able to manage you risk and return.

Similar to starting any other business, you have to be patient and very persistence when trading stocks as a business. There are many training programs, online courses and e-books that can help you become a successful stock trader and master skills needed to make your business a profitable one. Also there are many online training programs that can make the process of trading easier by providing technical analysis and charts to save time in your business and to make trading straightforward.

What Are the Pros and Cons of International Trade?

When you head to your favorite shop in town, you may not realize that the purchases you make effect communities far from where you live. If you buy foods, clothing, books and toys that aren't manufactured in your area, you benefit not only the store which carries them but the corresponding companies that produce the goods you use daily. For decades, our relations with foreign nations have shaped the way people here do business, yet in recent times the call to support local farmers and manufacturers has gained strength. As a consumer, it's good to know the pros and cons of international trade as they effect you, your community, and the country.

Does trade with other nations hurt or hinder domestic economy? The novice student of international relations will be aware of which countries do well importing into and exporting from the Americas, while domestic workers may charge that foreign industries take away jobs. There are pros and cons to global industry, some of which are detailed here.

Pros of International Trade

• Trade may offered goods and services not readily available through domestic or local distributors. There are certain plants, produce, and resources indigenous to foreign countries that we may not be able to make here. Even if it is possible, product quality may be better in the imports brought into the States. While it is nice to enjoy wines grown in California and Virginia, for example, some varietals of grape grow best in Italy and France, so if you want them you will need to connect overseas.


• Some foreign imported goods may come at a better price in the long run. Even with shipping and transportation costs, some products may be ordered at affordable rates, depending on what you want. If that particular manufacturer is able to create bulk numbers in a reasonable time, domestic businessmen may benefit more.


• Trade connections can increase awareness of and interest in American products. The more businesses deal with outsiders, the lines of communications are open to sell products as well as buy.

Cons of International Trade

• Perhaps the biggest obstacle to overcome, speaking of lines of communication, is the language barrier. When dealing with distributors in countries where English is not a main tongue, one can become frustrated by such roadblocks. This in turn could lead to problems with delivery and orders.


• Natural disasters and international conflicts may cause delays and breakdowns in supply chains. Retailers who previously bought coffee from Haiti and products from Japan likely had to rearrange their inventories until both countries are fully operational again.


• As mentioned briefly above, domestic employment factors into trade as well. Jobs may not be completely lost to other countries, but many workers may find they need to alter their lives to suit changes in the economy.

One can see both sides of international trades - the benefits and challenges. How you make global business relations work for me depends on what you need, where your market is, and how you can overcome obstacles that threaten your business.

Save Time, Save Money, Save Gas - Shop Online at Your Own Mall!

That's right shop online at own your own mall, some malls with over 800 of your favorite stores and shops. Although most people do not yet shop on line the online shopping phenomenon is growing by leaps and bounds and it presents opportunities for people interested in the business aspects of this phenomenon.

Think about it; you can do your shopping whenever you like 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. You can sit in front of your computer in your "bunny slippers" and you don't even have to get dressed or endure the rain or snow or heat or cold or schlepping all those packages out to the car and then unloading them when you get home. How many reasons do you need to shop online?

Your objection may be, "but I have to go to all those different websites and some of them have weird address so I have to look them up and that's frustrating for me", the answer is no you don't. Online shopping has become so simple and efficient that you will wonder why you haven't done this sooner. Another popular objection is "I like to try things on before I buy them". Great! go to the store of your choice online; buy a gift certificate, take advantage of any special deals that store may have online that likely is not available at the store, and then go to that store and try on whatever you plan on buying. And finally the objection; "but I have to pay for shipping", maybe. Many online stores offer free shipping when a certain amount is spent by the consumer.

Generally speaking when shopping online the price you pay will be less than you pay at the store simply because the online site eliminates all that overhead that a traditional brick and mortar store is burdened with, the employees, light bill, air conditioning, etc.

The online mall enables you to comparison shop without running from store to store. Some online malls will put up the individual store icons on a single page, simply click on the store icons and compare the product and price. That's it.

There is at least one online mall that will pay you a percentage of what you spend in cash; some offer other incentives for shopping on their sites. Some malls offer "green sites" in addition to the traditional stores other sites offer a network marketing business opportunity that enables you to participate in the growth of this exploding phenomenon. Whatever your interests may be they can be found at the online mall.

B2B Shopping Cart - What an E-Commerce Business Takes to Be Successful

Online shopping is giving e-commerce businesses more and more room to flourish. E-commerce businesses have now been improving and developing with astonishing pace. E-commerce is basically doing trade online; buying and selling items on World Wide Web rather than local stores and shopping malls. There are many different modes for selling online and every mode needs a different king of shopping cart.

Every business to business (B2B) online store needs a B2B shopping cart.  Use of the right product and the right type of shopping cart affect your business.

Before going on further with B2B shopping cart, let us discuss first what is meant by B2B? B2B, as written above, means business to business. E-commerce, as with real life trading, deals in different aspects of trading.

Some trade with consumers, some with other business, some trade from consumer to business and some trade from business to consumers. B2B, as stated earlier in this article is business to business trading.

The point in e-commerce is the issue of secure payments, valid transaction and transfer of money from shopper's credit card (or bank account) to a website and to website to owners accounts. This wired connected worldwide trade - the e-commerce - just like real trade has different forms and types with different benefits and drawbacks.

All types are different ways of buying and selling services and products. Some types of e-commerce are Consumer to business, business to consumers, business to employee and consumer to consumer. All of these have different modes and limits of transactions and payments.

Business to business is relatively new in e-commerce and getting more popularity than previous types of e-commerce and having a good shopping cart software review is important. According to a rough estimate, there are almost 90% of transaction made on internet are made via B2B e-commerce type as it allows large amounts o secure and quick transactions among business partners to improve their business which in due course increases their profits.

This is the main reason it is more common in practice where there are online store and e-shops. Owners of online shops and e-stores prefer this practice of transaction over any other form of transaction as it is quick and more reliable.

Business to business software that is used in online stores and websites and blogs that allow people doing shopping and buying services online is called B2B shopping cart. This software is featured with many of the common tools as the standard shopping cart software has.

Among the advantages it has is cost-efficiency. You do not have to spend millions to have a shopping cart. B2B shopping carts unable you to have your store open 24/7 and to have customers from all round the globe. To be exact and precise, you're having a store that can be visited from everywhere in the world wherever the World Wide Web (the internet) is accessible.