When I mention the word blog to my new social media clients, most of them shudder, shake their head, or tell me they don’t have a blog and don’t want one. Now, mind you, my Target Market is new entrepreneurs and small business owners who want a more consistent presence on Social Media via their Social Media marketing efforts- and not just Facebook. So, I usually have to explain to them that  fifty-one percent of blog readers shop online. That blog readers average 23 hours online each week. Just those two statistics alone (and there are many more) are usually enough to get their attention.

Learning how to blog is really a oxymoron. If you know how to write and tell a story, you can blog. Because a blog is nothing more than a story – usually a very short story, sometimes with chapters to keep the readers’ interest.

To begin blogging, I recommend doing the following:

• carry a notebook around with you at all times. Jot down interesting things that happen. Stories are wonderful fodder for blogs and if you don’t have a note pad or use Dragon Dictation, you will probably not remember your brilliant ideas. Keep one in your car, next to your bed, in the bathroom, and on your desk. The most mundane things can turn into the best blogs!
• make a list of what  you are good at – actually what you are an expert at telling or explaining. You want to position yourself as an authority, so write down what you know and turn it into an informative blog post.
• what are you zealous about? And this does not have to be related to your business. If you are an avid reader, runner, cook, etc. write about it. Your audience wants to know about you, the person, as well as the business owner.
• turn on the video camera and talk about yourself and your business. Video blog (vlogs) are powerful, especially for the visual person who would rather see and hear you than read.

Blogs are meant to inform, educate and influence. Of course content – meaty, juicy content is important, but so is consistency. Blogging once a month will not be effective. Blogging once a week or more is good business strategy. Try it and see who engages with you and don’t forget to acknowledge the engagement with a nice comment.

Coming tomorrow – some important rules for blogging.

Laurie Hurley is a social media coach, mentor, consultant and speaker. You can hear Laurie every Tuesday night on Blog Talk Radio from 7-8pm when she hosts The Social Networking News Hour.