Welcome to part 2 in a 5-part series on How to Get Started Blogging.  

If you are looking to attract consumers there is no "Field of Dreams" in blogging. The "build it and they will come" attitude is a surefire ticket to the blogger's junk pile. Part of your plan must be to define how you will market your blog and then put the plan into action. Here are some areas to considered promoting your blog:

Current contact base - let your current contact base know about your blog. Particularly, if you are looking to provide information to your clients. It's an easy way to centralizing the information so that your contacts always know where to go. You can ever add a subscription service that will periodically email your blog posts to your subscribed clients. What a way to keep them informed without a lot of work, not to mention, get email addresses of new subscribers.

Advertising/Marketing Materials - the best thing to do is put your blog address on everything that promotes you. Be it:

·     newspaper/magazine

·     business cards

·     marketing materials

·     post card mailings

·     anything that has your business name on it

Sooner or later, people will get intrigued enough to check it out.

Blog directories & Blog Search Engine - there are many directories that list blogs by category. These directories make it easier for potential readers and search engines to find your blog.

    http://www.technorati.com/

    http://www.blogarama.com/

    http://www.blogwise.com/

    http://www.blogsearch.google.com/

Posting on other blogs - Posting on other blogs is an excellent way to expand your audience. It is best to post on sites that the blog has related content as the search engines will rank your blog higher base on this blog you post on. Link back to your blog in your post.

Link Exchange - another way to expand your reach is to solicit other bloggers to link your blog on their site as you will reciprocate by link their blog on your site. Linking is one of the major factors in site ranking.

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