Kinetic Knowledge - Business Blogging Services » EMAIL MARKETING

Do You Own Your Blog and… Do You Want To?

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:51:41 +0000

There seems to be much ado about blog ownership these days.

Do I own my blog platform infrastructure?
Do I own the content on my blog?
Do I own the search engine indexing I generate with my blog?
What does it mean to have a hosted blog or a free blog versus a custom blog that lives on my own server?
Is it in your best interest to own your blog platform infrastructure?

These things are very important to digest. Above all you should understand that all options are viable, some are just harder and more technical to implement than others – certain things are for certain individuals. Hopefully the factual discussion below will help you think about what is right for you. Where is your time best invested?

Do I own my blog platform?

Any time you pay for a hosted monthly service, it is likely you don’t own the actual infrastructure but you do own the content (which in the long run may be preferable based on your needs). Meaning, you pay a provider to host, maintain and service that platform so you don’t have to worry about the day to day hassles of technology and service maintenance. This means that if you ever wanted to “switch” platfoms – your new provider would likely import content from the old platform which when finished, would be shut down. You may be given options to have your own singular “custom” blog built for you yet hosted on someone else’s servers. This is really just the same as paying for a hosted solution. If you wanted to transfer that entire site, you would likely be given code for the whole site infrastructure that only a skilled programmer could re-institute for you once you found a new hosting solution.

Do I own the content on my blog?

Yes. You will always own “access” and “rights” to the content on your blog. The devils are in the details with content ownership. With a hosted blog you don’t own the infrastructure of the site itself, so getting your content ready for conversion to another system may be somewhat of a challenge. Your new blog provider should be able to help you with this. Content conversion may be a fee-based service or one provided as part of your new setup cost. Content is not always easily transferred, so be aware of your take home options. Most platforms will offer you an RSS or XML feed that contains all the raw code (including active links and photos) representing each blog post you created historically.

You can run into content ownership problems with free solutions. For instance, let’s say you blog on a platform such as Active Rain – although you own the content that you put into the platform, Active Rain also has license to use the content how they wish. What if they change their business model? Sell the company? Create new marketing relationships? Where will your content end up? Ultimately the only way to fully control where your content ends up is to maintain your own hosted or custom blog presence. However, don’t overlook the “free” opportunities presented to you – often times there is great reason to utilize such vehicles, just be aware of the potential limitations.

Do I own the search engine indexing I’ve generated with my blog?

Nobody can control what search engines decide to do. Unless a new blog provider can offer you a URL re-writing map to tie the old content URLs to the new URL locations, you will likely lose any indexing you previously generated with your hosted blog solution if you make a change. Most blog platforms create a unique URL for each blog post. Each of these unique URLs tend to become indexed in the search engines individually and over time. When you import your content to a new platform, even if you use the same root domain (blog.mycompany.com), those unique, historic post URLs are likely created using a new system that makes them slightly different from what the search engines know them as. This means anything previously indexed will likely return a 404 Page Not Found error which will take time for the search engine index to learn to remove. Your new URLs will become re-indexed over time, but in some sense you are starting from scratch. And, as always, with search engines your indexing results are not guaranteed to stay – they will ebb and flow with time and as you change your content.

What does it mean to have a hosted blog or a free blog versus a custom blog that lives on my own server?

A hosted blog will be the most common thing for you to consider. This likely means that you will get a custom design and look created for you where you enter and control your own content, yet a third party manages and maintains the technical aspects of running that blog. The third party deals with technology problems, server outages, DNS issues, problems created from bad code insertions, time out issues, and anything else you can think of. They cover the details and keep you at your best while you worry about blogging.

A singular instance of a custom blog built and installed on your own server is only possible with a highly technical knowledge set. Either you or a skilled programmer hired by you would need to know the intricacies of installing a blog platform onto a server most likely located on-site in your office. It is unlikely you have the resources to house such technology. If you do, you will know just by reading this. In this case, you do own everything about the blog including the infrastructure, the code and the potential headaches!

A free blog solution will likely give you very few control options as well as few options for content conversion if you wish to switch (however they are usually possible to find with some digging). Although you own rights to such content, getting a cooperative helping hand to put it into a good conversion vehicle may be difficult.

And, Finally – Do you need or want a custom self-hosted blog solution?

Custom, self-hosted solutions are for highly technical folks or for people that have the resources to contract highly technical folks (likely for high costs). They are unlikely solutions for most. A hosted solution is a fine way to go providing you understand and ask the right questions prior to contracting:

What are my content conversion options if I decide to cancel your service?
Do I have any storage limitations?
Do you host photos for me?
What types of service and education do you provide?
What is your technical support policy?
Will you help me learn to blog effectively?
What is your pricing model – what is included and what is ala carte?
Do you provide statistics or systems monitoring?
Will I get a custom design?

If you don’t want to manage the hassle of keeping technology up to date and you value education with a helping hand, a hosted solution is your likely choice. Your service provider takes on all the headaches for you. They should also be vested in your success, meaning providers of great educational resources and services that allow you to get the most return for your investment of time.

Kinetic Knowledge provides affordable, business-class blogging solutions that will help you easily leverage knowledge and information online. Our ongoing educational services (such as webinars and monthly email tutorials) demonstrate the value and how-to’s of blogging and help you to attain success sooner rather than later. Whether your needs are marketing, advertising, public relations, supplemental content creation or traffic performance analytics, we have user friendly, affordable and ever- evolving products and services that will meet your needs.

Kinetic Knowledge attends National Real Estate CyberConvention & Expo

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:10:09 +0000

Hey folks, We’re participating in the National Real Estate CyberConvention & Expo right now and wanted to invite everyone to drop by and see us.

There’s a painless registration, but Jack Peckham and his team at ReCyber do a terrific job with great sponsors, speakers, exhibitors and a virtual format very much like Second Life so it’s really worth checking out!

Why Business Blog in a Down Market?

admin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:56:19 +0000

Why Business Blog in a down market? In today’s world people are increasingly time constrained. Overloaded with invasive information, they have less time to read through lots of newspapers & magazines. In a down market and if a business leverages a blogs’ potential, it is the most affordable vehicle to generate visibility, trust, brand and direct [RSS & Email] connections After all, it’s a world where virtually all consumers are searching!

- Que: What happens when a business can publish unlimited, useful information to the web?
  Ans: A business that Blogs can market almost anything affordably, particularly the merits of its’ business, to anyone and everyone that needs that expertise, those products & those services [= online brand development]!
- Que: What happens when consumers can search and find any information they want whenever they want it …for free?
- Ans: A business that Blogs can be discovered directly, often, for many things, without any constraint and by the most qualified prospects [= search marketing/advertising]!
- Que: What happens when business prospects can easily subscribe to any publishing source of information they want or need?
  Ans: A business that Blogs can open an unlimited number of trusted, ongoing RSS & Email connections[= direct marketing]!

The web gives the consumer the power to find useful information [i.e. Real Estate Investment] on their own terms… and to make informed decisions. Most consumers are searching and they want they expect the immediate gratification of answers! Unlike traditional marketing / advertising messages, which are challenged to grab the consumers’ attention in limited space & time, a business that Blogs’ has the ability to generate visibility, trust, brand and then direct [RSS & RSS to email] connections affordably and without limit!

Business Blogging Success at the Local Business Level!

Chris Frerecks — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:14:05 +0000

What is a commitment to Business Blogging doing for others?

Read what some bloggers have had to say…

“At four weeks later, I have come up on page 1 in Google when doing a search of Valencia Real Estate News.” Connor MacIVOR, Santa Clarita CA
“…my blog seems to attract folks because it’s perceived as a more forward-thinking, open & honest way to share good information on property & lifestyle in the area. In all, it’s become a great marketing, advertising & public relations tool for my business.” Bryan Bomba Hinsdale IL
“I see blogging today in a position similar to where websites were 17 or 18 years ago. Back then, other agents would ask why I was bothering with a website – what a waste of time and money. Now everyone has a website. It’s the same with blogging – most agents see it as a social network and a waste of time. The world copies what’s successful – our edge is being there before the others.” Sharon Simms St Petersburg FL
“I can trace 3 transactions directly to blogging. One of the buyer agents on my team came back from an initial meeting with a buyer client to say the guy loved our blog and said he just “eats up” the market reports we post.” Ann Heitland Flagstaff AZ
“I’m relatively new to the business so I don’t have a ton of listings. My focus is to Blog about what I have, but I also make an effort to share good information on the more relevant real estate oriented goings- on in Eagle County too. And by the way, writing about properties or the communities they are in is a tactic I’m using to generate more listings too. I was able to get a condo listing by showing the owners I had optimal search engine indexing for several related queries on the area. They concluded that would help to sell the home.” Doug Schwartz Edwards CO
“I have found that about half of the people who visit my IDX site, come from my blog as opposed to my pay per click links. As a result, I have been able to cut my pay per click budget. My Real Estate Blogsite is my vehicle for positioning myself as the area expert.” Linda Davis Ledyard CT
“We really see blogging as a GREAT search engine marketing tool! Our goal with blogging is simple. We’re looking for traffic, leads and to get folks to eventually buy!!!” Kristina Netter Long Island NY
“We are experts in Real Estate, but recognize the web is where we need to focus our energy. Yes there are free blogs, but the learning curve is at what cost to our business?” Kathy Vallee Tucson AZ
“We have to have a way for our web presence to float to the top of the search engines. Most client contact in our marketplace is by email or phone, the first time. We get fewer and fewer cold walk-ins every year. You have to be in front of the competition to get ahead and stay there.”
Joe Neill Grand Lake OK

Our commitment to Blogging about Business Blogging products & services between November & December ‘07 shows month to month increases 1.) in pages views of 212%, 2.) in unique users of 269%, 3.) in return users of 667%, 4.) in different search query discoveries to our business of 196% and 5.) in the different states searchers visited from of 146%. Not bad for a relatively new Business Blog

Kinetic Knowledge Testimonial, Connor MacIVOR, ReMax Santa Clarita CA

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:47:14 +0000

"….These key people to date are too many to number. Jeff Turner, the Founder of Real Estate Shows and Chris Frerecks at Kinetic Knowledge with his partner Kristen Veraldi, immediately come to mind. But the value, that I was hit with, like a freight train, was the conversation that I had with Kristen, how the blogs work. It was as if she had unscrewed my skull cap, and as if Play dough was knowledge, filled it to the point that when screwed down my skull cap, the excess (knowledge) Play dough, squeezed out of my eyes, ears, nose and out of my mouth. There was absolutely too much information being passed to me to be able to implement in the near future and possibly my lifetime. I have not met such wonderful people as Jeff Turner at Real Estate Shows and Chris Frerecks and Kristen Veraldi with Kinetic Knowledge…."

Read on here or in Active Rain here…we so sincerely thank you for the kind words Connor!

Email Issues

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:09:05 +0000

Folks,

We’re having severe issues with our email host. I sincerely apologize for any delays in responding.

Chris

Kinetic Knowledge

Fun @ NAR 2007 Las Vegas

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:23:20 +0000

Kristen & I were honored to support our friend Scott Forcino, who successfully launched Pro Real Estate City , and

to spend quality time with Real Estate Industry luminaries such as Ralph Roberts and his trusted Lois Maljak

We’d love to see you at NAR!

admin — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:14:59 +0000

We’re supporting our friends over at the Pro Real Estate Cities booth # 2951 so if you’re in Las Vegas for NAR we’d love to see you.

Please stop by.

Highlight Your Blog Thru Complimentary E-mail Marketing Efforts

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:48:21 +0000

Are you looking for blogging efficiencies? Have you ever thought about using your blog in conjunction with email marketing efforts? If not, you should! Email is still a very viable marketing mechanism. Most likely your clients are using email as a daily method of contact. Using your existing sphere of influence is a great way to introduce your blog to your current clients AND keep them educated.

Have you been sending emails which answer questions that might benefit a larger audience?
Do you send out email newsletters to your client base?
Do you send special promotions or educational marketing messages via email?

All of these things can be done more efficiently using a combination of email and blogging. When you add content to a blog, that content becomes available in real-time for anyone viewing the website (yes! a blog is really just a real-time website) online. It also becomes available for search engine spiders to crawl and index. If you want to become an authority in the search engine index for any subject matter, you must offer timely and relevant content for regular digestion. Using an email/blog combination to communicate is an effective way to meet your marketing needs while at the same time offering great content for the search engines to digest and index. Approach the three scenarios above first in your blog and then introduce them through your email campaign. This gives you the opportunity to have a conversation you might have only had with one individual – with many!

Creating a Newsletter:

Let’s assume you offer a regular monthly email newsletter to your client base. How would you achieve a blog/email combination in this case? Follow these easy steps:
Create each story you would have offered up in your newsletter as a separate blog post
Make sure you create comprehensive articles that offer education and value
In each section of your email newsletter, take a good paragraph from each of your blog articles and use them as section teasers
At the bottom of each teaser paragraph (or newsletter section), make sure to include a link to "read more" that directs the reader to go to the appropriate article on your blog

By doing this you achieve three things: your newsletter will look clean and concise, you’ve introduced your current clients to your blog hopefully peaking their interest to read more, AND you’ve created an opportunity for your content to get spidered and indexed in the search engines!

Use a Blog Post to Communicate a Message to One Person Which May Have Value For Many:

Let’s use Realtors as a good example for this. They have client to client conversations every day through email. Why not take these educational conversations to the web? Create a blog post answering the question and making it suitable for general education. Then send an email to your client saying, "you’ve inspired me to write a blog post. Please visit the following link for an answer to your question". Perhaps with a more personal and targeted message, but you get the idea! Once again you are getting more bang for your buck with here – your content is serving multiple purposes and working harder for you.

Most people are blogging everyday – they just don’t realize it! A blog can be a very valuable online marketing tool – help yourself with time saving efficiencies.

Email Tip:
For regular e-mail newsletters and promos there are some incredible new tools that help you measure the effectiveness of your campaign. Check out www.constantcontact.com!

UPDATE: www.feedblitz.com now offers an email newsletter service that builds itself from your blog posts – it’s free and easy, check it out!