By all means, invite direct subscription to your Business Blog! We’ve said before that RSS is an important sales channel. Search Engine findability is well documented, but have you truly considered the development of voluntary direct connections [via RSS] to your clients & prospects?

All consumers are online researching their future product purchases & service providers. If you’re not familiar we define RSS here, but as a provider of relevant content on the subject of your business [in your area] there’s every reason to believe people will appreciate & subscribe to you. If they like your content they may link to you from their blogs or websites and this can generate even more direct subscription, more leads & more sales [from amongst their readers & subscribers].

Recently, our client Alfredo Cristo demonstrated recognition for the value of direct subscription. He understands it so well he sent a letter inviting his clients & prospects to subscribe, as follows:

 Dear Client,

 I would like to share my new blog site, where my team and I will be posting to the Internet for you a wide variety of information and listings about  Baja, particularly the Cities of La Paz, Loreto, Mulege and East Cape, including La Ribera and Los Barriles.

 In this new blog, you can read our posts and interact with us leaving your comments and questions about the subjects.

 On our first blog we are focusing specifically in Colina Del Sol Los Barriles, a new eco-friendly development located in Los Barriles East Cape that  offers a marvelous opportunity to purchase affordable Residential lots and Homes.

 I hope you, your friends and family join me by subscribing to our weekly journey and please do not hesitate to make comments on the blog  or email me directly with any question or inquiry you may have. Please click on http://blog.bajasurlegal.com

Alfredo, we couldn’t have set a better example ourselves. Well done

Direct subscription can happen without people ever having to search for you; however, no matter the cause RSS is a very important sales channel!! By all means, invite direct subscription to your Business Blog

Our friend Tim O’ Keefe of Spider Juice Technologies recently asked to chat with us on the subject of Business Blogging. Obviously, we were honored.

No surprise here, but we discuss subjects including the value of Blogging for a Business, Search Engine Discoverability, Trust, Online Brand, Direct Marketing, RSS, ‘The Long Tail of Search’, Disintermediation, Web 2.0, potential advertising cost advantages and [even] the possibility of relying on search [to connect provider with consumer] less and less in the future

I’m afraid I’m not the most cogent speaker, but hopefully the conversation is user- friendly / less techie and, if any of the above subjects sound interesting, maybe you’ll find something useful 

Our friend Bryan Bomba recently spoke about the value of Blogging in his interview with Star Power’s own Howard Brinton. Bomba, the leading ReMax Real Estate Professional in Illinois for years running, operates in and around the Hinsdale IL area. His interview with Howard Brinton is meant to demonstrate how leading Realtors execute in their business. 

While there were seven topics of discussion, the Internet Tools piece details Bryan’s recent web commitments including to Blogging. As an aside, they also discussed the type of Home Buyer or Seller that will typically hire Bryan. He suggested his model client is a person looking for a "Realtor for life." They’re the type of home buyer or seller that will do their homework, researching the right Realtor for the long haul. Obviously, nowadays people do their research on the web, which is why Bryan’s success is so relevant.

In the piece, Bryan mentions he’s achieving good Internet visibility with his Blog; however, it’s the nature of how he is managing to win new clients that is telling here. The one he details is a Fortune Brand Executive. She was doing her research online, she discovered Bryan’s Blog and she decided to subscribe to it via RSS. Patiently, she began to follow him via his reporting on the area. You might say that Bomba was being interviewed. Several days later and without requiring an in- person meeting she called to award her listing. Never the type to presume, he extended an offer to come and do a listings presentation for her. She said "No, I’ve been following you’re Blog and I’m convinced about you Mr. Bomba. I am awarding you my business."

In summary, sharing his local knowledgebase on Hinsdale IL Real Estate community news & information is very much a part of Bryan Bomba’s normal routine. It has resulted in home buyer & seller 1) search discovery, 2) direct RSS subscriptions, 3) local brand, 4) trust and 5) prestigious new business. Home buyers & sellers are searching, they are researching, they are subscribing and they’re doing it long before they get in touch with the Realtor. The modern day business challenge is to to be available online. By Blogging, Bryan is meeting the challenge 

Why Business- Blog in a down market? In today’s world people with responsibilities are increasingly time constrained. They are overloaded with invasive information and they don’t have time to read through lots of newspapers & magazines. In a down market, if a business leverages a Blogs potential, it is the most affordable vehicle to generate visibility, discoverability, trust, brand and direct [RSS & Email] connections …in 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 consumers the power to find & gather useful information 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, discoverability, trust, brand and then direct [RSS & RSS to email] connections… affordably and without limit!

Do we believe that Blogging can help a business control its own destiny? We certainly believe that most consumers are online and that a good Blog offers a business the most cost- effective means to develop I.) online visibility, discoverability, II.) local brand recognition, trust and a III.) potentially unlimited number of direct connections. That’s right, one tool and three distinct marketing value propositions for helping a business to control it’s own destiny! 

 I. Visibility & Discoverability: by consistently Blogging new information on a particular subject (i.e. Granite Bay, CA Real Estate) a business is able to push knowledge- base to the web where anyone can consume it. Regardless of  which channel a consumer chooses, including via social network, RSS or search, information is free to go wherever it is needed. With search, virtually one quarter of the queries made are completely unique so it’s important to be indexed for as many variations (i.e. Granite Bay, CA  Lake Front Homes) on a targeted subject as possible. While a business  may generate less search discovery per individual search variation of ‘Granite Bay CA Real Estate’, the collective impact can be much greater for those variations. The proven theory being, if a business Blogs well to cover all the things going on in a target marketplace they can be indexed for many keyword & key phrase searches; therefore, they can be prepared for many, many searcher queries and discoveries. Blogs make this simple & cost- effective!

 II. Local Brand Recognition: let’s face it; we all search because we can. As consumers we all have an instant ability to research and to gather information. If all consumers have this power, businesses must commit themselves to meet this modern day challenge. By consistently & transparently sharing what they know, do, see and have to offer a business can be prepared. By presenting themselves as enthusiastic, valuable, knowledgeable & trustworthy providers of products and services they will develop a local online brand. Blogs make this simple & cost-  effective!

 III. Direct Marketing Connections: these days content can be formatted for syndication. In the past, a business depended on mass mailing and/or media to distribute an advertising message. Now, with Search, Social Networks & RSS that same businesses’ information is free to be discovered, to be directly subscribed to and to go where it is needed. When a consumer finds a valued source of information, they can subscribe via RSS or’ RSS convert to email’ making the direct & continuous connection to an unlimited number of people possible. Blogs make this simple & cost- effective! 

One tool, three levels of value proposition and yes, in 2008 we believe that Blogging will help a business control it’s  own destiny!

A Blogs’ PR value, where knowledge is shared and where positive conversations can erupt, has been well documented. We write often on a Blogs’ value as a Search Engine Marketing tool, where cost- effective Search Engine visibility & discover-ability is attainable, but are you leveraging the direct marketing value of your Blog?

Each of these ‘value propositions’ require consistent on- topic content, but if you’re sharing good insight why wouldn’t you encourage clients & prospects to subscribe to it? In an age of readily available information, those who share knowledge- base will gain mind share. And who amongst them would not benefit from your accumulated & timely knowledge? In the best case scenario, which is at your disposal via RSS, you’ll distribute it to them direct!

[An incredible feature of all Blogs is RSS. The acronym RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and it means the content is prepared for movement around the web. RSS can serve you as a consumer of content and as a marketer! As a consumer of content, rather than having to visit all your favorites all the time in order to know ‘what’s new’, RSS makes it possible for ‘what’s new’ to visit you direct. Rather than email, which is often out of your control, you can easily customize & control the gather of information direct and to one convenient place. By setting up an RSS Feed or News Reader account, which are typically free web- based services, you’re ready to begin making direct connections. Look for the little orange icon or ‘Add to MyYahoo’, click and you should create a continuous feed subscription to your RSS Reader. As a marketer, RSS makes your content available direct to your existing & prospective clients. It’s a valuable feature because there is no better form of advertising than direct marketing communication. If they subscribe to your RSS feed, you know your content is reaching the most qualified individuals because they’re doing it voluntarily!]

Until recently, the web was mostly HTML Web sites. The primary means for distribution of content was a search engine or a directory, but now there are Blogs & RSS. As more and more people get involved [more content sources, blogs, news service feeds, etc., etc. formatted in RSS] it becomes ever- more important to do what it takes to gather & maintain exposure. You see, RSS has become an important distribution channel and the ability to maintain visibility will shift some from the big search engines [and from a need to search engine optimize content] to RSS feed directories, RSS search engines & Persistent Search Alert systems.

Not to worry folks, if you don’t believe your audience has adopted a ‘RSS Newsreader’ solution like MyYahoo, MyMSN, GoogleReader or Bloglines for direct feed(s) subscription it’s still important you get on board because adoption is occurring out there…. and right in front of you! What’s more, we can add a ‘RSS convert to email’ subscription box so that when you post to your blog your content can reach people based on their immediate choice Email or RSS… helping to kill all birds with one stone. Again, who amongst your clients & prospects wouldn’t benefit from your accumulated & timely knowledge… direct?

Folks, we can’t emphasize this enough: do what it takes to touch your clients & prospects often! Do it with your unique advertorial knowledge- base and [in the best case scenario], you’ll do it with voluntarily participation and you’ll do it direct!

Get in touch any time,

Chris

An incredible feature of a Blog is that it formats your content for movement around the web. You may or may not have heard the acronym RSS or the phrase ‘Really Simple Syndication’, but it will serve you as a publisher and as a marketer in many, many useful ways!

For instance in the previous post we suggest how useful an RSS Reader can be for your own blog publishing production,

"Subscribe to multiple sources of relevant content as a means for new ideas. You have access to trade- oriented information and, with a little research, you can identify lots more useful news & information in your area of professional expertise; however you may ask, “who has the time to review all these sites one by one when they’re ready to blog?” The good news is you don’t have to worry if you grasp RSS & subscription to useful feeds. By setting up a free MyYahoo, Google Reader, MyMSN, Bloglines, Newsgator or one of the many online / desktop Feed Reader services you can have the latest content from as many sources as you like. The information will gather in one orderly place for your review… when you’re ready to blog."

Just as for you, RSS makes it equally convenient for your existing & prospective clients to subscribe to you I’d argue this is the most valuable form of marketing because, if they identify & subscribe to your RSS feed you not only know your content is reaching highly qualified individuals direct but voluntarily!

Common Craft Productions does a terrific job with this educational video interpreting RSS, RSS Readers and the ease with which anyone can set up the actual ‘customization of personally relevant incoming information’.  Have a look:

Some additional information:

Registering Your Real Estate Blogsite with RSS Feed Engines