Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Creating Value

The first rule of finding success as a professional blogger is to provide value for readers. To better understand this concept, consider the top benefits that blogs offer to you and your business:

• Current information: Although Web sites are an effective way to disseminate information, their content doesn't change as often as people want. Magazines are published monthly, and most newspapers are published daily. The Internet allows instant communication, and people want to hear the newest information immediately. Although many online news sites are now updated throughout the day, blogs enjoy the reputation of being the most actively updated news sources. A good blog posts multiple entries per day or even an entry per hour. (This frequency of updating information can also help your blog rank higher in online search results.)

  In addition to the frequency with which you post content to your blog, certain times of the day are considered ideal for attracting the most readers. According to Hubspot, a company that specializes in online inbound marketing, research shows that the best time to get views for your blog is early in the morning. This is also a good time to post because your content is more likely to get picked up by other bloggers and content (news) sites and receive traffic-generating referral links to your site.

• The ability to connect: The power of many blogs ...