In the past, Blogs had an undeserved reputation as a haven for opinion with marginal relevance/use for business publishers.  Publishers experimenting with blogs, or creating a separate site to protect their brand are missing an opportunity to benefit from a well-rounded content strategy.

Why should publishers add blogs?

• Make blogs part of your content strategy
• Blogs encourage site traffic – regular posts improve Search Engine rankings
• Blogs encourages comments and interaction, which in turn increases time on site and page views
• Create a complete resource for your subscribers: blog posts can be the starting point for research if you present related articles, listings, blog roll and other site content on your blog page and in Search results
• Target specific audiences for sponsors and advertisers.

What steps make blogs a winning tactic?

• Write frequently on topics related to news and paid content
• Allow comments, but require registration to post
• Write on topics related to news that day or week
• Develop a site personality: include names and photos of your bloggers
• Build your brand by establishing expertise in relevant topics
• Create RSS feeds and include top posts in Alerts and eNewsletters.

Blog tools are a standard feature of the ePublishing platform. See them in action on IBJ.com/blogs