Blogs are just a bunch of people spouting off about nothing. Interesting for a procrastinating college student maybe, but certainly not for business purposes. That's what Steven Parmelee thought - until a client found Westport Benefits Group on the Internet last year.
"Somehow he found me, interviewed me and I got hired. I told people it'd be a lot easier if more people would find me on the Internet. I never would have used it for that," says Parmelee, president of the Connecticut-based company. "What I kept hearing was, 'You know, if you do a blog then it gets all over the place and then more people are going to find you.'"
So, in February Parmelee gave in and created a blog on his Web site. One of his first posts was picked up by an industry newsletter. "I get to this headline and I go, damn, somebody stole my idea - wait a minute - that's mine!" he says.
Networking tool
Now, Parmelee leverages such connections to increase the exposure of Westport Benefits by regularly commenting on other relevant blogs and articles. "People put down fake names like squirrelybird3 or something. I put my name and my email address - the company at least," he says. "Because I figure if that gets around, or people might respond to it, I mean you just never know, so why not put your name there?"
That's Jim Edholm's policy. His perspective is that at any given time there are only about 3-5% of companies dissatisfied with their current broker. "So, I could spend a lot of time smilin' and dialin' and never happen to hit on the guy who really wants to talk to me," he says.
Edholm recently added a blog - bbibenefits.wordpress.com - to his communication practices, which already included direct mail, telemarketing and a LinkedIn profile. "If I do all this stuff, it increases the chances of my finding somebody who is interested," he says.
A Principal of Greenspring Wealth Management, Josh Itzoe's blog sprung out of the publication of his first book, "Fixing the 401(k)." The aptly named fixingthe401k.com was first a Web site created to promote the book. Then Itzoe realized people visiting the site to learn about his book would likely only come once or twice. By adding a blog, he could get repeat visits. It's since lead to multiple speaking engagements.
Stay with it
With dozens of free or inexpensive platforms available, anyone with an Internet connection can create a blog, says Lee Fleming, Web developer with InfoPulse LLC. Fleming helps her clients (one of whom is Parmelee) create blogs using platforms such as WordPress, TypePad or ExpressionEngine. But you can't just create it and forget it. The key to a successful blog is to keep it timely. "The one thing you've got to remember when you set up a blog is you've got to update it at least once a week," says Fleming. "The more the better, but at least once a week. Otherwise, it starts to go stale and people stop coming back to look at it."
Don't feel you have to blog every day or while on vacation, but Edholm says by posting at least a few times a week you'll stay in people's memory and be more likely to be picked up by search engines. "The key is you need to be committed to it on a regular basis," says Itzoe, who posts up to four times a week.
Personalize it
What is there to post about several times a week? Let your audience tell you. Blogging platforms have tracking programs that enable the administrator to monitor who's visiting the site, how many hits each post receives and what terms people are searching for. When Edholm published a post on the COBRA subsidy regulations he received almost 1,500 hits. At the same time, the top searches were "COBRA bailout," "individual COBRA bailout" and "bailout COBRA," so he knew it was a subject matter people wanted to read about. "You can pick your own tags and words people might search on to try to help maximize the hits you get," he says.
You never know what's going to lead to new business. Edholm has made a habit of including personal anecdotes in his newsletter, and continues to do so on his blog. Recently, he had a prospective customer he'd been trying to meet with for years call him in for an appointment out of the blue. "When I got there, the HR lady said, 'I loved that restaurant you recommended ... it was really good, I tried it.' I'm convinced that's what got me back in," he says.
Benefit blog
Don't know where to start? Get inspired by these blogs.
