Yes, blogging has been around for several years. And yes, in the Internet world, that means it is antique.  But just because it is old, doesn't mean it isn't still valuable!  Here are some blog tips to help you make the most of your time.

     

1. Personalize your blog.  The internet trend, brought on by social media interaction, is to get personal.  Your web users want to know who YOU are, not just see the faceless, nameless company blog you maintain. So don't be afraid to talk directly to your audience, and use personal names, experiences, and even photos to get your message across.
2. Is your blog useful?  People don't have time to read everything out there. So make your blog useful by providing facts and information in an appealing format.
3. Keep the blog simple.  Make sure your blog is easy to read. That means big, bold headlines, simple images, charts, or graphs, and short paragraphs. After all, if they want to read a book about your topic, they will just download the e-book on their Kindle ;)
4. Blog SEO.  SEO (search engine optimization, if you've been living under a rock for several years) has kind of become a four letter word in the industry, but everyone knows that it is important.  How can you optimize your blog for search engines? Make sure each blog contains good key phrases. You can even research the key phrases most commonly used (Google has a good tool for this).  Then use those key phrases in your title, headings, and throughout the blog.
5. Use Multi Media.  Videos and images are more commonly shared than text. So make sure your blog contains lots of good media, not just a bunch of boring text. And it can save you time "“ I know its cliché, but isn't a picture worth a thousand words?
6. Blog and Share, Share, Share.  Be sure to make it easy for readers to share your blog "“ through Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon (which now surpasses all other media for most shares), Email, and other venues. (www.addthis.com has a share bar you can install for free).
7. Blog analytics.  Keep track of your visitors. Google Analytics is probably the easiest blog analytics to install. You can then see what posts are the most popular, and how people are finding these posts (through Facebook sharing, through specific search terms, etc.).  Then use that information to guide your choice in content.