Tech

You have a business. You love it. And you want to share your knowledge on the internet to attract more customers and serve the ones you have. You can write and use spell check. (Of course you can, you have a business license.) Now how can you set up a web site? Is a blog too easy to look professional?

It depends. If don’t put any effort into the content and setup of your blog it will show. But good content and consistency can trump a flashy custom site. If you are technical enough to manage a web site, a good content management system like Wordpress can speed you on your way to a professional looking blog. If the words “manage a web site” made you shudder, then a Blogger account might serve you better.

What are the differences between Wordpress and Blogger? First of all, there are two ways to use Wordpress, one is Wordpress.com, which is non-commercial. So it is not an option for your small business. The other is Wordpress, the software, which you can download for free from Wordpress.org and set up on a host of your choosing. Blogger is hosted for you, and now gives you the option of registering a domain, which can be your business name (if available).

How do you setup a quick, attractive site on Blogger? It’s easy. Go to blogger.com, and create an account. If you already have a gmail account, or any other account with Google, you can use it. If not, choose Create Your Blog Now and follow the prompts. You’ll be able to name your blog and choose a template that suits the style of your business. If you feel like customizing your blog, you can do so. If that doesn’t interest you, you can start writing immediately.

If you want more control over your site, and are willing to pay for it and do a bit more technical work, consider Wordpress with self hosting. You can get information on hosting requirements and instructions on nearly everything Wordpress related at wordpress.org. Once you choose a host, you’ll need to register your domain, if you don’t already have one. If you choose to self host, remembering to make backups of your site is very important.

Why would you want to go to the trouble of finding a host, setting up everything yourself and being responsible for your backups? And why would you pay for what you can get for free? Customization is not free. If you want your blog site to have a design completely unique to you and your business, then you need to have full access to the server and all of your sites files. You will not get that with a free service. (Though, of the free blog hosting services, Blogger does allow javascripting.)

And there is your decision: Do you prefer ease of use or control? What is worth more to you and your business vision, customization or the ability to set up your site quickly without much technical knowledge?

Read more at Geek Thoughts. Technology doesn’t need to be boring.

– Christine Decourlande

Blogging used to be seen as a social tool. It was a way of telling the world how you felt about things that mattered to you - and in a way that has never changed, even though many business owners have now cottoned on to the fact that blogging is a great way to attract new customers and visitors to their website.

The concept of blogging has clearly changed somewhat over the years, and while there are still people out there blogging about what matters to them, the format is now regularly bringing in fresh sales and new business to people who are players in the internet marketing field.

So why are blogs so popular in this way?

One of the main reasons is that online businesses have a tendency to be ‘faceless’. You cannot see the person or people behind that business and it can be all too easy to set up a bogus business that looks good on the outside but consists of nothing more than a way to fleece ordinary people of their cash.

Blogging helps to distinguish the honest traders from the bogus ones. It identifies those people who are passionate about their business and want to share the vast amounts of knowledge that they have on that subject.

This helps to establish trust between the business owner and their potential customers, and with links from their website to their blog they have an excellent chance of gaining new customers who don’t immediately buy something from the site, taking the time instead to explore first.

One of the advantages of having a blog as part of a website promotion drive is that blogs are generally viewed as being a ‘hands off’ form of promotion. They don’t directly try to sell to the customer in the same way that a website does; instead they strengthen the business by allowing the potential customer to find out more about that business and the person (or people) who runs it.

Most business bloggers do still have links from their blog back to their website, and they will also indulge in deep linking to pages within the site instead of constantly linking back to the home page all the time. This in turn helps the blog to build more backlinks to different areas of the website, building an even better chance of attracting more customers from the search engines, even though they won’t directly visit the blog at all.

It is perhaps ironic that a blog which is designed to help an online business develop and increase its profits doesn’t actually have to sell very hard at all. In the end it is all about adding depth and value to an online business - in effect the owner is taking the opportunity to show his or her potential clients that they know a great deal about what they do and can help their clients or customers accordingly.

In the end, a blog certainly can be a selling tool, but it is often one step removed from the selling process itself.

Web Profits specialises in search engine optimization, online marketing & web design, helping businesses generate profits from the Internet. For a free report on ‘The Secrets of Online Marketing for Offline Businesses’ visit Web Design.

What is a medical blog?

A medical blog is a web log that discusses various medical topics and provides great resources for all physicians.

What should a medical blog consist of?

-discussions of various medical topics

-a forum for all physicians at any stage of training to contribute or ask questions

-help pre-med students decide if medicine is right for them

-choosing the right medical school and getting into it

-resources that help students cope with medical school

-help medical students choose the right residency

-education to help residents cope with the tough residency years

-planning for the job after residency and the skills needed

As I went on my long journey to become a physician, I did not feel that I had the proper guidance. It seemed every time I needed an answer, I had to search deep and wide to find it. Not many were honest about their experiences in medical school, residency, and as an attending. There was so much uncertainty. What do I study? How long should I study? What books are the best? How do you balance medicine and life? These and a ton of other questions were always on my mind. I had to actively go and seek out the answers and a lot of times there was no direction, no clear answer. That’s why I wish I had a medical blog that guided me through my medical education. I feel that everyone that goes through medicine needs some direction. A medical blog is a great solution to this problem.

Hope you all the best! Ronny Abraham, MD