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... All in the next FIVE minutes, and at ZERO cost!

If I told you that five minutes after reading this newsletter you could have a web site up and running that can promote your online business, boost your traffic, provide better customer service, and help you make more sales... would you believe me?

How about if I added that you can do all of this for FREE?

Skeptical? Read on...

Harness the Marketing Power of the Latest "Cool Tool" on the 'Net

I'm sure you've heard about one of the biggest things to hit the Web in the last few years -- blogging.

A "blog" (derived from the term "web log") is basically just a web site -- with two key differences:

First, it's extremely easy to add information to it. A blog is like an online journal, so you just log in, type what happened today, post it, and you're done!

Second, you can add a simple little feature that automatically tells a whole bunch of other web sites that you've made an update to your blog -- every time you make a change!

You may also have heard that there are millions of blogs out there... more than 28 million with a new one starting every second, according to blog directory Technorati.

However, what you may NOT know is that a blog can also be a very powerful marketing tool for your business... And some people actually earn an income just from blogging!

The fact is, blogging is fast becoming an extremely important strategy for any online marketer. An effective blog can...

• Drive swarms of traffic to your main web site
• Generate MORE product sales
• Create an additional stream of advertising income
• Be a great customer service tool

... And much more.

Blogs have an informal, conversational style, and readers can join in by commenting on each post. Blogs can be chatty, controversial, informative, opinionated, and often humorous, and it's this "human" aspect of blogs that draws many people to them.

But the best part about blogs is how accessible they are to EVERYONE. Blogs are...

• FREE (or very inexpensive) to set up using services like Blogger or TypePad.

• EASY to use -- you can literally create your own blog in less than five minutes!

• EASY to promote with all the new tools and resources that have been created specifically for blogs -- like Google's blog-only search engine, Google Blog Search.

... Plus, they are PROVEN successful promotional tools for both online businesses and offline businesses. In fact, every business person should have a blog -- and I suspect that soon enough, everyone will.

How You Can Use a Blog to Wildly Accelerate Your Online Success!

The fact is, blogs are no longer just online diaries of people's personal lives. Both online and offline businesses can use blogs to take their products and services to a wider audience -- increasing their traffic, leads, and sales.

Let's look more closely at a few of the extremely powerful ways your business can benefit from a blog. With an effective business blog, you can...

• Humanize your business: Because a blog is much more informal than other web sites, you can write posts in your own voice and give your business more of a human face.
  
  This helps reassure prospective customers that there is a "real person" behind the web site who will take care of their needs. It also allows you to inject much more of your own personality into your online business than your main sales site could do.

• Improve your customer service: Your blog can act as a kind of interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and you to answer them.
  
  You can also provide product updates, "How-to" articles, and other information of relevance to your customers. And prospective customers who see your blog will be encouraged by your commitment to good customer service!

• Give your target market the information they're looking for: With its automatic archiving feature -- by date and category -- a blog is a fantastic content management system. It's easy for you to post new information on a regular basis, and it's easy for your visitors to find the information they want.
  
  With a well-written, regularly updated blog, you can become a reliable resource in your industry, and build a following of loyal readers who depend on your content. These people will be your best potential customers!

• Drive traffic to your sales web site: If you already have a web site, a blog can give your traffic levels a real boost. For starters, your blog will attract new visitors that you can then redirect to your main sales web site through links and special offers.
  
  But an even MORE effective technique is to use strategic keywords and links to specific sales pages to dramatically improve the search engine rankings of both your blog AND your main web site.

• Build your credibility and establish yourself as an industry expert: You can give your credibility a real boost by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. It's a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area -- and allow your visitors to feel much more comfortable buying from you.

• Promote your products or services: You can actually sell products directly from a blog, or you can use your blog to mention new products and direct your visitors to your sales web site.

• Generate extra income: There are now several advertising programs available, such as Google AdSense, that allow you to monetize your blog and generate an extra revenue stream.

There are many small business owners who are using blogs to benefit their business right now... with some spectacular results. We've come across farmers, PR consultants, tailors, CEOs, and many more who blog with great success...

Three Key Tips for Starting Your Own Highly Effective Business Blog

Excited yet? You should be -- blogging's not just a winning strategy, it's also a lot of fun!

I'm having a great time with my new blog, The Candid Internet Marketer. Like anything, it takes some time and effort to build a successful blog. (In fact, I didn't want to start a blog until I was sure I could devote enough time to keeping it updated).

However, the beauty of blogging is that you can easily incorporate it into your daily schedule of tasks. You can even blog when you’re on the road -- which I am frequently!

But what does it take to become a really successful blogger?

1. Great content: If your content isn't interesting and relevant to your target market, your blog won’t work. It's as simple as that.
   
   You'll be surprised, however, how easy it is to find things to write about if you really put your mind to it. It could be news articles about your industry, product updates, interviews, personal insights into topics of importance to your target audience...

2. Regular updating: I won't lie to you: there are some days when I really find it hard to find the time to post a new article. But if I don’t post, no one will come back. It's like subscribing to a daily newspaper but only getting a copy delivered now and then!
   
   So post often and your audience will keep coming back. And regularly adding fresh content to your blog also gives you a boost in the search engine rankings.

3. Your own distinct voice: It's important that you write in your own voice. A blog is no place for formality and corporate speak. It's more of a forum... a place where ideas can flourish, and topics of current interest can be debated. You don't even need to be a brilliant writer... you just need to be able to relate to your audience and give them good content.

Final Thoughts

At the start of this newsletter, I said that you'd be able to get your blog up and running within five minutes of finishing this newsletter. Well, that's how long it takes to start a free blog using Blogger. If you don't believe me, give it a try!

Of course, starting a blog is the easy part. Turning your blog into a strategic tool that drives traffic and sales to your online business is a completely different matter.

If you'd like to learn how to drive traffic to your web site using a free blog, including strategies like...

... Then I highly recommend checking out my brand-new video, "Blogging For Dollars" at www.marketingtips.com/trafficsecrets where you'll get access to all my case studies and test results that I spent over $79,583.28 compiling.

Building a truly effective blog that keeps people coming back again and again takes a lot more than five minutes. So you need to know exactly how to make the most of the benefits that make blogging an effective strategy for many businesses.

And you need to know NOW, because blogging is on the verge of becoming the hottest new moneymaking business tool, and one of the key success drivers with any new tool is to be the first in your market to use it.

Just like the Internet leveled the playing field for the little guys to compete toe-to-toe with the large corporations -- and win... Just like e-mail revolutionized the way companies market to and communicate with their customers and subscribers...

... That's where blogging is right now.

It won't be long before this information spreads... becomes diluted... and you've lost this unique "first-mover" advantage to cash in. So don't put this off!