In the latest issue of Avenues to Marketing Success, I wrote about the power of blogging, and it only makes sense for me to fill you in a little more on why I personally blog.

Giving out information to readers like you is one key way that I can help you grow your business a small tidbit of marketing knowledge at a time. I hear from enough of you that this appears to be quite helpful to you, especially if you are new to your business or you're uncomfortable marketing yourself regardless of how long you've been in business.

I don't get a lot of comments here directly on the blog (though if you want to comment, you're welcome to -- click on the Comments link below), but I do get tons of e-mails asking for more information about what I've written, clarifying comments I've made and that sort of thing. I love hearing from you, and you give me priceless information about how I can better help you in the future with all your questions, so keep the questions coming! And feel free to share them here on the blog if you wish.

I also shouldn't neglect the fact that I personally love having an outlet to get out my frustration about some marketers' attempts to sway you to their services just so they can make a buck, even though there is little or no value to what they offer. I just got an e-mail this morning from the 30th Internet marketer promoting the same thing as everyone else, with the same e-mail every single time, down to the typos. I know that we're all in business and don't have time to reinvent the wheel every time we send out new offers, but honestly, make sure that if you use any sort of canned sales letter for any reason in your own business to tailor it to the way YOU write. Sorry for the mini-rant, which is somewhat beside the point.

What I should have said before I got off on that tangent was that long prior to getting today's e-mails, I also got apologies ... APOLOGIES from a number of folks who had sent the promotion out because they hadn't done their homework to see if the product in question was worthwhile. C'mon. You make thousands and thousands of dollars from each e-mailing you send out, and you can't take the time to verify if ANY of the information is useful?

I expect more. Your customers expect more. And that's where your blog can come in handy.

When you write a blog, here are some hints:

Get personal.

Dig deep.

Give it your all.

Don't try to sucker people into buying from you unless you offer a good product.

Show your value by showing yourself and your brand values to your readers.

And remember:

You don't have to be perfect in your communications, but the more you write about things in a blog that are helpful to your clients and prospects, the more feedback you get about what's helpful and what isn't. And you also become a better writer, helping you with all of your promotions in the future.

I urge you to consider starting a blog to give your prospects a better sense of who you are and what you stand for (that's a HUGE part of the branding process, after all, and I would be remiss if I didn't say so!) Blog for humanity. *laughs* Blog for your sanity. After all, if I didn't have this blog, I'd have nowhere to rant and rave! :) I don't think my cat cares what I think about marketing as long as she get her ocean fish dinner in gravy!

Think a blog doesn't work to draw in clients? Then why did you read this post?!