Writing a blog is a very effective way of accomplishing two of your online marketing goals: increasing your search engine position and driving more traffic. Here's eight surefire tips that will help you create a blog that your users will value:

• Set the Mission - Before you write a single word, you have to know why your blog exists. Is it to build your business? Is it to create a community of friends? The mission of your site will determine, among other things, what you write and how you write it. Without a mission, your blog's subjects will be all over the place, and thus diminish the effectiveness of your site.




• Know Your Audience - Write for your intended audience. If the blog is promoting your business, then don't get too technical unless your average client is well versed in industry jargon.




• Blog Frequently - Once a week is the absolute bare minimum I recommend to clients. Try to write something at least once a week. People are drawn to regularly updated content; so the less frequently you blog, the more trouble you'll have picking up regular readers. Two times a week is better, and blogging daily is ideal. Professional bloggers post several entries per day.




• Set Deadlines - People like consistency. They like to know that if they are going to make the effort to visit your site, that fresh content is going to be there waiting for them when they get there. Don't disappoint them. If your site has been around for a while, take a look at your web site statistics, and see what day of the week you regularly have the most traffic, and set your deadline for the day before.




• Get Ahead of the Game - Trying to meet deadlines can be tough, and the more frequently they come, the tougher it is. Fortunately, blogging software allows you to stay ahead by scheduling postings. Write as many as you can in one sitting, and set the time and day you want each one to appear on your blog. If you've got a queue full of blog entries waiting to post, then you can coast for a little bit when the writer's block hits you.




• Don't Kill Yourself - Don't feel like you have to write a page and a half every time you sit down to write. Keep the quality high, and meet your deadlines. It's ok if your blog entry is only a paragraph. Also, there's lots of great content out there on the internet, so don't be afraid to frequently point your visitors to articles on various other sites that you've found to be of value. Write a summary and provide a link. (Just don't keep posting articles from the same web site over and over, or people will start skipping your site and going straight to them!)




• Share the Love - Blogging will be a lot easier if you can get guest bloggers to write articles on your site. That kills several birds with one stone: You meet deadlines, you have fresh content, it saves you from having to come up with all of the ideas, and it shows that other people value your site enough to contribute to it.




• Add Structure to Your Topics - Because people love structure. If you post daily or several times a week, set a daily topic or theme for each day. For example, if you blog about cooking, Mondays could be pasta day, Wednesdays for soups, and Fridays for desserts. On a church web site I created, the pastor is posting a blog entry every Sunday that ties in with his sermon, and something from his study journal on Wednesdays that can provide discussion for the home groups.