Extract from our Modern Marketing ebook
Blogs, eZines (electronic magazines) and eBooks (electronic books) are other ways to market to potential customers.
A blog is really just an online forum for people to write anything they want and brand it as they wish, either using their own name, or their business’s. Blogs are generally online stories about a person or business – they tend to be a bit like diaries. Blogs can appear on specialist blog websites or on a business’s own website.
It’s important to remember that blogs are not at all private and the whole world may see them, so be careful what you write.
A blog can be used to draw attention to a business. For example, a veterinary surgery may write a blog about animal health care, with articles on how to groom dogs, cutting guinea pigs’ nail’s, brushing dogs’ teeth etc. This is not only useful information for their target market (pet owners) but also draws attention to the vets. If a person goes online to find out how to cut their guinea pig’s nails, they may come across the blog and then follow the links back to the vet’s website. Then that vet may come to mind so when they next need a vet and they become a potential client.
Some people may write blogs about themselves for marketing purposes. For example, a travelling salesman may write about the places he visits and who he sees (maintaining confidentiality of course) as a way to draw attention to what he does.
EZines are similar. An eZine is an electronic magazine. A business may produce a magazine online every week/month/year to inform new customers and potential customers about what they are doing, new products and so on. An eZine can be simple and easily whipped up or a highly produced marketing tool.
eBooks move beyond eZines. A person or people in a business who may be specialists in their field may produce eBooks as a way to advertise their business. For example, the veterinary surgery may write an eBook about caring for hamsters. The eBook would also contain information on the veterinary surgery and the vets who wrote the book. The eBook can also be sold to potential customers as an additional product.