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How Do I Use Blogs to Build My Business?

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Step One:  Get 'em involved!

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One of the best examples I've ever seen of "getting people involved" is Benner's Farms (an actual old-fashioned family farm - private fifteen-acre homestead, first farmed in the 1700's).  This particular 15-acred family homestead is surrounded by larger farms with much more to offer in terms of animals and facilities in a time when small farms are dying out. 

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So, why is their small farm succeeding when others aren't and what does one do when the competition is bigger and better financed?  Answer:  get the people involved.  And that's just what Jean and Bob Benner did.

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Nestled among picturesque rolling hills with a tire-swing hanging from a big tree out back, the Farm magically transports one back in time from the moment you arrive.  The magic continues as Jean gathers everyone in a circle and starts a group sing-along (complete with her on guitar).  Piece by piece the atmosphere is created, layer upon layer, until the big city and all its noise and congestion fades away into some distant far-away memory.

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Children are seated at long wooden picnic tables where they are invited to participate in old-fashioned crafts and activities (my 4-year-old son helped make potato salad and milk a goat).  The children get to go on tractor rides and play on the tire-swing out back and help pot plants and care for that baby animals.

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The atmosphere is so warm and inviting that you feel like your visiting grandpa and grandma on the farm, which is what makes Benner's Farm so special (and is the magic ingredient that allows them to succeed in a competitive market against larger, better financed competitors).

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Step Two:  Share Your Story

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That's all well and great, but how does a Blog help me do that?  Well, the way the Benners did it is by painting a picture and sharing it with everyone ...

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In combination, their printed newsletter, web site and blog describes ... 

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Activities (both in words and with photos), such as: 

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• exploring the baby barnyard

• pumpkin carving time

• children starting their own gardens

• watching chicks hatch from eggs

• helping with the farm chores

• caring for the new little goats and lambs

• enjoying tractor rides (and trips to the big swing) 

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Educational Benefits:

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• Tells the history of the homestead

• Shares interesting slices of history about various aspects of farm life (such as, Bob writes about the history of the porch and the relaxing thoughts and memories that drift through one's mind while sitting on a porch and why people built porches in the first place)

• Teaches us about weeds and that some of them are actually edible and can have possible health benefits

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 Community Spirit:

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• Comings & Goings - trips the Benners took, workshops they attended, downsizing from a forty-foot bus to a twenty-three-foot camper, bunnies being born, their goat having triplets and the arrival of a couple of fuzzy yellow ducklings ...

• Events - humorous  Easter Egg mishap (such as, several packages of eggs flying off the roof and exploding all over the highway)

• Congratulations & Thanks - thanking people for helping on the farm, congratulating people on weddings, births, etc (in this area, they are very specific - thanking Vivian, congratulating Greg and Laura and so on) 

• Upcoming Activities - Fall classes, festivals, concerts - inviting people to help and/or attend

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Step Three:  Simulate the Real World!

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Whenever possible, try to simulate the real world online in your blog ...

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For example, create an online coloring book.  Let the kids color their own online barnyard or garden.  If you can't create an online coloring book, then do what you can!  Blogs are made up of words and pictures.  So, you know you have that capability available to you.  Why not create a treasure hunt game?  Tell a short story (something a paragraph or two long), then ask kids to hunt for the missing farm animal (a goat or pig or duck).  Of course, you'll have to weave the particular animal you want them to find into the story.  If you want them to find the missing pig for example, then repeat the other animals several times in the story and only mention the pig once.

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This same concept can be done with pictures.  Hide the pig in a photo of a farm scene.  Place several other animals in the farm scene making it harder to find the pig.

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To make the game educational, simply provide some interesting "Did you know ... " stuff about farms and animals either below the game or off to the side.

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Our team of "People-In-the-Know" have designed a workshop on "How to Use Blogs to Build Your Business" that shares the experiences of dozens of small merchants just like yourself, as well as the time-tested proven-in-the-trenches strategies of marketing gurus who have discovered results-driven solutions tailored for the needs of the little guy ...

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Join us in discovering those hidden ingredients that will help transform your blog into a valuable familiar resource that keeps people coming back time and time again  ...

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