I'm sure by now over 80% of the business world has heard many people on and off of the internet talk about promoting their businesses with blogs. Blogs seem to be the magazine of the future. They have pushed themselves up as a leading presence on the internet. For those who once wanted to create a website, but had no interesting content; the blog has made it possible to earn some massive traffic to even the smallest of websites. Blogs are not rinky-dink little sites any longer. If a person blogs daily on a website… their site will become over 365 pages large! (each blog becomes it's own page….well, with blogging programs like blogger and wordpress). With all that content… and a niche', traffic is sure to come. Well, not exactly.

The whole "build it and they will come" philosophy does NOT apply to the internet any longer. Maybe at the internet's conception, and during the following 2 years, this may have been true. Now, even the largest and best blogs may be elusive if not advertised by some means. It would be nice to toss up a nice website with targeted content, and watch the traffic flow in. If this were the case, there would be MANY more rich bloggers out there. Blogging has also become the best way to learn the latest and most important news in any industry. I laugh at times, because just a few short years ago, all news was broken…well, on the news. Now, I read about current events and funny stories sometimes days before they appear on the news or radio. Blogs are a bigger power-house than most even realize.

If you are thinking of starting a blog, make sure it has a niche', or a targeted audience. You could start a gardening blog, a sex blog, a business blog, an internet business blog, a marketing blog, a web design blog, a graphic design blog, and even a super hero ninja-clown blog. You'd be extremely surprised at how many people are creating blogs these days…and even more surprised at WHAT people are creating blogs about. Reading blogs regularly are not only a great way to gauge your audience in your target industry, but also a great way to keep up with the latest techniques and trends in whatever it is that you are interested in. In reality, blogs really are the newest media form… and with sites like Digg, reddit, and stumble upon, your blog is sure to get noticed by someone!

So how does one slip some shamless self promotion into your own blog, or better yet…even others blogs? If you are writing a targeted blog, in YOUR industry, this shouldn't be too hard. Say you are a martial arts teacher. You start a martial arts blog, and promote it. List your business and your expertise in the blog every now and again. As others in the industry find your blog, they'll link to it from their site if they enjoy it enough. This is the art of blog promotion. There are also a ton of feed websites to submit your blog to, such as technorati, and a few other biggies that you must submit to, to get a little traffic every now and again. (maybe more traffic if you are really good at what you do).

Getting your story picked up by digg has often been the turning point for many blogs. Digg is mostly a technology-geared news-submission website, so make sure you aren't submitting your own stories; and if you are, make sure they are relevent to the category you submit it to. Otherwise you will be slammed…big-time. Digg users absolutely hate shameless self promotion, so be on your best behavior when using digg as a marketing tool. My best advice would be to use it sparingly. Give your blog readers the opportunity to submit your story to digg by using a plug-in for whatever blogging tool you use. This way, the your blog users can determine if your blog post was informative enough to be digg-worthy. I know for many who already know this, it is all useless information… but for those who have never heard of it… it will be a lifesaver to follow this advice so you don't get ripped to shreds by the digg readers who stumble upon a bad submission that may happen to be yours.

Another obvious key to business blog promotion is to network yourself and your blog. Many bloggers believe that it is good manners to leave comments on blogs if you want to network with them. It also leaves your link on another blog, so others can find you through more popular blogs in your industry. Making friends in the blog world is a great way to get your blog and your name out there. It's also a great way to generate more regular readers of your blog. Just make sure you are making friends in the right industry or blog topic. If your blog is about gardening, it would be odd to leave comments on a technology blogger's site with your gardening back-link. Not that it's wrong, it just won't help your gardening blog make its mark in the gardening blog world.

I strongly suggest that if you already have a business and a business website, to start a blog on it, like yesterday. Whether it is an industry news blog, or just a blog about the news and current events within your own company. It's a great way to add more content (words) to your site that are like food to the search engines. Industry experts have also said that adding a blog to your company's site is a way to better connect with your consumer, since they can comment and address issues they have with anything. Many consumers see it as a better way to access an authority figure within the company as well. Even Google has a blog, and pretty much everyone reads it, because it gives great insight and news into what happening within their business.

When it comes down to it, blogging can be a great tool to promote your business if used correctly. Remember, the blogging world is immense, so if you are ready to sit down and start a blog, make sure to design a strategy of how to market that blog. Submit it, Submit it, and Network! Don't be shy when it comes to commenting. If you enjoyed another's blog, make sure to comment and let them know! bloggers enjoy feedback, and it usually elicits friendships and new readership. Good luck and happy blogging!