1. Write blog articles on what your potential market is looking for

If you are looking for a job, pay attention to things (in the job description) that companies are looking for when they post employment opportunities.

If these are things that you have experience with, share freely your knowledge with your potential audience on your blog. They could be your next employer.

And please don\'t take this as "steal someone else's content from some other blog to demonstrate your experience". Anyone can do that! You still have to pass the interview, and people will know whether you know what you are talking about.

Show some finesse! Use the knowledge that you have combined with a particular situation that you've come across and show your *applied knowledge* to the problems that you solved.

2. Look on Internet forums to see what potential customers are saying

Look at what they are having trouble with; especially the ones that aren't getting any answers. They'll be looking.

Write a more informative solution than what is out there right now. Be exemplary.

Again, no stealing. You're a putz if you steal. All that says is that you know how to use copy and paste. Did I mention the word 'exemplary'?

Writing in general is not an art, it is a discipline. You can get better at it if you apply yourself.

3. Use Google Analytics to discover what people are *really* looking for on your site

Complete the strategies above, use ping-o-matic <link> and wait a few days, then plunk into GA.

Go to 'Traffic Sources', and look at the 'keywords' report.

Look at the keywords that people were searching for and found your site. Not everyone that reaches your site, is trying to solve the same problem. From the keywords listed, you should be able to find some other problems that people are trying to solve. Those could be your next blog posts.

Conclusion

When you start a blog you have to establish the audience whose attention you wish to capture. The focus should be on the topics that they are talking about.

Do all the regular things that you do to promote your blog or your website. And let people know that you are in on the conversation.  

My wife and I visited the mall recently to upgrade my wife's cell phone plan, and get her a new phone. We had been to this particular cell phone kiosk four times during a two week period. The new phone we were interested in getting was either out of stock, or the computers weren't able to process our new contract that we were trying to sign on for. We had to inform the sales person that this was something that their manager should be aware of considering it was a stocking issue. We eventually got everything settled, but the process was extremely frustrating, and took a great deal of time out of both of our schedules.

It had me thinking about customer service and the current state of the economy in North America. People in both Canada and the United States are very weary of what is going on in our stock markets. We went by the local Linens N' Things store, to see that they were going out of business. When times are hard enough, how is it possible for a business to operate in such an irresponsible manner and expect to survive?

Here's what I came up with:

Do not provide any way for your customers to connect with a live customer service representative.

The best way to say 'not interested in your business' is to alienate the very people who provide word of mouth advertising for you. Put contact information up so that people may contact you when they are inquiring about your product or services. Use the web for creating FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages. Put pre-recorded messages on your phone service for common support questions. They are a great time saver for you, and convenient for the customer. But please – provide a place where people can reach a person to talk about all those other questions which aren't answered by a computer. Email, instant messaging, even Skype can provide convenient ways for you and your customers to form long lasting business relationships, without being tied down to a phone line. There are even companies that you can outsource your customer service to.

Increase your expenditures on traditional marketing and advertising in a ditch effort to gain new customers

Stats Canada reported that in 2006, an estimated 68.1% of Canadians have internet access in their homes. That's roughly 20 million potential customers. While the report also says that 99% of Canadians own at least one television, it is highly unlikely for a small business owner to be able to afford to create a national thirty second spot for every television network in Canada.

A focused web-based marketing strategy allows you to reach a global audience. A potential customer doesn't have to be up at 2 am in the morning to catch your infomercial or read the specific newspaper you placed your ad in. Your website is always available to them. As you grow more of a client base, you can keep in touch with them, through the use of an email newsletter that you can produce ever so often. You can add a layout to your email newsletter to have a professional look to it. Can you imagine the costs of creating the same newsletter using traditional print methods, and then having to mail them all around the world? Every couple of weeks? Is this cost effective? Certainly not.

Do not be diligent with your marketing or advertising strategies because you don't have the money or the time to promote your business.

Business is tight? No clients? You've taken the office doors off the frames to create some cheap office furniture for your employees? You feel that the most important thing is to focus on current clients because they are paying the bills and the salaries of your employees. You don't need to focus on the horizon because things are just fine as they are.

With the economy as uncertain as it is, can you trust that things will stay as they are? Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, once said that the only thing constant is change. An astute investment in your company's marketing is an investment to a secure financial future. You don't need to curb spending on marketing; you need to curb spending on unfocused solutions that cost you money and deliver poor results.