Corporate blogging became so popular so quickly that many companies made the mistake of thinking that they could get away with thinly veiled advertorial blogs that served no real purpose for their readers. Some companies out and out lied about their blogs and the results permanently harmed their reputation. If you are thinking about using a corporate blog to increase your sales, there is a way to go about it and keep your blog real.

1. Always publish content that your readers can use.

Blogs that read like an informercial are not interesting and chances are, you will lose readership in a very short time. There is a way to sell a product with your blog without making it sound like an advertorial. For example:

The Wrong Way: Buy our sports shoes, they are on sale today!

The Right Way: Recent studies have shown that a lack of proper foot support can contribute to sport’s injuries. Experts recommend using a (insert link here) certain type of shoe that can limit the amount of stress put on your joints.

The first one is a blatant attempt at advertising that serves no real purpose, other than to attempt to sell shoes.

The second is an interesting post that focuses on news and subtly brings in a product mention without being blatant. You’re leaving it up to the reader to discover what type of shoe they need to have to prevent injury, increasing the likelihood that their curiosity will induce them to click the link, and you are providing them with something that they actually need, ie: something that will prevent injury.

That is the perfect way to sell something on a blog.

2. Never attempt to fool the public.

There have been classic cases of “personal” blogs that were in fact thinly veiled sales pitches from a corporate entity. You may think that you’ve done such a good job that no one will figure it out, but the internet is a very small place. It is full of people who love to bring down companies and gain the prestige of being the person that “outed them.”

Deception is a very bad business practice no matter what industry you’re in, and it can only backfire. If you need to sell products with your blog, be honest about it. Never attempt to pass of a blog as something that it is not. The blogs that provide useful information, such as the one detailed above, are far more interesting than a fake blog that can only serve to harm your company’s reputation. Bottom line, if you are lying, someone will find out and the results will not be pretty.

Corporate blogs are powerful tools, but like anything that is powerful, they must be managed correctly. Honesty is always the best policy and although it is tempting to try to cash in on a blog, you’ve got to do it the right way. They can and will increase your sales, but only if you do it properly.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-08-20 05:20:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Is it a Sales Letter or a Corporate Blog Post? One of the most common mistakes that corporate blog owners make is turning their blog into a glorified sales letter. While there is a place for sales copy on a blog, it should only be used when absolutely necessary, and never as the main form of communication. No one really......
• Is Full Disclosure a Bad Idea for Corporate Blogs? In today’s current business world, the media is more savvy than ever and so are consumers. This has led many companies to adopt a full disclosure policy on their corporate blogs. Is this policy right for you? Let’s look at a few of the upsides and downsides of full disclosure.......
• Is a Niche Blog Right For You? If you’ve been considering starting a corporate blog, but you’re not quite sure that your company is ready yet, there is still a way that you can get your feet wet and start taking advantage of what a blog can do for promotion. Instead of closely defining a corporate blog......
• How to Handle Product Placement on a Corporate Blog A corporate blog can be an incredibly powerful sales tool and many people begin this practice simply to sell more products. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but before you start, it is vital to learn the art of product placement. Blogging is similar in many ways to television......
• How to Use Blog Networks to Promote Your Corporate Blog One of the biggest problems facing corporate bloggers is finding an audience. If you’re using your blog as a way to promote your company’s products, it is vital to quickly build up a strong readership. This is not an easy task, and even though paid promotion can be helpful, there......

• How to sell your home fast...or not Back in September, I wrote an article providing tips on how to sell your home fast in a buyer's market.  These tips and suggestions were not only things I had personally done to the home we're trying to sell, but also tips and suggestions from multiple real estate agents,......
• Tips for Writing Your Blog Whether you are blogging for business applications, or for personal growth, the process of writing daily is a rewarding activity in many ways. The individual writer is able to benefit from the satisfaction that is gained from personal reflection. Blogs afford the writer the means to distribute information and ideas......
• Where is that extra French hen? (If you have a true love, then you have thirty of them from last Christmas! Most people really only need twenty-nine French hens.) Regifting this year is up.  Way up. A Consumer Reports survey found that a little over a third (36%) of American adults said they'd recycle a gift......
• Increase Traffic Using Blog Exchange Programs If you're one of the over 50 Million bloggers online, and getting more traffic to your blog is important, than you need to know more about blog traffic exchanges. More than likely, if you've been marketing online for awhile, you probably recall the wildly popular traffic exchange programs and banner......
• If You Write Romance and You Live In Edmonton... If either of the above apply to you, click on this link. I'm starting a local support group for Edmonton area romance writers, because the city has no romance writing groups at all. I had a wonderful coffee session with a local writer the other day, and suddenly realized how......