Last night I interviewed blogging expert Yaro Starak about blogging for business as part of my Build Your Business Teleseminar Series. I asked him what makes a blog different from a regular website.

Blogs are more interactive than a static website

The interactivity of a blog is one of the most important differences between a blog and a static website. When you write a blog post, your readers don’t just passively consume your content. They can leave comments – agreeing, expanding on or disagreeing with what you have to say. They are starting a conversation with you and with other readers.

Additionally, other bloggers may comment on what your write with a link back to your original post. This expands the conversation beyond your readers and out into the blogosphere.

From a marketing perspective this is important for two reasons. One, by engaging your readers in a conversation, you are creating a deeper connection. They are beginning to know, like and trust you. These are the keys to turning someone from a prospect into a customer.

A second reason this conversation is important is “social proof”. When new readers visit your blog, they see that others are already involved in a conversation. This gives them the message that what you have to say is well received by others and they have an increased level of trust before they’ve even started sampling what you have to offer.

Blogs use a more casual writing style

In the early days of blogging, blogs were more like personal diaries. As a result, people used a very casual writing style. As businesses began jumping on the blogging bandwagon, they tended to maintain this conversational tone.

From a marketing standpoint, this casual writing style helps create a deeper connection with your audience. They feel like they know you better than if they are reading polished marketing materials. They will enjoy the content more and keep coming back.

Blogs are updated more easily and frequently

Blogs are easier to update so they are updated more frequently. Changing a static website may mean learning html code or placing a call to your webmaster. Even if you are using templates and software from your web hosting company, changing or adding new content to your website is a cumbersome process.

With a blog however, it’s really just a matter of entering your article and hitting publish. Even better, you can set up your blog to accept new posts via email.

As a marketer this means you can always have fresh and up-to-date content on your site, encouraging readers to keep coming back. And every marketer knows that frequent, regular contact is key to turning a prospect into a customer. Out of sight, out of mind is doubly true when it comes to marketing.

Because blogs are updated more frequently, search engines love them. Blogs tend to dominate search engine rankings so having a blog is essential if you’re looking for search engine traffic.

This has been my experience. I’ve had my copywriting website up for almost three years and it doesn’t get anywhere near the traffic my blog does. Additionally, Google found my blog after only a month, whereas it took my website almost six months to appear on Google, even if I was searching for my own name.

If you are thinking about starting a blog but are a little leery of the technical side of things, check out Yaro’s becomeablogger.com site. This site has tons of information about the basic skills you need to start a blog. Also check out Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint. This free guide is what motivated me to start this blog.

Andrea J. Stenberg

If you missed last night’s teleseminar with Yaro and would like to hear what he had to say, it’s not too late – he call was recorded. Just register for the Build Your Business Teleseminar Series and you’ll get the recording of my interview with Yaro and have access to the other five upcoming calls.