Last month in a local business journal the two small business articles were about blogging and marketing your business during this economic downturn. So I thought I'd share some points from each of them.

Marketing
Many larger businesses hold back from spending money on marketing during difficult economic times. This creates an opportunity for smaller businesses. Since the larger companies have cut back on marketing dollars, most media outlets offer special pricing to smaller businesses in order to get the business they lost from the larger companies. So now's actually a good time to invest in marketing. While your competitors are holding back from marketing, you can take advantage of the special pricing and get your business noticed.

Since consumers are looking to save money, your marketing needs to appeal to their need for both value and quality. This is your chance to help them see why doing business with you can help them during their financial difficulties.

Blogging
Can a blog really help you grow your business? There are small business owners that know it does. A blog can be beneficial to a business. It can humanize your business, improve customer service, give your target audience valuable information they need and want, drive traffic to your website, build your credibility and establish you as an expert in your industry, promote your services and generate income.

Consumers are always surfing the internet looking for information. A blog can provide the information they are looking for. It can be used to ask and answer questions from your readers. Search engines like blogs. They give blogs exposure because they contain fresh, newsworthy content.

Be consistent by posting regularly, three times a week if possible. It will take about three to six months to get exposure and establish yourself as an expert. So persistence is key. If you don't have the time to do it all yourself, hire a virtual assistant to help you create and maintain your blog. You can also prepare a week's worth of entries at once and schedule them to be posted on specific days at specific times.

I'd love to hear your opinions. Let me know what's worked for you.

I've been writing a lot about blogging and will continue to do so for the next week or two. I found an interesting website on blogging. Check out Better Business Blogging.

I'd like to hear from you. What questions do you have about blogging? What tips can you contribute? As I continue to gather information and your questions and replies, I'll post here to help us all become better business bloggers.