If bad guys can self-promote on the web, what about you?

I talk a lot (on BlogforBusiness.com, which by the way has a new look and a new feature: books and tapes on speaking, presenting, and promoting) about how you could be using the Internet--especially blogging--to more effectively promote your business.

Many U.S. politicians got the picture during the last election--Cleveland's own Dennis Kucinich was among the first to blog his campaign to higher visbility with his online tactics. And now come the "bad guys", otherwise known as Al Quedahosting streaming video on the web to show off their latest antics and gain exposure for their "accomplishments".

Your blog is a powerful tool to get and keep your customers and prospects engaged and involved with your company--which builds a sense of loyalty that can make a difference when it comes to customers making buying decisions. Every entry doesn't have to be high-level literature--you can even just point to information on another site that your customers might find useful.

Your blog becomes the true voice of your company--and that's what people are hungry for--real voices instead of corporate speak.

If you don't have time or internal resources to do one yourself, hire a good writer who knows how blogs can help. Start slowly if you like; you can get a free site from Google's Blogger or some other web-hosted software. Later you can host it on your own site.

Either way, it's worth trying for three to six months--but make sure you notify your target audience and have them sign up to receive an email when there's a new entry. Give them an RSS feed so they can read your material anytime. Let us know if you'd like to know more about RSS--I'm working on an article and will be glad to share.

Here's a link to BlogforBusiness.com's first product to help you set up a blog to promote your business.