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Is Your Business Ready to Blog

Ever heard the term "blog" and had no idea what it meant? Well, a blog is and online shared diary where people can publish entries about their personal life, hobbies and experiences. In the past several months blogs have gone past the personal aspect of life and have started entering the world of business marketing, with information being displayed about a multitude of events and updates. By now, most authors, consultants, and other independent professionals have heard all the hype about blogs and their importance for marketing. How can a professional know if a blog is the right marketing tool for their business, and if they are ready to start blogging?

Until now, people plunged right in and discovered the ins and out, sometimes leaving a blog abandoned on the internet. Now there is a free assessment to help people decide if a blog is right for their business, and whether they are ready to start blogging or not. The Blog Squad?, a partnership of two blogging consultants, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman, have designed an online assessment to help clarify if a blog is the right marketing tool Business blogs are sprouting up by the thousands. According to David Sifry, CEO of Technorati, a Google-like service that tracks blogs, the number of blogs has been doubling about every five months since 2003. There are about 20 million bloggers worldwide. As yet, no one is sure how many of those are business blogs.

As many as one-third of all blogs started may be abandoned within a year. Even so, the overall growth of blogging is among the fastest of any technology in history. According to Pew, one-fourth of all Web users in the U.S. read blogs, and that number is increasing at the rate of 60 percent annually. Professional who want to attract readers and potential clients online might be advised get a blog up and start blogging now. ?While a blog is an interactive web site that will help people get found on the internet, if they don?t write on it at least 2-3 times a week, it can look as uninviting as an abandoned store front. If writing is a drain on a professional`s time and energy, they probably shouldn?t try to blog. This 20-question survey will help people determine if adding a blog to their marketing mix is right for them.