Turning Blog Readers into Customers: WSJ Covers Successful Small Business Blogs

The highlight of today’s Wall St. Journal small business blog article is about how Sequence, Inc. is now finding customers from their web site, based on the owner’s blog.

The excellent article covers the pluses and minuses of business blogs launched by entrepreneurs and small business owners.  This article highlights a few small business owners that have had success turning their blog readers into customers.  Now there’s a goal we all aspire to—and by ‘we’ I mean business owners venturing into using a business blog as a marketing tool. 

The best example for business owners is an insightful mini case study.  Tracy L. Coenen, owner of a private, forensic accounting practice, Sequence, Inc.  Tracy launched her blog, FRAUDfiles, in November 2005 and has experienced a significant boost in revenue as a result.  She credits a 31% boost in revenue last year from 2005 to her blog and expects a 50% revenue increase this year over 2006. 

This example highlights for small businesses key expectations when you are considering a business blog to market your business:

1. A business blog can jumpstart your business web site results.  Before the blog Tracy said, “I don’t think I ever had a case that came to me because of my Web site.”
2. Launching and maintaining a business blog requires more time than money.  Tracy spends 30-45 minutes per day posting to her blog.
3. Like many business & marketing strategies, results do not occur over night.  She launched FRAUDfiles in late 2005. Patience is a key requirement for business owners-bloggers.

Also, I think look and feel is important. FRAUDfiles is one of the cleanest, easiest to read business blogs I’ve ever read.  (See screenshot below. Click on image to enlarge.) 

Read the complete article here.  Any other examples of success at turning blog readers into customers?  Would love to hear your comments.