Merriam-Webster defines a blog as a Website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer. Creating and maintaining a blog can be a great way for your small business to showcase your expertise and show existing and potential customers your industry knowledge. Whether you are sharing trends that affect you and your customer base (think flower shops sharing news about a plant shortage) or you

share advice to help your customers do their job better (similar to what our blog does for small businesses), a blog can help deliver messages that your traditional Website cannot.

Blogs can be a great addition to a small business Website as it allows you to step away from your company messaging and connect with customers on different levels. Best of all, blog posts can be as short as just a few sentences so the time commitment is very little.

While you may have your layout squared away and your first 10 posts brainstormed, you may be unsure on where to begin in creating a blog. Here are a couple quick tips to help you set up your small business blog:

• Purchase a hosting account. Most blogging networks such as Blogger and Wordpress provide their own hosting packages but you can also use your own. If you are familiar with using a hosting service, I recommend using your own provider which will give you more capabilities. If you are not familiar with hosting a site and need more support, I recommend using the provided hosting service.
• Select a software provider. Blogger and Wordpress are both good options in addition to TypePad. All the blogging networks provide much of the same functionality, but some have advantages over others. I recommend researching each network to find the provider that best suits your needs.
• Install Software. Install the software into the directory you want your blog to be displayed in. For example, if you want the blog to display at blog.vistaprint.com you would need to install the software into that directory.
• Login and Edit the Settings for your Blog. Login into your blog from your web browser and edit your preferences. When editing your settings, be sure to create a secure username and password and review your domain settings. Often, issues that arise in the installation process are due to incorrect settings. If using Wordpress, make sure to also checkout the great resource of plug-ins, provided by other Wordpress users.

Congratulations! You have created a blog!

Has your small business implemented a blog as part (or even separate) from your traditional website? If so, what type of feedback do you have to share?

From time to time, members from the Vistaprint staff will contribute articles to the Vistaprint Small Business Blog. Today we have a post from Parker Swift, senior associate, organic search.