In this post we are going to help with these questions. We are going to tell you, and show you, how to use a blog for business.

Before we get into step by step instructions of how to blog, we will cover the basics of why you should be blogging, and why it makes sense to use a blog for business.

It all begins with establishing yourself online, creating a brand, and having a home base to drive traffic to.

Let them get to know you. Provide value by teaching something, and build a list at the same time

Blog posts are published on the internet. Each post has it's own unique URL and therefore can never get buried or lost or forgotten. They can also be updated at any time.

It's recommended to update your posts now and then. Doing so will renew the page indexing by Google each time.  You can watch the post climb in page rank as you continue to add value to the article. You want your website to be the one that's seen by people that do Google searches. That's what this is all about.

Blog posts are also easy to access. They can be found fast with a simple search at your blog page. Just put your keyword in the search box and you'll get a listing of all relevant posts. Very convenient for the reader.

Blogging is an exceptional way to provide information that is continuously ongoing and advancing. Keeping people informed with useful information is a great way to build up subscribers and followers. You'll become known as an authority figure in your niche.

Use your blog as a home base to drive traffic and for sharing to all your other various social media platforms. You can create a wheel. Your blog is the hub with spokes linking your other online properties and pages.

Build your mailing list on your blog by offering a free compelling offer in exchange for an email.

Link building is another important factor for Google ranking. Notice I said link building this time, not list building. Building a link profile and a linked network is pretty major for getting ranked and for building up your domain authority. That's why you want to tie everything together.

You can build links internally. Use anchor text to link with other pages of your website. You can also link build externally. These are called backlinks and they occur when other webmasters and bloggers link to your content from their websites.

Sharing from your blog can get you backlinks if done right. There are techniques that we will cover more extensively in future posts.

Having a home base for your content is a great way to stay organized. Repackaging your content will help you build up your brand. Different delivery methods with the same content can make it appear new and fresh. It's perfectly okay to do this. It helps to always provide unique and high-quality material that is owned and branded by you.

Everyone who is trying to create a brand, share a message online, or build a business should have a blog. From there you can add a Home Page, an About Me page, and Contact page. There are no limits. You can attach as many pages as you want and have a nice menu at the top to map the site.

Using a blog for business is something a beginner can do. Any person can have one up and running quickly with relatively little online experience, and will learn a lot about internet marketing. There are tools available that make it easy and fast.

Now I'll go through some steps to get started, and provide some tips and resources to help you along with your task of using a blog for business.

First you need a hosting account. I use WPX Hosting which is an upgrade for me from my original hosting account. It's a slightly more advanced hosting company that specializes in WordPress and server speed.

A beginner can use a shared hosting account such as HostGator. That's what I started with and I used it for years. I still use if for certain applications. HostGator is perfect for beginners. The price is right and it's perfectly sufficient for what you'll be doing.

Choose the Baby Plan so you get the unlimited domains feature.

Once you get your hosting account, setting up WordPress is a breeze. In your C-Panel (Control Panel) is a Quick Install button and the rest is fast and easy. Click through and follow the guide.

WordPress will send you an email with your password and login link. Save the email for easy reference.

Now you have your WordPress blog/website, but it's just an empty shell at this point. You have a choice of free themes to choose from. Find the one you like and click to install. It's all done within your WordPress dashboard.

There are premium themes available for a minimal cost. You are welcome to scan through what's available..

Once you have your theme you can add a header image and you'll be able to see the sidebar. It's starting to take shape.

Still there are some things to do behind the scenes for site security, for backups, and for optimizing your posts and pages.

Plugins are like apps. They are as easy to install as the theme. Point and click. But there's thousands to choose from so don't let this rattle you.

You only need a few plugins to start that we will suggest here. They are all free.

There are more plugins you might want to take advantage of once you get going. One great thing about WordPress is that once you get rolling, there are always things you can do, and add, to make your site better.

Another Google SEO factor is something called domain authority. Domain authority comes with time, and with link building with other established bloggers. Not only that but it can take up to 6 months just to get recognized and indexed by Google. So begin now and start establishing yourself with Google and with the online world.

I hope you enjoyed this overview and I hope that you received value from it. If you have a business, and you are not blogging yet, it is my wish that you immediately put in place a plan to start. Not only does it make a lot of sense to blog for business, some will say it's mandatory in this day and age.