How To Know Where Your International Markets Really Are With Business Blogging

Cindy King — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:00:12 +0000

I‘ve already written on how blogs can be used for international business development and given the example of Abercrombie & Fitch’s successful French blog without any retail outlets in France .

Well, I started my French company on February 1st, and my two business blogs have been active for two months now:

this blog and my article directory over at Get International Clients.

I still haven’t put up the website for my French company, and now I’m glad this was delayed. I’m going to tell you why. But first…

Business Blogging

So how is my own business blogging going?

I’ve just finished tracking visitors for a full month on both blogs. Over 6000 visitors on each blog. I’m happy.

But I’m even happier with something else.

I’m a marketer at heart, and there is one huge advantage to business blogging no one seems to talk about, at least I hadn’t heard this before.

This first month’s tracking highlighted:

Business blogging = an absolutely fantastic international market research tool

These are my first blogs. They are new. The first comments are only just really coming in and I only have one months statistics to analyze. But even so, I’ve already identified 2 additional international markets for my areas of expertise.

Luckily I held off investing in certain expenses for my new company. I’m in the process of adjusting my international integrated marketing strategy!

Sure, I did all of my international market research before starting the blogs – the markets I had identified are still valid.

These are two totally new international markets I hadn’t identified with traditional international market research methods.

And they are both very interesting.

International Market Research Tool

What does this mean to companies expanding internationally?

The wealth of information you get from a business blog will dramatically decrease the risk and costs of the next steps in your international expansion.

If you are a company interested in developing your international markets you should seriously consider starting a business blog.

Create a blog specifically for your international readers
Use it as part of your preliminary international market research.

The feedback you get

either directly from your international readers
or from analyzing the statistics

will probably give you reason to readjust any international marketing strategies you are thinking of, no matter how much research you have done.

Business blogs give you a research tool in your foreign target countries. And regular business blogging gives you the tool to adjust your dialog constantly. Which leads to…

Blog Commitment

The other thing I’ve learned is the biggest challenge to business blogging is the exact same as in personal blogging:

Commitment.

Sometimes people underestimate the dedication needed for blogging, or simply lack the stamina to keep at it. You do need to be organized to reap the benefits of good business blogging.

No matter how organized you already think you are, you will probably need to develop your personal productivity skills even further.

Blog Productivity and Marketing Expertise Combined

Simpeology is a great productivity system run by top marketer Mark Joyner.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

In the meantime, get over any business objections you might have about blogging. How valid are they? They are probably based on information and opinions from outside of your real international market in any case.

If you really want to get international clients, the international market research value you will get from business blogging will make up for any objection you can possibly imagine.

Ready, fire, aim & repeat…in real time with business blogging.

Join me with Mark Joyner’s Simpleology team.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

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How To Know Where Your International Markets Really Are With Business Blogging