Did you know, that as of this month, there are over 156 million public blogs in existence? And with that type of competition growing everyday, is the effort worth the prize? What makes a blog a rewarding a home run? and are you still wondering how to attract more visitors to your blog?

We are too.

I did some research regarding this matter and there’s a lot of opinion on the subject. Some say sell advertising, some say to blog every day, some say to not write more than 200 words so the audience doesn’t get bored, others suggest tightly niche your content and others say wake up the dead with extreme controversy.

I do agree with them all, most importantly I believe that businesses need to write stuff that people actually want to read!

Before you start writing, ask yourself who the target audience is and what the do they really care about. Also ask your self these questions:

1. Why do you write your blog? To make money, to serve as marketing tool?
2. Have you clearly identified 3 other highly read blogs in your topic?
3. Can you see their magic formula? Is meaningful content – are they a rock star, have a book and/or a national expert?
4. How is traffic being driven to their site? This takes some digging, but it’s important.
5. Does your niche topic have a big enough audience to tap?
6. Have you looked at Google analytics to see what you have written in the past that really drew readers?
7. Does your content provide pragmatic advice? Is the writing original and thought provoking, Is it entertaining, or is it just sucking up your time and you should be doing something else?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, stop writing, talk a walk, read a book and start again.

Be useful. Be unique. Be engaging.

How do these blogs do it?
HuffingtonPost – 35,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors.
TMZ – 17,000,000 estimated unique monthly visitors.
engadget – 11,500,000 estimated unique monthly visitors.

For more blogging tips, view: 10-steps to making writing your blog easier.

HeyWire, the new Facebook app for texting in one place, may be the perfect option for you.

HeyWire, a service that has been offering free SMS (short message service) and recently partnered with Twitter to develop HeyTweet, is now debuting it’s Facebook application that allows users to send both texts and tweets from a cell phone (while using Facebook, of course).

HeyTweet is free, available in multiple languages and offers free local and international text messaging from a phone number. The reason why this service is so compelling is because when users normally send a tweet though SMS text, charges would incur. But with HeyTweet, a tweet through this service has lower carrier fees internationally. As of this month, 2 million tweets have been sent around the world via HeyTweets. If you are a business owner who is Twitter obsessed, this might be exactly what you’ve been looking for – no more high priced texts and messages to people internationally. Want a convenient way to send one message out to friends via text, Facebook Chat, Google Talk and Twitter all at the same time? They can do that too.

Here’s how it works with Facebook.
Similar to other free texting apps, HeyWire users are given a phone number to send and receive unlimited texts with friends and family worldwide. Users can send messages via HeyWire Facebook App or the HeyWire applications for iOS (iOS is the Operating System on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. It’s the “thing” that makes your device run) and Android devices. Texting conversations will follow you, as a user, from the HeyWire Facebook App to your smartphone application or tablet and vice versa. This app is the only Social Messaging Hub designed specifically for Facebook users. Do a lot of business via Facebook? Now you can run your business directly from your phone.

But, unlike HeyTweet, this new Facebook/HeyWire partnership comes with a small price. It’s about $2.00, or 20 credits in Facebook dollars, a month for unlimited texts on any device, anywhere.

Want to see if texting right for your business? Check out this powerpoint by Mobile Marketer.

Will you be using these applications, or will you be continue to message your family and friends with old fashion way?

Do you use texting to market your business?

Let us know!

My good friend Jim Blasingale, fellow entrepreneur and host of The Small Business Advocate Radio show,  invited me back to his show this morning, Monday, at 7:00 AM Eastern time.

If you missed it, click below to listen to the two-part interview discussing:
1) Reinvention of you or your business for the new year
2) How small business branding is changing

Also check out Jim’s site. On the air since 1997 and the Internet since 1998, it’s packed with insight and multi-media content from some of the top business experts from around the country. Jim’s show is the world’s only weekday radio program dedicated to small businesses.

What will you do in this new decade to be more honest and authentic? Rebrand your business? Listen to the 1st half of the discussion.

Click below to hear the 2nd half of the discussion on the impact of business branding in the 21st century.

This morning I was reading my buddy’s Dana VanDen Heuvel @marketingsavant.com email. Dana and I met a few years ago when I addressed the ad feds in Wisconsin. We’ve keep in touch and I always enjoy reading his materials on his blog and his other social media content. Today he posted a very timely piece on How Lists can prevent big time disasters and significantly  help one achieve their goals. I’m a list junkie. In fact, if you’ve been to our new estore, you see lots of lists. We call them Ta-Do lists. These lists are boiled down Ta-Dos based on my life experiences. They are quick reads and can truly help get things done and  prevent costly missteps.

Back to my friend Dana, his post below is very good. Later today I’m going to check out the The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande and will comment on that shortly.

I also learned about a new tool today that makes it super easy to reblog great posts like this one and to get folks to reblog your comments. It’s called Zemanta.

Here the List eBlog from marketingsavant.com:

I found this fascinating quote today:

“…checklists seem able to defend anyone, even the experienced, against failure in many more tasks than we realize. They provide a kind of cognitive net. They catch mental flaws … And because they do, they raise wide, unexpected possibilities.”

marketingsavant.com, Marketing Savant.com, May 2010

You should read the whole article.