Blogs are a fantastic, free, fun, marketing tool available to anyone who has internet access. Blogging began as a way for individuals to write public daily journals, or have an on-line diary for the world to see. Eventually, blogs started showing up in searches on search engines, so the marketing sector jumped on the benefits of blogging. There are many free sites where you can start your own blog. If you have knowledge in a certain area, start a blog and talk about it. Your blog doesn't have to be about your business, but it helps drive traffic there if that is your goal.

The purpose of a blog is to create a place on the internet to promote your website and drive traffic to it, to communicate with your customers and target audience, as well as to network with others in your field. You want to post intelligent, useful information about your topic and then put a plug in about your business. Give away tidbits of information for free, and then can post a link to your site, blog, or specific products that you sell. Most importantly, your blog posts will come up on search engines. If writing isn't your forte, you can go on the internet and use material that others post – I often use quotes from Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week. Just be sure to give credit to the author and publication if you use an excerpt form someone else's work.You can also use a blog as a mini-website and add your affiliate links, Google Adsense, and other advertising to create a passive stream of income. It is important that you write on it regularly, at least 3 times a week, to keep it updated and keep fresh info going to the search engines. When you visit other people's blogs and leave comments, and leave your website or blog address, it is imbedded in their code and you are spreading yourself around the internet – FREE advertising! I can't tell you how much a blog WORKS – I have received paid consulting jobs, invitations to hold seminars, guest speaking engagements, and made other fantastic business connections just because the right person visited my blog and liked what they read, or because I visited theirs and left a comment and they in turn, checked me out. Also, if others in your field find you and like your blog and your info, you can trade links and boom – more free advertising.

If you find a blog you like, contact the owner and give her your compliments and introduce yourself. She may invite you to write a guest post. Just make sure you are offering quality, intelligent, professional information and then add a link to your site or your blog at the end, in your signature. I make it a habit, part of my weekly routine, to comment on other people's blogs a few times a week. I even keep a spreadsheet of the “good” ones, those with lots of other comments, and visit those regularly. (Not too often, you don't want to come across as a stalker if it is someone you don't know personally.) Then, the other regular commenters will see you, and there is more traffic to back you – and the opportunity to make more great business connections.

have 3 blogs for 3 different target audiences: For my eBay consulting business (target audience, eBay sellers), a pet blog (I have affiliate programs where I earn money on selling pet items), and this blog (for WAHMs). So, if you don't have a blog already, experiment and try it. If you do have one, make sure you are using it to its fullest potential.

Suzanne Wells is an eBay Power Seller, eBay Consultant, Author, Mompreneur, and mom of 2 in Atlanta, GA.