A recent article by USA Today columnist and president of PlanningShop.com Rhonda Abrams gives some excellent insights as to why and how small businesses can use blogs. If you're thinking about it, you really should read this article.

Some of the ways a small business could use a blog:

• As a Web site. For a consultant, freelancer or very small business, a blog may be a free way to get a Web site fast.

• To create a stronger personal connection with customers.

• To share images with clients.

• To develop a following. If you are an expert in a specific field, it's possible your blog will develop a following of devoted readers.

[via Radiant Marketing Group]

I recently started a new program at my Search Engine Optimization business. It's a small business blog program, where I use small business blogs to help my clients attract and retain customers, as you mention, here. But I stress the search engine optimization benefits of blogs.

Over time, as blogs get more and more posts about various subjects that relate to the clients business, and therefore, main web site, the amount of keyphrases for which they might win a search increases. Blogs are content machines, and search engines love content. Plus, the odds of attracting potential customers go up as you have many different posts and, therefore, many different combinations of keywords and phrases.

As one of the services in my small business blog program, I go in after a client posts a blog entry, and I edit it to maximize the search engine potential of the entry, the blog in general, and the links (and their important anchor text) from the blog to the main business site.

So, for small businesses that already have a web site, a blog can be a key tool to marketing and optimizing the existing site.

I have more information at my site:

http://baldmtpress.com