Putting up your business blog is an advantageous way of establishing your presence on web. Its no longer just about putting plain texts up on your blog. With continuing stream of new software, publishing tools and plug-ins, todays blogger have the means to create interesting and fun blogs. Here are some of them.

1. Put photos on your blog. You can try this free software called "Hello", found at http://hello.com.

2. Add audio clips. Try http://www.AudioBlogger.com and follow instructions.

3. Put streaming video clips on your blog. One of the emerging service providers of video clips is the http://instantvideogenerator.com.

4. Syndicate your contents. You can use the more popular RSS format. You can do this by checking the web for companies that offer this service.

5. Provide space for your readers to give you feedback by checking your blog setting and modify this to allow posts. Of course, leave a reminder, that they are free to post contrary comments as long as they do it in a polite and considerate manner.

6. What do the majority of your readers think of your blog? Do you want to know and tally this up? And show off the results on your blog? Run polls. Some examples of free poll service are the web poll central and free polls.

7. If you use you use WordPress, a server-installed, open-source (free) state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability, try their email notification plug-in. This plug-in notifies your subscribers of your blog posts through email.

8. Trackback is a great blog feature, for it allows for a continuing conversation between you and bloggers of similarly themed blogs. When you comment on another blog posting in your blog instead of in that blog's comments page, the trackback link connects these posts so the thread isnt lost.

All of these software or plug-ins will help you illustrate your point in a fun and interesting way. But you should remember content is king on the net. These devices are not substitutes for great content, which is what really what drives traffic to your blog.

Copyright 2005 Mal Keenan