Why are so many small businesses so slow to start blogging? Why aren’t small business marketing consultants encouraging them to do so? This morning I’m reviewing a prospect’s marketing plan in order to come up with a copywriting estimate for her. I recognize the name of the marketing consultant who created the marketing plan. And I’m disappointed to see she suggested this small business do the same old, same old kind of marketing…especially given that this small business wants to be found in search engines.

Getting found in search engines takes more than an SEO copywriter (i.e. me). It takes more than targeted keywords, keyword rich content and great title tags. I won’t go into SEO 101 here, but using blogs as marketing tools is a fantastic way to win searches and drive traffic to your Web site.

This plan also suggested the small business owner get positioned as an expert in the field, again without any mention of blogging. The plan recommends writing articles, doing an email newsletter, etc. All the usual stuff. OK, I don’t mind repeating myself, using blogs as marketing tools is a fantastic way to position yourself as an expert too!

Maybe small business marketing is slow to catch on to using blogs as marketing tools because marketing consultants are slow to recommend them. In my job as a copywriter, I consider myself not just the one who helps craft the messaging, but the one who also knows how to deliver it, from email newsletters to wikis to Web sites to blogging, etc. For years people have asked me why I don’t call myself a marketing consultant since I know so much about marketing. I say because I stick to what I know: I know copywriting. But I’m a copywriter giving my clients more value because I keep up with what’s going on in the world of marketing.

Marketing consultants must do the same thing. It’s 2009. If I were a small business owner, I’d be extremely wary of any marketing plan that left out blogging. You can’t use 2005 techniques in a 2009 world, especially with a tough economy!

Small business blogging is one of the most cost-effective ways a small business can both be found in search engines and be positioned as experts. If marketing consultants don’t know this and aren’t going to recommend it, they shouldn’t be handing out any advice.

If this small business had invested in a ghost blogger instead of a marketing consultant, they’d be way ahead of the marketing game.

In an earlier blog, I offered a bunch of small business blogging basics. See it here: http://www.weknowblogs.com/blog/sharons-marketing-missive/0/0/small-business-blogging-basics--a-guide