If you have been thinking about connecting genuinely with your customer base, writing a blog, or making better use of your "social media" profiles but have no idea how, consider these three steps which integrate all three. 

In A Nutshell....Create content once.

Re-use it many times. (Its eco-friendly!)

Ok, so this much you already know. But what to write about?

Brainstorm a list of the most common questions you get asked in the course of your day by your clients. This is easily accessible information clearly relevant to your client base. Your clients are asking you about it already!

So start writing these down and don't stop until you have at least 15 questions which your customers ask you on a regular basis.

TIP:  It does not matter if you think these are basic questions!  If your clients knew the answers, they would not be asking you.

Next, start writing a response or information pieces based around an easy question.

You now have the draft content for your first blog post.

Ok, its probably not perfect just yet, but you have made a start. Put it aside to rest for a moment. Come back to it in a day or two. Look at another question and pencil in a response. Leave that for a day or two. Go back to the first one. Review and refine. Do this in rotation until you have one that you are reasonably happy with.

POST IT to your BLOG and feel SMUG.

(Congratulations!)

You may have already belong to number of social networks - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, GooglePlus (and/or some other ones which may be specific to your market). If you are like most people you may be struggling to know what information to put into these networks regularly.

Your newly created blog content is perfect for sharing across your networks. Spend a little time thinking about a headline to introduce your post with. Something to capture the interest to your client base.

Link this directly to your blog post, and you have your first leverage point.

3. Send a summary to your customer database - in your "Blogsletter" **

Once you have had at least 3 blog posts under your belt, you have enough content to warrant sending for your first newsletter. So start to put your Blogsletter together.

Just remember. ** You heard it here first. "The Blogsletter". An email newsletter which is a curated version of your most recent blog posts.

Using content from your own is the perfect way to have something meaningful to communicate to your customers and prospects about.

• You already know these are topics of interest to your clients.
• You have already created content around these topics.
• You have already created some good headlines to grab attention.

So now, you need a brief introduction to go with the headlines and excerpts in your newsletter.

Clients receiving your newsletter will see the main headings, and can click straight through to where your full version of the content lives (on your blog).

Your Adobe Business Catalyst website allows you to integrate these functions seamlessly. Your blog function can be switched on, and your newsletters can be deplyed easily in your e-mail marketing section.

A perfect way to keep in touch, in a meaningful way, with your clients to start with.

Let me know how you go!