Blogs are some of the most common sites on the Internet, and you might well overlook their potential when you’re trying to generate online publicity. A blog can be a powerful asset in an Internet marketing campaign if it’s handled properly. Even a relatively new blog can generate plenty of attention. Here are some steps you can take to maximize a blog’s marketing effectiveness:

1. Unique domain name. Free hosting is common for blogs, especially those set up through sites like blogger.com. If you’re looking to turn your blog into a marketing tool, though, you should go ahead and spend the money to secure a domain name or sub-domain all to yourself. This sets your blog apart right from the start, and it has powerful SEO effects, too. If you already know some keywords that will be especially suitable to your blog, try to get them right into your URL.

2. Robust software. Being able to work on your blog efficiently will save you time, and that in turn means you’ll be able to do more with it. Using a software package that offers you plenty of customization options and advanced blogging tools will give you the efficiency that you need. This is not a step that requires any expenditure; many free blogging suites are more than powerful enough to do the job. Remember that your own skills play a big role in your effectiveness; familiarize yourself with your blogging software and explore all of its capabilities.

3. Build Links Every Day. Organize a real link-building campaign to generate and maintain a healthy crop of backlinks pointing to your blog. Building links is something that you can and should put on a schedule. Devote a certain daily or weekly portion of your blogging time to contacting other website owners to get links, talking up your blog in appropriate forums, and hunting for other link-building opportunities.

4. Social Media. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have captured a tremendous amount of Internet users’ attention. If you want to pull some of that attention onto your blog, social media sites can be a gold mine. You should have profiles and accounts set up for all of the major social media outlets and use them to spread the word about new blog posts. As your blog develops and you start to learn more about your audience, you can focus on connecting with them through the social media sites they tend to frequent most.

5. Relevant content. This is one place where maximizing your speed is not a good idea. You can do everything else right to turn your blog into a marketing tool and still fail if its content is bland, forgettable, boilerplate stuff. Once you have the technical details sorted out, the lion’s share of your blogging time should be devoted to generating content that is relevant, timely, and compelling.

If you try out the techniques presented here, you should be able to put together a great marketing blog that starts getting attention and traffic right from day one. After all, the publicity potential of a blog lies more in how you operate it than in what you post on it. When you handle it properly, a blog can make a significant contribution to virtually any Internet marketing campaign.