This is the third case study I've done on small businesses that blog. This one features Northfield Constructon, based in Northfield, Minnesota. Here's what the owner, Ray Cox, had to say in response to my questions.

RMG: Why did you start using a blog related to your business? Was it primarily for the purposes of marketing?

Ray: I initally started using a blog for my political work. (www.raycox.net) I am a State Representative in Minnesota. My constituents are very comfortable using computers and I thought it would be a good way to keep them informed about what I am doing, and what is going on in the Legislature. It worked very well for that purpose so I applied it to my construction company business.

RMG: What advantages do you see in the use of a blog for your business?

Ray: The big advantage and the main reason I went to a blog is because it is so easy to post things to the site. There are millions of very boring web pages that haven't had attention for years. I had a company webpage that I struggled to get updated every 3-4 months. Now I can easily post and add things about our work. The best thing about blogs is the quick, easy posting and the fact that they are written from a person....not an entity.

If you visit the company website, you'll note that its home page is the blog. Or, conversely, the blog is the home page. This represents a growing trend which allows you to kill two birds with one stone. Not only do you incorporate your blog into the overall architecture of the site, you provide your readers with a constant stream of updated information without having to redirect them to another page or site. They get it all right there!