A Study of 7,000 Businesses shows the Tangible Impact a Blog has on Awareness and Leads.

http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/10/study-of-7000-businesses-shows-impact-of-blogging-on-traffic-and-leads.html

Kim,
Great article!  Thank you for sharing.
I highly recommend blogging.  Blog your best material regularly and often.
I have 2 blogs of my own.:
http://PeterTrapasso.com – Social Mediahttp://VinoPete.com – Wine Reviews and #VinoChat Twitter chat
It is also imperative that you guest blog as well to get your name out there and help your fellow bloggers.  All you need to do is find people who blog about your niche and offer to write a post or two for them.  You can also invite them to blog for you as a guest as well.
I currently guest blog monthly here for Jim Dougherty.:
http://leaderswest.com/author/peter-trapasso/
Sorry if this seems overly promotional, but I think it is important to share here.
cheers,
Pete

Before blogging I would definitely start networking and building relationships first. Then when you start blogging the relationships will help your blog get off the ground easier. Otherwise it can be a little disheartening to start a blog that no one reads.

not sure  where  we  see that the public   is very   interested in  blogs..i know  within this information  industry we sure are….but if  your target customer  is hairdressers or  truckers or  small business people   are they  apt to   bother with finding or reading  a blog?  

..i looked at the numbers of  my  facebook and my  blog   and finally gave up on my  blog…..should have done it way sooner..

.. the  blog was so  nice tho!!!   but  facebook  brought  way  more money…and my  target people were  already there….i see  several  retail places that used to  blog  now  dropping it

.i guess i would  look at my target   customers   while    deciding   which way to   put  my  efforts…

@milan-steskal good luck….i see many  resturants  with   big  efforts on  facebook…its a good fit..one poppular local place  posts her  specials  of the day every day….. hopefully you  can  show them  a nice  clear plan   that will save them time and  bring them  business….

i think  you are smart to  focus on  one area and   get to know it and the words and issues of that industry… .and maybe  think  local…  that  could  be a great  becasue you would have even more insight , you  could  eat  there,  and  be able to  get neat pictures…if  you  start local and  get some happy  customers  you  could  show  your  work in action and  maybe  get some  testimonials…

looking at other pages in my world  always   shows me a lot….

@kimkline  great post Kim thanks for the share, and yes i do.You know when you have put up a good post, when weeks later you are still getting comments on it . I also added some advice here on this thread for newbies wondering where to start or what to blog about “Content Marketing Plan – Any Tips?“. Hope this is helpful

Good discussion here. Thanks for reminding everyone of the importance of bloggin. @kimkline