Using a blog for your French business

SO just who is running a blog-style website to help their business in France?

I have written in the past about the merits of spending a short time writing about your local area or speciality to help promote a holiday home or business venture (see Blogging for your business).

But for many people the proof is in the pudding, so I emailed two friends a few questions about their experience of using a blog and how they have found it.

Phil Voice, of Perigord Vacance, ran his own landscaping business in the UK for 20 years before selling up and moving with his family to renovate a farmhouse and promote a holiday home near Monflanquin.

What was the impetus behind starting the blog for Perigord Vacance?

A need to fill the void of information between the build up, after making the decision to leave, the actual event of leaving the UK and arriving in France and also maintaining a point of interest for friends, family and potential clients.

What challenges did you face in getting it up and running, any tips?

The first challenge was choosing the right platform. The first company I used was expensive and they cunningly give you your domain name free, which means they retain the domain rights and uploading a photo cost 40p per photo after an initial ten.

I searched for an alternative before being introduced to Blogger a free service. And then I moved onto Typepad Pro.

How long do you currently spend a week on updating the site? What future ideas do you have?

I spend about five hours per week working on my blogs it can be more and sometimes less but I like the internet so maybe I could do it quicker?

What have been your own initial impressions of the value of the blog to the gite business and what have others said about it?

Definitely responsible for the seven weeks of bookings we’ve had this year despite only opening in July. IMHO the feedback from readers tells me that a lot of people, especially those that dream of doing a similar thing suggests that they gain confidence from our successes and failures.

Which blogs do you currently follow, any favourites?

I flit around from time to time and read lots of front pages once and never return.

When I was in France I helped Phil get his blog for the gite business up and running, but he has taken what he has learnt from this to build Landscape Juice, which offers real hands-on advice and tips about landscaping and gardens, that is not dependent on being in France.

On this site Phil is trying out different advertising streams, both regular adverts as well as related books and products, but he knows that the advice he offers will be the key element that will draw more people to the site.

The second example is Susie Hollands, of Bonapart Consulting, who lives in Paris and her experience of struggling to find an apartment in the city gave her the idea to start her own property search company.

Her blog is seperate to her main business site, but still retains the look, feel and colour scheme and is titled Bonapart Consulting Paris.

What was the impetus behind starting the blog for Bonapart Consulting?

My background is online marketing and I thought a blog would be a good way to raise the profile of Bonapart. Since inception, we've been attracting clients mainly through referral and word of mouth from other satisfied customers but I wanted to find an effective way to spread the word about our service and I was having insights that I thought would be useful to those searching for property in Paris and wanted to share them.

I like writing and was approached to be Paris correspondent on real estate and art events for a number of other sites, for example Paris Notes, Paris Expat and Voice of Paris.

So it was a good place to house articles I was already writing. Plus I've had the I V Y paris art blog for 18 months so I'm used to blogging and write for some other arts and travel sites.

I think the up to the minute aspect of blogs lends itself to reporting on real estate trends, things happen so quickly here, such as the rise or "gentrification" of a neighbourhood and I like the idea of being able to document that while it happens and therefore give investors the inside track on where to buy if they feel like going "off the beaten track".

Also, I have so many funny experiences and I'd like to share them too. No day is ever the same!

What challenges did you face in getting it up and running, any tips?

Time, was an issue but concentrating on writing during the weekends and some help from a tech consultant to incorporate my logo a bit (although it's still a bit of a basic template) got me off the starting blocks. Typepad is basically cheap and easy.

How long do you currently spend a week on updating it? What future ideas do you have?

I try and write at least once a week and have to provide content for other sites on at least a weekly basis.

I have a backlog or articles I want to write or trends I'd like to feature. One is an exploration of the different types of property one finds in Paris, not the normal Haussmannian apartments but the ex-industrial buildings, lofts and atelier d'artistes.

I have tons of "fact sheets" I used to have for clients that I'd like to turn into articles, the next subject is property taxes - it's good then to have an online resources to refer people to.

I'd like to incorporate some small films and interviews done on the fly because I don't have time to document all the stuff that happens. I need to get myself a Nokia like my buddy Anina who taught me how powerful blogs are.

What have been your own initial impressions of the value of the blog to Bonapart and what have others said about it?

It's great fun and I if I can impart information and amuse people with the ups and downs of buying property and running a business here I'm happy.

Which blogs do you currently follow, any favourites?

The Paris Blog which I also write for but I find the observational take on life in Paris amusing. I'm nuts about this fashion blog and this for my foodie tendancies.

Both Phil and Susie see the value of regularly updating their sites, either with short snappy pieces or more in-depth articles that people can turn to as a resource.

But it is clear they also enjoy writing, and posting videos and photographs, of their experiences of life in France, which also helps them promote their businesses.

If you have a blog that you use to promote your business please feel free to add a comment below with your own reasons about why you set it up.

Comments

[Geoffrey Coan]

For the first year of renting our Gite (2005) I just ran the Gite website (www.giteinbrittany.com).

This year to kick 2006 off I decided to add a blog about our experiences of running the Gite (giteinbrittany.blogspot.com), partly as a way of keeping the main site more fresh and partly as a way of bringing in more visitors (and potential customers).

So far I can't positively say that I have had any bookings as a direct result of the Blog but I am getting increased traffic and I know that some of our guests had read the Blog before they booked, so if nothing else it helps make future guests feel more comfortable with renting from us.