We've been tagged by the PPC Blogger, so we have to come up with 5 reasons why we blog PPC.

1) It's what we do.
I don't know if any of you have noticed, but we have an affiliate program. So when we decided to blog, PPC (and SEM, SEO, and online marketing in general) was a natural choice. Basically, we wanted to help educate our affiliates, and keep them up to speed.

2) Because blogs are good marketing tools.
Just about everyone that's involved in some form of online marketing or another has blogged about the marketing benefits of blogging. Not only do we get to help our affiliates monetize their traffic, but we get to attract new ones. Basically, by sharing what we learn and know, we build trust. And trust is one of the most valuable variable in any marketing strategy. It has also brought us to the first page on a Google search for "PPC Affiliate Marketing" -- hey, #9 is still the top 10.

3) To raise our profile.
I know that this might be construed as an extension of reason #2, but there's more to it than that. Aside from making it to the first page of Google for "PPC Affiliate Marketing", it's helped us let people know that we're out there, and that's led to new relationships. Blogging has allowed us to join innumerable exciting conversations that we would have otherwise never known of, and aside from the friendships it's created, it has also led to the cross polinization of ideas.

4) To Learn.
I know that just about everyone cites this reason, but that's only because it's a good one. By subscribing to other blog feeds, and by participating in conversations, you're not only forced to stay abreast of new developments in the industry, but actively pay them notice.

5) To come out of our shell and open our eyes.
You know, when you're caught in the day to day routine of whatever it is you do, it's easy to forget that there's a whole other world out there. By blogging, we don't just stop to pay attention to the world, but be a part of it. At first it was supposed to be all about PPC affiliate marketing and search engine marketing -- things that related directly to our product. But we added SEO as we realized that taking the time to help other build traffic meant that they'd then have more traffic to send our way. Blogging has also helped us embrace technology that isn't always so obviously related to PPC affiliate marketing. We've dabbled in podcasting, are really into vidcasting, and have our own YouTube Channel. Most importantly, however, it has helped us embrace new technology in a more substantive way. When you're contantly part of the conversation and keeping up to date on the latest trends, it's much easier to be honest with yourself. You can't ignore market indicators the same as when you're locked up in your office, so it becomes easier to accept the need for growth. Blogging, then, has helped us really appreciate what users and affiliates want, and that's why we've begun developing a whole bunch of new products and services. I can't talk about most of them, but the one that's closest to being complete is our new text ads program (hint: we're looking for volunteers to help test them out).

I could really go on for another 5 reasons, and I'm not even sure if these are the top 5, but as much as I love blogging, I have other things to do today. So let's get on with tagging some others. How about:

Gordon Choi
HipMojo
Mitch Joel
Ben Yoskovitz
Vinny Lingham

If any of you have already been tagged, I'm really sorry. Just ignore me -- my tagging, of course, not me.