There has been plenty in the business blogosphere of late including here at BootStrapMe about what I will call blogstrapping, the technique of using a blog to jump start a bootstrapped business at little or no cost.

According to blogger Bill Hobbs and a newspaper column on the same subject by Jeff Cornwall director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University and a blogger in his own rite at The Entrepreneurial Mind, blogging offers significant advantages.

Here are a few:

• Establishing expertise in your business niche by providing a platform for you to share your knowledge
• Establishing branding for your business or service often with little or no cost beyond the expense of a domain name (and sometimes not even that)
• Attracting media attention for both you and your business by providing a source for journalists seeking information about your topic on line (read free publicity)
• Establishing a personal contact with your customer base and building strong customer loyalty

Creating a blog for your business can be fast and easy. Follow the steps below provided by blogger.com, one of the web's most prevalent free providers.

Nick Danforth offers yet more advice including how to use traffic information to build your blog's audience.

Other platforms, some free some at very affordable prices compared to other forms of promotion, include SoulCast, Mindsay, Squarespace and the full range of products from Six Apart.