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Here's a (fun) challenge: write a blog post each and every day.

Initially, its quite hard. Your first thought is probably "that'll take too long!" - maybe you're a startup and you're working 18 hours a day, or you're working for the man and you'll get in trouble if you're too vocal.

It really doesn't matter. You should write a blog post each and every day, ideally about your product, but just about you is good too. Why? Because it starts a conversation with your readers.

Ah, you're thinking you don't have any readers? You probably don't today, or tomorrow, or even next month. But eventually you will - assuming you're interesting. And you probably are.

What can you write about? Maybe its what your product does. Or what it will do. Or what it should do. Or what it doesn't do.

Talk about why you're doing what you're doing. Everyone loves a good story.

Talk about your competitors - don't be too much of a dick, but be honest. Hilight the bits of the product you don't like, its failings, and even how you implemented your solution.

You should interact with your readers - respond to comments - even if its just that one guy that always comments. Eventually it'll grow if you write interesting stuff.

What if it isn't growing? You're probably not being open enough. Users are smart and can read through your corporate bullshit that thinly veils "buy our stuff". Tell me a story.

Why bother? Theres tons of reasons, here are a few minor ones: Better SEO, More traffic to your destination - maybe you'll convert some readers to customers and you'll get a good grip on if users appreciate and want your product.

The key thing however is that it starts a conversation with your potential customers. I don't care if you're the trendiest B2C or you're selling to the most bad ass institution. Chances are, someone somewhere that reads your blog is a potential customer. Mindshare matters, and if you're selling into businesses having people say "oh the guys that wrote about the iphone woes! they rock" really helps.

And what does it cost you? Firstly, setting up a blog = an hour. Writing a blog post a day = maybe 5 hours a week?

That sounds like a lot doesn't it, but how would you earn that recognition and audience if you had to buy it? I don't believe you can.

So why doesn't everyone blog? Because writing interesting stuff is hard (see above) and for a long time you're probably doing it with a tiny audience. But if you succeed the benefits are huge. Fred Wilson, 37 Signals, Balsamiq and Carsonified show this.

I'm not asking nor expecting you to write an essay every day. But some form of content each and every day shouldn't be too much. Maybe that is a relevant youtube video on the decline of newspapers, or a link to a Joel Spolsky essay, or even a relevant photo or graphic from mint.

Eventually, you'll have gained the mind share of being the guys online that = your sector and then you're a juggernaught of influence in your sphere. Product launches, beta testing and helping fellow entrepreneurs out will be made so much easier - but don't ever take it for granted.