"You've decided to launch a blog for your business and you're busy laying the groundwork," says Mack Collier in an article at MarketingProfs. "You've selected a name for it, and you know what you want to blog about and who your bloggers will be."

In the midst of your big ideas, though, don't forget one important detail: You have no more than five seconds to tell new visitors who you are, what you do and how to make contact.

With this in mind, Collier argues for blogging must-haves like these:

• An "About" page. Operate on the assumption that visitors don't know you from Adam. Also, "it's very possible that the first exposure someone has to your company will be via your blog, not your main website," he notes. "So you must clearly explain [who you are] on your blog."

• Complete contact information. Collier recommends placing at least three forms of contact—ideally, your email address, phone number and physical address—in a prominent location. "Let's say you sell mountain bikes," he says, "and someone arrives at your blog after doing a Google search for a particular model, wanting to find out whether it's available yet." If she can't find a quick way to get an answer, she'll beat a quick path back to her search results—and do business with your competitors.

• Headshots and bios. Avoid anonymous posts by an "Admin" or "The Team." When people can put a face and name to an author, they're more likely to connect with, and trust, your content.

The Po!nt: Get the conversation started with a blog that is immediately informative, helpful and approachable.

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