Tag Archives | blogging

SmallBizLady’s Reading List Part I

By on November 23, 2009 in 10 Things Lists, Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business

readingglassesIn business, reading is fundamental. It is crucial to help you grow your expertise as a business leader.  One of my favorite things to do is read books about small business best practices, social media and leadership.  Here’s a list of best books that I think will have a major impact on your business strategy heading into 2010.  Later this week, I’ll have five more of my favorite books to share.

Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success  by Denise O’Berry (J. Wiley & Sons, 2006)  The best thing you can do for your business is understand how much profit is in every sale and stay cash flow positive. Denise O’Berry writes a terrific book that explains the ins and outs of financial management in a successful small business. The book does a good job of pointing out how a small business owner can stay on top of the cash flow issue in running her business.  This is an incredible resource book that I highly recommend.

Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz (Writer Digest Books, 2008) It is not often I read a book that truly enlightening from cover to cover. On a scale of 1-5, Get Known Before the Book Deal is a 10! If you want to know what it takes to get a book deal, Christina Katz gives a very specific recipe, but this book is not just helpful to people who want to be authors.  This book is for anyone who needs to build a marketing platform and a brand for their expertise.  This book changed my entire business model and my brand. I could not recommend this book more highly.

Customers For Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer by Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown (Doubleday, 2002)  This is a must read for every business owner.  None of the ideas in this book are ground breaking, but the authors do a great job of explaining how they translate into loyal customers for your business. This book will help you create systems in your business to avoid customer service problems in the first place. This book was originally published in 1998 and has been updated three times since, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Every business owner should have this book, and I’d also recommend buying copies for all your employees as well.

Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share their Secrets to Creating a High-Profile, High-Traffic and High Profit Blog by Stephane Grenier (Levac Publishing House, 2008)   This is one of those books that serious bloggers will keep on their shelves.  I like that this book features 40 top bloggers and not just 10 or 15 like most profile books. I enjoyed learning great techniques and about what blogs these pros read.  Try reading a chapter a day, look at the blogs of the blogger featured, see what they are doing well that you can implement in your blog. Learning how successful bloggers approach their blogging is an exercise that will have lots of benefits.

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers – and Save the Planet by Jennifer Kaplan (Prentice Hall Press, 2009)  Green is not just the color of money. Going green can be overwhelming, but Jen Kaplan provides a comprehensive guide to practical, meaningful, low-cost changes that can be applied today to go green in your business. Green practices are being measured by everyone including your customers-so use this book to build an additional competitive advantage in your business and save the planet as the same time.

Do you know a book that should be added to the list?  Let me know, I love getting your feedback.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in Feb 2010.

Comments { 7 }

The New Rules About Blogging for Money

By on October 12, 2009 in Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, Social Media, Solopreneurs, Women in Business, Your Small Business
justia

Lady Justice

As of December 1, 2009 the Federal Trade Commission is going to require Bloggers, Podcasters and video producers – any producer of consumer-generated content online to disclose any paid endorsements to their followers and audience they communicate with online. These new rules have the potential to change everyone’s online habits. Here’s what you need to know:

If you receive even a small fee in exchange for reviewing a particular product or writing a blog post about it – this new ruling applies to you. Under the FTC’s new rules, all bloggers who blog for dollars will have to disclose that they are receiving a fee for their blog post.  In addition, bloggers will also need to disclose any gifts they receive such as books, product samples or even toothpaste.  All merchandise now counts as compensation.

Many bloggers already disclose when they are being paid for reviews, but this could get tricky for some blogs who use sponsors, and particularly for some corporations such as Walmart, Office Max etc. who use mom bloggers to target women customers.  It will be interesting to see how these relationships will change.  

Transparency is what you need to have in social media anyway, but now it’s on another level.   Prominent users of social networks such as Twitter will need to pay attention to the FTC’s new rules.  If you want to give a business some praise – do it, but if you work there, you need to tell people.  If you want to get on Twitter and talk about how great a new book or product is…make sure people know it’s your product or that you are the author. 

When commenting on blogs and in forums, please do not pretend to be someone else particularly if you are leaving a negative comment.  If you post comments in an online forum that undercuts your competitor without making it clear who you are, you have broken the rules.

The FTC is not trying to fine mombloggers!  Repeat offenders may end up being punished, but the new regulations are really just trying to regulate how advertisers pay for endorsements and reviews.

So Blogger Beware!

What you do think about the new FTC regulations? Should you really have to disclose a free book?

Additional resources on the new FTC regulations:

http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/2009/10/06/the-new-ftc-guidelines-on-endorsements-by-bloggers/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in Feb 2010.

Comments { 7 }

How to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

By on October 8, 2009 in Branding & Marketing, SmallBizChat, Social Media

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wed. on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Anita Campbell @smallbiztrends. The editor and chief contributor of http://www.smallbiztrends.com, one of the most widely read small business blogs on the internet.  Her company, Small Business Trends LLC, is a media and information company. In that role she closely follows trends in the small business market and trends in technology. Her popular website won the Forbes “Best of the Web” distinction for small business blogs in 2005 and again in 2008.

Smallbizlady:  How long has Small Business Trends been around?

Anita Campbell–It’s been around for six years. I started out on Blogger at a blogspot address for first few years. Then moved to my own domain and WordPress. That was my first jump to a new level. If you are still on the Blogger platform and dream big, I suggest moving to WordPress. You will need its expanded features. Remember, also, that perseverance is a key to success. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Every blog starts small with just a few readers.

Smillbizlady:  How has blogging changed in the last 6 years?

Anita Campbell–In one sense it is still the same. But it has matured. Used to see a lot of shorter posts just dropping links to media articles. Now I think the bar is higher and you must have something original to say.  People now point out interesting links at Twitter instead. There’s lots more competition now, too.  Many more blogs.  The need for a narrow niche is important today.  There’s always room for good blogs, though.

Smallbizlady:  The niche target market is so important in any small business venture. Why is the blog niche so important?

Anita Campbell–There are millions of blogs today. Many topics are saturated. It’s harder to stand out. A niche is one way to stand out.  Your audience might be smaller, but you have the advantage of uniqueness.

Smallbizlady:  What’s the #1 thing you should do to get your blog to the next level?

Anita Campbell–Think about your blog as a product. You are the manufacturer and distributor of that product. This gives you purpose and structure. Makes it easier to know what to do. It makes the process of creating content much easier.  No waking up and wondering “what do I write about today?” Instead, it’s like a magazine – a clear concept. Problogger has a brilliant piece where he dissects a magazine as a way to shape a content plan.

You can find it in his e-book “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” (not free – but worth the modest price). Thinking of your blog as a magazine helps you set goals and stay on track.

Smallbizlady:  Do you recommend having a marketing plan?

Anita Campbell–Yes! You should have the typical elements of a marketing plan in it. Clear target market.  Unique selling proposition of your blog. Online marketing building blocks: SEO; email marketing; social media marketing. For an easy starting place, create plan for marketing a single blog post. Read Problogger’s post – how to get your post read by more than mom: http://adjix.com/uwkv  After learning how to promote single posts, work your way up to a marketing plan for the blog overall.

Smallbizlady:  Should you plan an editorial calendar for your blog?

AnitaCampbell–An editorial calendar will help you be more organized and make sure you stay on point.  Strive for a general sense of what you publish when – but not too rigid.  Allow yourself some flexibility.

Smallbizlady:  What is the biggest mistake to getting to the next level with your blog?

AnitaCampbell–First mistake: trying to monetize a blog too soon. Not enough focus on your audience.  You need to build an audience who clamors for your content.  Focus on serving readers first. You are not likely to make any money from ads in the first 6 months — So why distract yourself?   

Second mistake is not blogging enough. Most of the big name blogs post a MINIMUM of once a day. Your growth will be limited by how frequently you post.  Here’s analogy:  what if you developed a product, and only shipped it out now and then?  When you “had time”?  Would you expect that product to become a big seller?

Smallbizlady:  Can a part-time blog be successful?

AnitaCampbell–I’m not saying you can’t benefit from a blog with 1 post a week. Just that the blog’s growth will be limited. You may be OK with a part-time blog – there’s not a thing wrong with that. Perhaps you have a full-time business and your blog is there solely to market the business. If so, be proud! But adjust your expectations — traffic will be modest. You will need to work at your blog full-time if you expect to become a popular end destination.

Smallbizlady:  What about other mistakes preventing you from getting to the next level?

AnitaCampbell–Another blogging mistake is inconsistency.  Inconsistency in how often you post.  Inconsistency in your topics, sometimes getting off topic. Readers like consistency. Your readers want to know what to expect. Example: that you write about email marketing and they can get email tips at your blog.  But if one day you write about your dog, and the next email marketing – don’t be surprised if readers are confused.

Read “Why They’re a Successful Blogger and You’re Not”: http://adjix.com/zvcx

Smallbizlady:  What about guest bloggers?

AnitaCampbell–Guest bloggers are good.  Readers like to hear different voices. Vet your guest posters carefully. Your voice and what makes your blog unique can get diluted if you are not careful. Don’t make mistake of thinking guest bloggers are freelance writers, either. Think of them like Op Ed contributors to a newspaper Editorial page.

But they are not newspaper reporters.  Don’t expect them to be your workforce & only source of content. 

Smallbizlady: How to do become a paid guest blogger for a corporate blog?

AnitaCampbell–Consistent top notch writing.  Having something worthwhile to say in a conversational tone.  Face it — large sites can afford to pay freelance writers. And there are plenty of laid off journalists. You must offer something different, such as an edgy tone or unique perspective or a well-developed reputation.

They also will want you to “bring your audience with you.”  Get good at promoting your articles.  Then you become more interesting to such sites.

Smallbizlady:  How important is it to tie-in current events to your blog posts?

AnitaCampbell–Two schools of thought on current events.  One school says “yes, current events make you relevant.”  Another school says “stick with evergreen content.”  No surprise, then, that mixing both types of content has merit. 

If you found this interview helpful, subscribe to smallbiztrends and join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. 

How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com

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10 Ways to Get Your Blog to Shine

By on October 5, 2009 in 10 Things Lists, Branding & Marketing, Social Media, Your Small Business

This is the last post of a three part series on blogging for business.  We started out with how to get started blogging. Then we tackled the strategy for setting up your blog as your only website or having two separate websites. Now we are finally talking about what to do to get your blog noticed.  Here’s 10 Tips that I swear by for building a successful blog platform and getting your blog to shine.  The best way to get to the front page of Google and other search engines is to have the exact phrase a person is searching for used on your blog.  The same words you use in the title also need to be somewhere in your text. 

1. Be strategic about your headline.

2. Use a branded header. Image is everything. People need to know what your blog is about at first click.  Use a colorful header that features your logo, a professional photo and your tag line.  Your tag line is the most important element of your header.  It should tell your reader exactly what to expect from your blog. 

3. Explain your blog.  On the front page of your blog — tell people more information about what you can do for them.  Be sure and include keywords, your name and any branded materials you have such as a book title.  Explain who your target audience is and the credentials that make you an expert. 

4. Create a conversation.  Use a conversational tone when you write.  Do not just give information; let your personality shine through.  People love well told stories. They also like to learn from other people’s mistakes.  Don’t be afraid to take an unpopular position or be brutally honest.  Be your authentic self.   Tell your readers what you really think.  

5. Be original.  Teach ‘em some new stuff and be entertaining.  Your audience wants to find something that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the web.  David Meerman Scott author of World Wide Rave says people want to share in something remarkable.   Do you have any concepts or systems that you have developed?  I developed the Emerson Planning System which is a new approach to business planning.  I wrote my book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months (Adams Media, Feb 2010) based on the system.  I use elements of it to write many blog posts.  That’s my signature content, what’s yours?

6. Be a participant.  If you want your ideas to spread or your blog posts to be retweeted you need to spend some time building relationships online.  Getting involved in the online communities where people actively share information in your specialty area. It is also a great way to have comments left on your blog.  I spent six months on Twitter building relationships, answers questions and supporting others before I launched my blog.  It made a big difference.

7. Avoid fluff.  In order to have people talk about your ideas, resist the temptation to hype your products and services.  Create something interesting that will be talked about online.  Readers have many choices available, and they’ll quickly move on from a blog with unnecessary or annoying commentary.  Keep your writing focused.  If you leave your readers wanting more, and they’ll come back for more.

8. Use multimedia to break things up.  Add podcasts and video posts to add depth to your blog.  Sometimes when I am interviewed on an internet radio show, I will turn the interview link into a blog post by adding a tip list highlighting key takeaways from the interview.  The interview host will appreciate the additional exposure for sure. Keep those video posts short, no more than 3 minutes please. Trust me – less is more.

9. Comment on blogs.  Leave comments on other people’s blogs.  Doing this will help you get a quality backlink.  Blogs need backlinks.  They help increase your PageRank and widen your blog’s visibility. The plugin displays a link to your last post along with your picture and your name using RSS feeds. Also use the CommentLuv Plugin on your blog.

10. Always think of your audience first.  Whenever you start thinking of a blog topic make sure the information will be helpful to your target audience.  Provide information, analysis, interviews and viewpoints on your blog.  When you give your audience what they want and need, they will tell others and post your information to social media sites. 

For more information on getting your blog to shine join us this wednesday 8-9pm ET on 10/7 for #smallbizchat on Twitter where my guest will be Anita Campbell @smallbiztrends who will be talking about how to take your blog to the next level.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

Comments { 12 }

Developing a Blog vs. Website Strategy

By on September 28, 2009 in Branding & Marketing, How to Start, Social Media, Your Small Business
Blog vs. Website in Business

Blog vs. Website in Business

This is the second of a three part series on blogging for business. It is such an essential issue for small businesses today that I felt it important to dedicate some real time to the topic.  The first article focused on building a small business blog. Today’s piece investigates the decision to have a separate website verses using a blog as your website. 

It used to be that all you had to worry about was having a website, now you need a blog and a complete social media footprint to go along with it to reflect the many ways that your customers are using the internet.  Whether you have a professional services business, a brick-and-mortar retail establishment or an online business.  Your business needs a website as the anchor of your online marketing!   All websites should include a static home page that has been designed and written to clearly explain what you have on offer to people who visit your site.  The question then becomes what kind of website do you need?

One of the most common questions I get about building an online brand is whether a small business should:

a)     Have a website and a separate blog

b)     Have a blog as the company website

c)     Import a blog into an existing website. 

I polled my @smallbizlady followers on http://www.twitter.com/ for advice on this:  Here’s what a few had to say:

“With the right web team, you can power the blog within the website using WordPress.”

 ”Unless one can add value and maintain a blog long-term, I suggest just developing a website and importing dynamic content like Twitter feeds.”

“If your goal is heavy on the commercial side then go with a web site. If you want to create a community, go with a blog.” 

Let’s define the basic business website terms:  A blog is an online journal written by one person, or a team of staff people focused on a particular area of interest.  Blogs are typically written in a conversational style and updated 2-3 times a week minimum.   Search engines love blogs because of the fresh content.  If possible, it’s best to have the blog as part of your website.  Then, the fresh content on the blog attracts the search engines to your entire website.

Blog-based websites are cost effective, search engine friendly and can have both static information (like a traditional website) and dynamic information by way of blog posts.  It is also very easy to update a blog without hiring a web designer every time you make a change. Cathy Larkin of  WebSavvyPR.com says, “Blog posts are a way for service businesses to build trust in their brand. A blog, done well, gives you and your staff a way to showcase your expertise in a way that makes people think of you when it comes time to buy.”

A website is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are available under a specific domain name on the World Wide Web. Websites are essentially online brochures designed to provide information, build a contact list, make money, and raise awareness of a small business. Information on a traditional website typically does not change very often.  The static information on a typical website includes 5-7 pages: home page, about us, contact us, services/products, in the news, and an online store.

If you are just getting started, a self-hosted blog is the best option to help promote your business online.  If you are starting from scratch, I suggest using WordPress.org, with your own hosting package.  What I like about WordPress is that is designed to have both static pages and blog pages.  Go for a hosting company that has a one button install for WordPress.org blogs.  Customizing a WordPress blog can be tricky, but once its rolling along it’s pretty much maintenance-free.   

If you already have a website, adding a blog section to it can be a way to update your online presence, and bring more traffic to your existing site. It’s best to have the blog as part of your website, but this isn’t always possible.  “You may have started a blog a long time ago on a free hosted site such as blogger or typepad and may not want to go through what it takes to transfer a hosted blog to your website.  In this case, you should link your blog from your website (and vice versa) and add frequent new content to your website, such as articles, white papers and special reports to provide fresh content on the website,” says internet marketing consultant, Phyllis Zimbler Miller, Millermosaicllc.com.  The only downside is you will need to engage a professional web designer to upgrade your website to import your blog, and add the additional content unless you learn to do it yourself.

When would you use a blog and website separately? If your blog is targeted to a very specific niche market and your website is targeted to a larger market, two sites make sense.  Some advocate creating a completely separate blog and stand alone website if you are an infopreneur. This works for authors, coaches, professional speakers etc. (a micro-site designed to sell each book, for example).  I use Melindaemerson.com and Succeedasyourownboss.com.

To get up and running quickly, I advocate hiring someone to help you set up your blog. You will have an expert to help you build the most professional presentation, create a branded banner, customize your blog with a theme, and show you the ropes.

No matter what method you decide to go with, it is very important to have a static home page on website and/or blog where what you offer is clear the moment someone lands on your page.  The headline, banner graphic, and the text all work together to keep that unique visitor on your site.

Next week, the final part of the blogging for business series: 10 Ways To Get Your Blog To Shine.

Part 1 http://succeedasyourownboss.com/09/2009/how-to-build-a-small-business-blog/

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

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How To Build A Small Business Blog

By on September 21, 2009 in Branding & Marketing, How to Start, Social Media
building a business blog

Building a business blog.

This is a first of a three part series on blogging for business. It is such an important issue for small businesses today that I felt it important to dedicate some real time to the topic. The series will focus on getting started at blogging, the decision to have a blog and a website or just a blog, and 10 tips to get your blog noticed.

Great blogs stand out because the writer knows who their reader is and has great content.   Getting your blog noticed takes strategy – planning, marketing know-how and good writing skills.  You can use pay-per click advertising to get your brand known, but developing a successful blog is really the best way to get noticed on the web.

Let’s look at some of the basics of creating a small business blog:

Know who you are talking to.  Don’t create a blog for you– create a blog for your readers and potential clients.  You should not write a single word on a blog until you have researched your target audience and conducted a trends analysis on that audience. It’s not hard, just do it.   Know who they are and what they need to know.  Christina Katz, author of Get Known Before the Book Deal says you need to identify your niche market, and then break down your target into several submarkets. Then use your blog as a service to your target markets.

Create an editorial calendar.  I am a former TV producer, so old habits die hard.  It’s important to build an editorial calendar to keep track of your content.  It will also help you brainstorm topics in advance.  Read articles and blogs in your industry to get ideas. Sometimes I read articles, and just a sentence from it can seed an idea for a blog post.  Avoid boring your readers to death with the same song, come at a subject from a different angle.  A well-kept calendar will also keep your blog sharp, timely, and informative.

Start developing content 3-6 months before you start blogging.  Good blogs have good content.  Take the time to write well to make sure your content is excellent.  Also, there will be days that you just do not have time to write.  It’s best to develop a mini archive of articles that you can use as blog posts when you do not have the time to write a fresh piece.  It is always good to get a timely piece that can tie-in a current event, but do yourself a favor – plan ahead. 

Determine your blog strategy.  Determine your blog publishing schedule.  The key is to remain as consistent as possible.  Some people post no more than two-to-three posts a week, but there are bloggers that put out new posts everyday. I post twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.  While there is no specific formula for how many times a week you should post, just remember that readers appreciate consistency.

Choose the right blog platform.  There are so many choices out there to establish your blog.  WordPress.org has a huge community, with many support resources including featured plug-ins and many customization options.  You may need some help with set-up, but after that, posting is an easy process.  My blog is a customized WordPress blog.  If you don’t want to buy a domain name and hosting package WordPress.com, Typepad.com and Blogger.com might be just what you need.  If you are doing business, I suggest spending the $150.00 and personally branding your blog site.

Develop a picture library.  Adding an image to your blog posts adds a huge amount of depth to your blog.  Ahead of time, pull images that might work for your blog posts.  There are free sites such as www.Photobucket.com, www.openphoto.net, www.unprofound.com  You can also use www.Flickr.com, but use the advanced search page and check “only search within Creative Commons-licensed content” to avoid copyright issues.  There are also low cost photo sites such as www.istockphoto.com.  Pulling pictures can be time consuming, so if you start out with a library of 50 or so, you’ll save time in the long run. 

Write great headlines. Your headline can make or break your post, so choose your words carefully. It helps to think about what your reader would type into a search engine to find your information.  Use active voice and as few words as possible.  Throwing in key words is good too.  You can also use lists, numbers, how-tos, compelling questions, and famous names to draw people in.  It doesn’t matter how good your blog content is if no one will click on the link to read it.  Would you read an article titled “Growing Your Online Marketing through Blogging” or one titled “Blogging for Business”?  If you’re struggling with headlines, look at a few popular blogs to see how they do it. 

With these tips, you’ll speak to your target audience and attract a wealth of new readers. If any of these points sound difficult or time consuming, remember, you don’t have to do it all alone.  Get help from a social media coach or marketing consultant that can help you build your blog and position yourself as an industry expert in no time.

Did I miss any tips? Leave me a comment and let me know your secrets to blogging success.  

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months! A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Comments { 5 }

Blogging for Business

By on July 9, 2009 in SmallBizChat, Social Media

From time to time as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts that could benefit my audience.  This is excepts from my #smallbizchat interview with Meryl K. Evans @merylkevans about Blogging for Business.

Blogging is old news by today’s standards as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn dominate the social networking scene. But blogging continues to pick up speed especially as it matures with many businesses adopting them as part of their marketing and customer service strategy. The questions here quickly cover the basics of blogging with Content Maven and longtime blogger Meryl K. Evans.

Smallbizlady: Why should a business have a blog?

Evans: Businesses often need to work harder to earn trust and credibility before they make the sale. A web site with company information only tells part of the story. A blog helps close the gap because it’s real, updated and gives the company a voice. That voice gives prospects a chance to see if they like the company’s style and way of thinking.

Blogging isn’t for every business. The point is to be aware of them because they might be talking about your business.  So think in terms of tracking, monitoring and replying.

Smallbizlady: How do you decide if your business should have a blog?

Evans: You won’t have a black or white answer (of course). Rather, ask questions such as: Can you update regularly? Do you have something to say? Do you read others? Can you provide info of value? This two part article explores whether your business should have a blog and how to participate. Maybe the best answer is to participate rather than have your own.

At least, have a good web site with clear information about what your company does and what customers can get from you. When you leave comments or post tweets, you can link back to your web site.

Smallbizlady:  What about other social media tools?

Evans: Companies indeed need to look beyond blogging. They need to track and participate in conversations that mention the company, its industry, its product or service and its competitors. Conversations go far outside blogs to microblogs like Twitter and social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. Many industries have their own specialty social networks, so don’t limit your research with the three big ones. Remember MySpace was bigger and then Facebook took over. Next month, it could be another site.

The least you can do is have a company profile or employees have a profile on the various sites, but pick a couple to participate in on a regular basis while tracking for name mentions everywhere. You might look into Ning, which lets you create your own social network.

Smallbizlady: What is the best blog site / applications to use?

Evans: It depends on your needs. But for beginners who don’t have tech help in setting up a site, using a developer-hosted solution is the easiest thing. This means the service hosts your blog already has the software installed, so you don’t have to mess with it except add your content. Blogger, WordPress.com and Typepad are the more common ones used for business blogging. The other developer-hosted solutions tend to lean heavily toward personal blogging.

You can pay a monthly fee to host your web site on a server. In this case, you might choose to install the blog on the server rather than depend on a hosted solution. If this sounds overwhelming, the developer-hosted solution might work better unless you have web developers who can help. For more on this, read the Easy and Hard Way to Start a Blog.

Smallbizlady: How often should one blog?

Evans: You’ll hear arguments from all sides. No one has won the argument. It depends on your needs and your target audience. But it helps to update the blog at least once a week. Wait too long and people will think your blog is dead, so they’ll unsubscribe to it. I’ve blogged four or five times to week, but currently blog about twice a week.

Participating in the blogosphere takes more than just blogging on your site. You need to visit others and leave comments. If another blog inspires a long comment, consider turning that into a blog entry. Trackback, a feature that connects a blog entry with another person’s blog entry, will connect the two together. Most blog apps have this feature built-in.

Smallbizlady: How long should entries be? Some are 750 words or more, others only 150. Is there an ideal length?

Evans: Like the “how often” question, this depends largely on your audience. Several bloggers always post over 1000 words, and their audience loves it. A good rule of thumb is 400 to 800 words. Of course, you’ll go under sometimes and over sometimes. No harm done. Format your content for easier scanning with short paragraphs, bulleted lists and bold headers. Many publications ask their writers to shoot for at least 400 words at a minimum for better search engine results.

Smallbizlady: Should there be links in every blog entry?

Evans: Linking keywords to your own content helps from a search engine perspective. Linking to others helps you build relationships as other bloggers love it when others link to them. It’s possible to overdo the linking. General rule is no more than one link for every 100 words.

Some people find it frustrating when there are so many links because they find they’re going all over the place trying to piece together the story and get all the details. Put the link on meaningful words not “Click here.” That’s old thinking. Also, selecting the right words to link gives people an idea of what they will see if they click on the link.

Smallbizlady: Does a well done blog replace a web site or add value?

Evans: Many people have nothing but a blog as their web site. To make it work from a business standpoint, however, you need to at least have an About page with your bio and contact information. Can people quickly figure out what you do? Do you provide enough information to help them determine if you’re qualified and credible?

Business web site blogs offer fresh content to make search engines happy, show how your business thinks and interacts, connect with customers and prospects, build relationships that lead to earning trust and gaining credibility.

Smallbizlady: Should the language be in first person?

Evans: Business blogs do better when they’re in first person. It’s an opportunity to put a human touch on what could be a cold and lifeless company web site. That’s why it’s important to have bios, photos and contact information of those who contribute to the blog.

Blog readers are a smart lot. They can tell when a marketing person is doing the blogging for the company rather than the company’s executives or managers. It’s better to be honest and authentic when writing in the blog. This doesn’t mean a marketer can’t blog, but the marketer will need to put away everything they know about marketing when blogging. It takes little effort to make a blog sound like a sales or marketing platform for the company.

Smallbizlady: How do we convince old school entrepreneurs that blogging is good for business?

Evans: Many employees in businesses of all sizes struggle to get buy-in to blogging and social media tools because of the difficulty in providing ROI data. Perhaps, the executives will listen to GM’s Bob Lutz, an executive blogger in GM FastLane Blog, wrote an article on the topic for Information Week. In encouraging executives to blog, he says, “No better opportunity exists to engage in an open dialogue and exchange of ideas with customers and potential customers.”

This is more important for small businesses because they work to build relationships with their clients and prospects. That can help the business stand out.

The connection between blogging and business may not clearly show up in return on investment data, but it certainly affects a small business’ ROI, return on influence. Rather than connecting blogging with transactions, look at it from a perspective in building relationships and credibility. It’s hard to measure increased customer service, increased brand awareness, increased loyalty, increased credibility and so on. But all of this happens when a small business’ employees get involved with blogging and social media.

Bonus Free report: “How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic” when you subscribe to meryl’s blog by email: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Meryl&loc=en_US

For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com

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