Guide to Business Blogging

At this point, most Internet users have heard of the blog, and probably generally understand what it is...but would you be able to start one up right now if you wanted? I can help. I have been maintaining a business blog for over two years, and before that ran a few others.

A blog is your chance to reach out and really connect with your clients in a way that doesn't tax your resources. It is an easy way to share information, and paints a picture for them about the personality of the blogger and the business.
"Transparency" is the word most often used by business blogging evangelists, meaning that clients value the ability to see inside the firm and get a feel that they really know the people and goings on of a certain company.

In addition to transparency, blogs make it easy to syndicate news through "feeds" to interested parties, quickly act on developments within your field, and provide information to web users without constantly changing the design of your website.

I'm glad to discuss ideas with anyone looking for input...just click my name above and follow the "Contact" link to shoot me an email.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide Who Is Telling the Story

When telling a story, the first thing to determine is from whose point of view the story will be told. Will your blog be in the first person ("I am happy to report that widgets are finally on sale"), or third ("ABC Company announces sale pricing on widgets")? Once you know what you want your blog to "sound" like, the rest gets a lot easier. Use the Technorati link below to find out if there are other blogs, similar to the one you're planning, and make a decision on whether you want to be like them, or stand out. I obviously recommend the latter, but it can be difficult in some fields.

Comments should be considered as you plan the perspective of your story. Comments are a sore point with some bloggers and their bosses. Some of the "greats" say to allow anyone who reads your blog to post public comments. Others believe that turning off comments in the blog tool's control panel can prevent embarrassment. Do whatever you (and your boss) are comfortable with.

I recommend:
"Writing for the Web" (@ useit.com), a great way to understand how people read online. 

Technorati is a good place to search and read the blogs that are already in production. 

Start Basic, Start Small, but Get Started!

Most blogs online are abandoned, or at least seem that way. It can be hard to keep at it. Start by being self-reliant.

Choose a free,web-based blogging tool like Blogger or WordPress (links below). You might need approval from a manager or executive, but you won't need to buy software, clear it with IT, configure a server, etc. You can start as soon as your boss is ready. If you're the boss, then you're out of excuses. ;-)

Some people like to open with "Hi, my name is _____ and I intend to ____ and _____ on this blog." Personally, I think you are better served by just doing ____ and ____, not telling us that you intend to do it. The reader will figure it out.

Once you have the hang of whatever tool you choose, I recommend setting a schedule. Mine was every second Wednesday to start. You may choose to do more. Set an Outlook reminder, or whatever you do to keep appointments to prevent your blog from becoming just wasted time!

I recommend:
Blogger, Google's free blogging service. 

WordPress, the chosen platform of Robert Scoble, famed technology business blogger. 

LiveJournal, a more adaptable platform that allows you to choose how public you want your blog to be.

Publicize Your Work

If no one knows about your content, then you may as well have never written it. There are two good ways to start.

First, submit it to search services. These fall into two categories: Traditional search and blog search. Traditional search engines, such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo, have "spiders" whose job it is to follow the links on the web so that they can identify and index all the content on the web. If they can't find a link to your work, however, it won't get indexed, and you won't see much traffic.

Blog search sites, such as Technorati, Feedster, and Blogdex make it a point to list weblogs only. They have different ways of providing this content to their users, and come with the added bonus of quick turnaround.

A link from your company's website is the easiest way to publicize the blog to those that will have an interest. At the very least, your customers will know that you are doing your part to communicate with them.

I recommend:
Feedburner.  You need FeedBurner.  Trust me.

StatCounter.  It shows your visitors on a map. 

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Consider a tone that is appropriate to your business and your clientele. (Anyone that says that first person and informal is the only way to write a business blog has never done one in the physical security industry!)
• Know whose content you can reuse, and whose you can't. In most industries, if you are helping a manufacturer to sell their goods, they probably won't mind...but don't just assume. Talk it over with them before using their name, images, text, or other information. If you accidentally disclose privileged information, you could be badly embarrassed, or worse.
• Write every article in such a way that it can stand on its own. If an article needs to be understood in the light and context of the last ten, then it won't be very useful to someone who finds it through search - unless they're willing to navigate around to understand that context.
• The Internet is a dynamic medium. Use its ability to reference external materials by linking to them in your posts. Again, be careful about how you use the content generated by others.