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Blogging for Business

Blogging is really hot and yet many people still have no idea what it is or what it's for. I usually get one of two responses when I tell people that I recently launched a weblog : 'A what?' or 'Great, where can I find it?'

It seems people are either completely aware and involved with blogging or unaware of its existence. Don't be left behind and miss out on a fabulous opportunity to connect with more potential clients and partners.

Some people have heard about blogs and have a negative impression of them. Yes, there are people who have blogs that consist of nothing more than an on-line diary that documents their ordinary, daily life activities. This is NOT what I am talking about. I want you to use blogging to promote your business!

Highly respected business leaders and writers like Debbie Weil, Tom Peters, Seth Godin, and Malcolm Gladwell as well as large corporations have blogs, so why not you?

How blogging benefits your business: * Gain additional exposure to prospective clients and the media * Drive traffic to your web site * Positions you as an expert and your business as the solution

There are several ways to get involved with blogging. Start where you feel comfortable and choose any, or all, of these options:

1. Start reading interesting blogs 2. Comment on others' blogs 3. Begin your own blog

READING BLOGS Think about authors of books you like and see if they have a weblog . What about your industry, who are the leaders? Do they have a weblog ? You can search technorati.com which is a search engine similar to Google which is specifically for blogs.

So how do you know when the blogs you like have new information for you to read? You can download software to your computer although I recommend two other options. One is a web based 'reader' which simply entails going to a web site (newsgator.com and bloglines.com are examples) and signing up and then selecting blogs you are interested in. The other option is to receive notification of your favorite blogs via e-mail by signing up at each weblog you like. You can always do a combination of both.

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COMMENTING ON BLOGS After each entry on a weblog there is usually a link at the end that says, you guessed it, 'comments' and if you click on it you can type in your thoughts on the topic. Some blogs allow you to post your comments immediately and others preview your comments before posting.

When you write interesting comments to blogs, you gain exposure because you 'sign' your comment by adding a link to your web site, your e-mail address, or to your own weblog .

START YOUR OWN BLOG There is a ton of free information on the internet about how to start a weblog so I won't go into the details here. Trust me, I'm no technical wizard so if I can do it, you can too. You don't have to design anything, most weblog hosts provide a wide selection of templates you can choose from.

You can choose a free weblog host like blogger.com or wordpress.com. I chose an inexpensive paid weblog host, Typepad.com, because it is important for me to have access to technical support.

It is critical to decide on the focus of your weblog and stick to it. I love Typepad.com's tag line, "Inform. Influence. Inspire." What could the purpose of your weblog be?

Ideas for the focus of your weblog : - Specific aspects of your business that are not covered on your web site - Case studies, tips, or articles - Trends in your industry

With a weblog , it is super easy to add new entries whenever you want. For a weblog to be effective it is important to post frequently, at least once a week. Think about it, how often do you update or change the information on your web site? Probably not often even if you are able to make changes yourself. Many business owners rely on a webmaster to make changes which makes the process even more complicated.

When your weblog is ready, be sure to tell people about it and add it to the weblog search engines which are easy to find on the internet. You can also add a link to your weblog on your web site, e-mail signature, and business cards! Are you starting to catch the weblog fever? I caught it, here's my weblog http://successtipsforlife.typepad.com. Don't delay, get out there and start reading blogs, adding comments to others' blogs, and hopefully launching a value packed weblog for your business in the very near future!

(c) 2006 Stephanie Ward

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Life & Business Coach Stephanie Ward helps business owners set their profits on fire! Grab your free monthly profit tips plus a bonus report at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

5 Things To Overcome The Tough Parts Of Blogging...

There are times when a blogger, like any other writer, will 'loose the muse.' Every idea that comes to mind seems either trite or dull or, worse still, no ideas come to mind. What's a blogger to do? Here are five tactics that just might clear away the cobwebs and allow you to find an inspiring idea for another great post:

Start with the news! Open up your favorite news page or open a newspaper and see what catches your attention. What are the politicians up to today? Any pending legislation that worries you or flat out scares you? Or perhaps someone is running for office or proposing a law that you may want to publicly support. Some celebrity is sure to be in trouble again; have anything to say about that? Maybe you have an idea about who should be dating or marrying who. Who died? A nice memorial post for a nice person may be in order. What happened "On This Date" in past years? Some past events are worth researching and writing about. Are you into sports? Many bloggers or weblog readers are sports fans and they might be interested in your take on the playoffs or the players. Don't forget to check the editorial page and the letters to the editor -- do you agree with the opinions? Tell the world why or why not.

Read some blogs! Start surfing your favorite blogs. What are they talking about? You might have a different perspective on the latest hot topic that might just be interesting to your fellow bloggers or a perspective that might make them mad (BTW, never worry about making bloggers mad -- most of them love having something to gripe about). If you can't find anything that inspires you in your favorite weblog , surf through some of those blogs that always make you mad; the ones that seem to promote everything that goes against your lifestyle. Anger is always a good weblog motivator but don't get so angry you get irrational. Comment on some weblog posts and then expand your comments into a post on your weblog . Also try logging onto Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker or one of the many other weblog traffic generator programs -- there are lots of ideas out there that are worth writing about from either a pro or con perspective.

What have you been watching or reading? Have you read any good (or bad) books lately? Write about your latest read -- recommend it, blast it or even write an abstract for your weblog (but don't give away ending). How about movies, the great ones or the pitiful losers might be worth some good or bad words -- you could make movie or book reviews regular features of your weblog . The same goes for television shows. Start a series that follows your favorite TV show, there might be quite a few fans of the same show that will be interested in your take and appreciate your summary of episodes they missed. If there is a book, movie or TV show that you thought was great there is sure to be a reviewer who panned it. Find the bad review and write a post countering the reviewer's opinions.

What have you been doing? Your work place, your co-workers, you bosses, your home and your family members are all fair game for your weblog -- keep it short and amusing and you'll have a great post. Once you introduce a particularly interesting person to your readers you may want to do some sequels. When was your last travel vacation -- write a travelog about where you've been or do some research on some places you'd love to go to and write about them.

Do you have a special skill? If you can make something that is unique or something that is common but made special because of what you know, there may be people interested in knowing how to do it. Give away tips on cooking, sewing, cleaning, fix-it projects, pet care, child care, beauty secrets, personal care or organizing tips. Make it a regular feature on you weblog . If you have a digital camera find an interesting subject, take some pictures and then write something based on the subject. If you found it interesting or comical or sad its likely to interest someone else.

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Super Easy Steps To Blogging Success!

What is a blogger? A blogger is a cross between an educator, an entertainer and an orator; each blogger 'owns these three hats' and 'wears' each of them while in different moods. One other commonality between bloggers is: each blogger is in search of an audience.

Pack your bags! If you recognize yourself in the preceding paragraph you are ready to begin your journey into the blogosphere. There are only a few things you need to do to make your journey a success:

Find a home for your blog

Find a focus for your posts

Learn "Bletiquette"

Persevere

Find a home for your weblog ! You need a host for your weblog , some are free, some charge a small amount per month for their service, some are simple to use and some require more technical knowledge, some have more features than others; choose carefully, once you've established your weblog and have a few regular readers you may not want to change your address (your URL).

Start by surfing the Internet and the blogs to see what bloggers have to say about their hosting programs. Don't get in over your head by picking a weblog host that requires a technical expertise that is beyond your current capabilities. There are many free hosts that are more than adequate to start you off and are customizable -- as you gain new technical skills you can edit your weblog template to make your weblog look like you want it to look and do almost anything you want it to do, all without changing your URL.

If you are using free hosts start blogs at two or three host sites just to see which one you like best and which one gives you the most capabilities right 'out of the box.' When you find one you are happy with, be nice and go back and cancel your other blogs.

Find a focus for your posts! Most every weblog has a theme, a theme that sets the tone for most (not necessarily all) of the posts on that weblog . Your weblog can be a topical weblog that focuses on a special interest of yours (politics, religion, health care, science, engineering, cooking etc.); a personal weblog that focuses on what you are doing that day, where you have been, where you are going or any aspect of your life's journey; or a showcase weblog that displays your writing, art, photography, or etc.. Some posts will not fall into your blogs main theme and that's OK -- your weblog is a reflection of you, and we all have different moods . . . we all 'wear different hats;' don't decide not to post just because you feel like writing 'something different.'

"Bletiquette!" The objective of most bloggers is to attract a regular readership; to do that you need to display some basic (really common sense) weblog etiquette (bletiquette!):

When commenting on a post, stick to the point, don't get personal or abusive.

Never comment as "Anonymous;" if you are ashamed to use your actual blogger name, don't comment.

Try to respond to all comments on your post, even if it is just to say "thanks for commenting" (but don't expect all bloggers to do this).

Don't get personal by asking personal questions unless you have a long-standing relationship with the other blogger; bloggers enjoy the relative anonymity of a weblog and a blogger name.

If you are "flamed" (verbally attacked for something you wrote) don't get into a "flame war;" respond politely or not at all.

Never take a block of text, a unique phrase, a picture, a graphic or anything else from another weblog or from any web page and use it in your post as is, without clearly indicating where it came from.

Persevere! Bloggers weblog ! That's what they do! If you post every day you will improve not only your technique but also your readership; don't give up.

Bloggers are very much like novelists. Novelists write every day and finally reach the end of the novel. Then they submit the novel to publishers, file their rejection notices and resubmit to other publishers. Eventually, every novelist who perseveres gets published . . . eventually every blogger who perseveres gets a loyal readership and his or her own measure of success.

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