Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

How to Broadcast Your Ezine: TeleSeminar

Here are a few questions we get from clients...

"What's the best way to send out my newsletters? ... What about sending out marketing promotions? ... How can I send a message to only those people who signed up for my mini-course?"

Have you been asking these questions as well?

Email broadcasting is one of the most important functions you will have to master for making money online. This one function can make the difference between merely sending out newsletters, and making money online from people on your list.

Join Us for A TeleSeminar about Email Broadcasting on Wednesday, July 26

How to Broadcast Your Ezine and Mini-Course Using the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET
Registration: $27 includes mp3 audio and transcript
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

http://www.broadcastyourezine.com

Can’t make it?

Sign up anyway, and you'll get the audio file to listen to online or download to your mp3 player!

This teleclass will give you how-to steps to set up and start using the broadcasting features of the best marketing system on the Internet: Kick Start Cart.

Corporate Blogging Can Have Positive Results

In yet another study on blogging, a Russell Research study sponsored by Cymfony and Porter Novelli, found that 76% of corporate blog owners said that web traffic to and media attention for their company significantly increased because of their blog.

You don't have to be a corporation to benefit from more web traffic and media attention.  Many business owners and service professionals have experienced the same due primarily to adding a blog to their marketing mix.

What's your story?  How has a blog benefited your business?

Source: Micro Persuasion

Bloggers are the new storytellers

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new study yesterday all about bloggers.  Bloggers: A portrait of the internet's new storytellers is a 33 page report about who we bloggers are (though they didn't ask me).

Notable is that 8% of internet users (12 million American adults) keep a blog; 39% of internet users (57 million American adults) read blogs.

Business blogging wasn't even addressed in this survey so all the data really relates to people who keep personal blogs.  Though it's interesting to see level of education and employment by bloggers vs. the rest of the population of American adults who use the internet (147 million).

Blogging: Personal or Professional

How do you know how much personal information to mix in to your business blog?  Blogging evangelist Andy Wibbels has a great post sharing his experience and why mixing the two works for him.

Maybe my blogs are of the more boring variety, but I'd say "it depends."  What is the purpose of your business blog?  Who are your ideal readers? 

When you answer those questions, then you can determine how much personal opinion and information is appropriate to include.  Patsi and I counsel new bloggers that it's OK to be personal, informal and share stories that illustrate a point.  Again, it depends on what you want to accomplish with your blog.

What's your opinion?

Beyond Blogging: Lifecaching

One of my favorite ezines is Springwise, a publication dedicated to spotting the hottest new business ideas. Today's issue has a story on lifecaching.

They feature a site that allows you to put your life on the web for all the world to see: Dandelife, a social network site built around your life story.

Being thoroughly Web 2.0, Dandelife works seamlessly with Flickr and YouTube, letting users import photos and videos to illustrate their narrative. San Diego-based Dandelife, launched two months ago, is currently in beta and free to use.

Blogging for a Cause

Have you heard about The Blogathon?  This is a one day event where bloggers the world over will be blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours to support their favorite charity.

You may think The Blog Squad would be participating, but I have to say that no, we're not, except as possible sponsors of a blogger.  The Blog Squad will be at the BlogHer conference in San Jose so it will be all blogging, all the time.

If you're a die-hard blogger or want to support one, check out The Blogathon and sponsor a blogger who is supporting your favority charity.  So far there are 332 bloggers registered and over $31,000 pledged.  You can see the list of charities being supported here.  I'll probably sponsor a blogger who is blogging for Doctors without Borders, the main charity I've supported for years.

Thanks to Annie Dennison, Smart at Love Blog, for bringing this worthy cause to my attention.

How to Be A Bestselling Author

Conversations with Experts presents...

How to Get Instant Credibilty with a Bestselling Book
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET (no charge, registration required)
Guest Expert: Steven E, Wake Up...Live the Life You Love

You too can be a best selling author with the Wake Up...Live the Life You Love series. We give you Instant Credibility... and take you to the best seller list. We have 3 programs in 1. First, we take you through the publishing process starting with your story submission. Next, we teach you how to build your business with a book through our exclusive Millionaire Book Marketing Method. As a bonus, we produce a book and take you to the best seller list. You will be able to say that you are a best selling author for the rest of your life. We currently have 12 million stories in print around the world.

NOTE:  This Conversation is a bit of departure for The Blog Squad.  We have had a lot of requests for information about how to get published fast and easy so we are bringing you the experts from TEAM Publishing so you can learn about this powerful program for getting into print fast.

Steven E is an author, speaker and creator of the highly regarded Wake Up...Live the Life Your Love series. These books include Steven E's thoughts on living a life full of wonder and excitement. Steven E has spent his adult life as an entrepreneur, building financially successful businesses. He is known around the world as an inspirational speaker helping people awaken to their full potential.

Register:  www.ConversationsWithExperts.com

If you cannot attend the live event, you may pre-order the audio program and save 50%.  Pre-order now for only $4.95.

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line
Hosted by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff.

Conversations with Experts is sponsored by Build a Better Blog System.

Writing Online: As Good as Face-to-Face?

More and more of our business communications are done online, through emails. Dr. Ellen Weber of Brain-Based-Business blog asks this question: Can online communications be as good as face-to-face? Or, do you find it a problem when emotional tone gets misread in emails and other online writing?

Many people complain that it is hard to detect attitude without the benefit of vocal inflections and tone. Others say that it isn't, only you have to be cautious when interpreting emotional tone. You may have to read between the lines...and this leads to misinterpretations. This applies to emails, and also to blog posts.

Dr. Weber says: "A very good friend of mine and a well-respected leader Online… suggested to me in an email today … that written communication can be as or more effective than 'face-to-face' communication. The email read … 'I actually 'hear' your voice when I read your messages.'" 

Blogging is Good for Business

About a month ago Patsi and I were interviewed by a reporter for the OC Metro, a business publication in Orange County, California.  Yesterday, we were contacted by a prospective client who had seen the article, reminding us that we hadn't yet heard that it was published.  And it was!

Patsi and I are quoted a couple of times about how blogs can serve businesses.  Check out Blogging is Good For Business.

TypePad has a special offer for you

Today, TypePad is offering a complimentary copy of Chris Anderson's new book, The Long Tail: Why The Future of Business is Selling Less of More, to the first 100 people who sign up for a TypePad pro account. 

Chris Anderson is the editor of Wired Magazine and publisher of a companion blog for his book.  The Long Tail just hit the bookstores (I received my copy in the mail yesterday).

When you sign up for a TypePad account, you get a 30 day free trial.  If you've been on the fence about starting a blog, this is a good time to do it and get a copy of Anderson's book.  It's considered an important work regarding the changing business environment and how important niche markets are becoming.