Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Blog Search Optimization: Intuitive or Scientific?

Shari Thurow writes a very knowledgeable article for clickz.com about Optimizing Blogs for the Search Engines . Now I'm am far from understanding all this, so I'm throwing it out for you readers and asking you what you think.

Here is her general guideline for optimizing blog sites for search engines:

"Keyword research: With blog sites, it almost seems as if the keyword research process is nonexistent. Before you categorize and headline blog content, use the keyword research tools offered at Yahoo, Google, and MSN Live to get a clearer idea of the terminology your site visitors might use. I understand that a Web log is just that -- a Web log. However, if you are using a blog for business reasons or want others to read your blog, you should make it easy for site visitors to find information. Using keywords is a part of this process."

Read her article to learn more about this whole process, but I think Ms. Thurow complicates the issues for most professionals who write a blog to drive traffic and generate business.

Maybe it is because she actually knows a lot about SEO; maybe she knows too much about it, and all those details cloud the issues. To me, spending time using a keyword search tool is unnecessary if you know your clients and know your subject.

It is my opinion that when a blog author is clear about who his targeted audience of readers are, and what their challenges are, then writing on those topics will naturally generate a lot of keywords that the readers would use to find the blog posts on those topics.

Maybe I'm naive, but I think a blog author is better off spending time writing good content, and using keywords intuitively, rather than using a keyword search tool and trying to adapt a particular phrase to the post.

Is it just me? Or is this really more complicated than I dreamed of, and I should be doing keyword searches and then working those phrases into my writing?

Can't I get the same results by writing about a particular topic that I know my readers are interested in? Isn't that the natural way to go about this?

You tell me.

Blog Story: Interview part 4

This is the continuing saga, all about how I have grown personally and professionally because of blogging.

Read if you want my inside story. We'd really like you folks to respond to these questions as well; just hit the comment link below and share your story.

How have you grown personally by blogging?

You bet, although working out at the gym helps… oh! You didn’t mean my butt? Let me count the ways… my writing is more succinct, to the point; I strive to find the right balance between being cute and attracting attention and having something valuable and relevant to say; I research my field more, reading other blogs and leaving comments (thereby reaching out and networking with other great professionals). Those are just a few ways.

Blogging keeps me on my toes: I have to know what others are writing about, what are the issues that will affect my readers’ lives and work? I want to be able to write about what matters most to them.

How has blogging impacted you professionally? What rewards have you achieved as a result of blogging?

Mental Fitness: A New Blog is Launched

Everyone knows that physical fitness is important to one's health. But nobody really mentions the fact that without mental fitness, you won't achieve anything at all, neither good health nor happiness.

Dr. Hal Sommerschield is a life and Mental Fitness Coach. The Blog Squad is proud to announce the launch of his The North Star Mental Fitness Blog. Dr. Hal is a psychologist with 30 years of experience. We highly recommend you read some of his posts which cover the gamut of life choices.

"My mission is for you to courageously and passionately take care of yourself, so you will have happiness, peace of mind, freedom and control over your life.  With mental fitness, your choices and successes are unlimited!" says Dr. Hal.

His e-book, I Live Within the Environment Created by My Choices presents and describes the 15 mental fitness solutions for solving everyday problems.  These 15 choices will help you find the solution for any of your life problems. 

Blogging Lessons: Paul Chaney Interview, part 3

More interview questions from Paul Chaney, this one on lessons learned while blogging. Please feel free to share your own experiences; what has blogging has taught you?

Looking back over the years since you started blogging, what would you say are some lessons you've learned as a result? What were some "serendipities" you've experienced along the way?

Lots of good lessons, for sure! I started off in isolation, writing for myself. Then I realized, I really want some readers. I expanded my niche to include other writing issues, not just ezines, but other copy and content, but specifically for Internet publications. That helped to reach a larger audience. The original targeted audience of coaches is now expanded to other professionals who need to write on the web and who use various forms of content for marketing.

My Blogging Story, Continued

I recently posted my answers to Paul Chaney's interview questions about my blogging history. Here are two more questions, one about which blogging platform I started with, the other about the role my blog has played in marketing. Read my answers if you have an interest.

More importantly, Denise and I are interested in hearing back from you on your own blogging histories. What are your answers to these two questions? Hit the comment link and share.

What blogging platform did you use to start with? What are you using now and why?

At the time, I was fairly low tech when it came to the Internet; although I had been doing newsletters for several years, they had been printed ones for other consultants. I started with TypePad because Debbie Weil said to, and I liked it because I didn’t have to understand anything about how it worked. Since then I’ve become HTML-savvy and can pretty much talk the tech-talk. But if someone else can take charge of the inner workings, so much the better. Typepad takes care of the tech stuff, and I can concentrate on writing good content.

How have you used blogs in your business? How significant a role has blogging played in your marketing efforts?

As I mentioned, at first it was just a way for me to write out my thoughts on ezines and get all my writing out onto the computer screen. Soon I realized the beauty of blogs – they raise your findability factor on the Web. They are a powerful marketing tool for any business, and especially important for the solo entrepreneur or small business owner who doesn’t have staff or big marketing budgets.

Our Blogging History: Patsi's Version

Colleague and friend Paul Chaney, Vice-President of Marketing at Blogging Systems LLC, recently interviewed Denise and I about our blogging history, journey, and perspectives. We will answer separately, and Denise suggested I start by sharing my story with readers here on this blog.

In the interest of keeping your boredom factor filters at bay, I'll divide it up into several posts and hide most of it in the extended post feature...okay, just trying to warn you this is all about me, me, me...

BUT! Here's what we'd like you to do: submit to us your own answers to the following questions. We'd love to hear about you, you, you. Just hit the comment link below and answer the following 4 questions.

When did you start blogging?

On my birthday, Sept. 4, 2004. I opened an email from Debbie Weil about how important blogs were going to be for businesses, and how easy to set one up. Even a techno-idiot would be able to do one, or something like that, Debbie’s email said. I thought I would probably prove her wrong, but I managed to get it started in a couple of hours. Boy was I proud of myself!

When you started, what were your conceptions about blogs? Did you see them as a marketing tool?

Business Blog Success Study

Via Google alerts I was directed to a post by Roland Piquepaille on Blogs for Companies about Tips for Successful Business Blogs.  Piquepaille reports on a study by Northeastern University on what makes a successful business blog.

According to the study, five factors that consistently contributed to the success or failure of a blog were:

• Culture: If a company has particular cultural traits worth revealing or a bad reputation it wants to repudiate, blogging can be an attractive option.
• Transparency: Critical to establishing credibility and trust with an audience. People want to see an honest portrayal of a company and know that there are not ulterior motives behind the blog. Blog audiences respect a willingness to disclose all points of view on a subject.

Killer Podcasts Can Build Your Business

Leesa Barnes was our 61st guest on Conversations with Experts and joined us for a discussion around the compelling idea of using podcasts to fill your sales funnel and attract more clients.

According to Leesa's research and that of Forrester Research, the fastest growing audience for podcasts is adults 25 to 44 followed by adults 45 to 60. Does your target client fall into those demographics?

3 ways businesses can benefit from podcasting:

1. lead generation tool
2. helps you rank well in the search engines
3. helps establish your expertise

One the best tips I took away from the Conversation was to create a podcast of short 10 minute clips from longer interviews and use the podcast to drive listeners back to your website to purchase the full program.

3 simple tools to create a podcast:

1. A blog on which to post the podcast
2. Something to record with -- the simplest system is AudioAcrobat. You set up an account, call a phone number, record your show and the audio is automatically converted to an mp3 file for you to edit and post on your blog.
3. Need to create a feed. Set up a free account with Feedburner. Listeners subscribe and get an update in their feedreader every time you post a new show.

Check out Leesa's program Plan a Killer Podcast to learn more about how to plan and create a podcast that attracts clients. ($30 discount through November 20, 2006).

Audio program is 62 minutes. Conversations with Experts is hosted by The Blog Squad: Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff.

Speak to Lead: A New Blog is Launched

The Blog Squad is proud to announce the launch of Lou Hampton's Speak to Lead blog. Lou  is president of The Hampton Group, and is an expert in helping leaders with speeches and presentation skills, having worked in the Washington DC area for over 30 years.

Recent posts of interest are about constructing speeches a la Ronald Reagan, multicultural issues in speaking, and preparing your dog for media attention. Yes, you read that correctly. The post is called So You've Been Media Trained, but what about Fido?

Speak to Lead promises to deliver tips, tricks & tactics for leaders to create and deliver powerful messages that get results, with a special focus on media & presentation skills. We wish Lou the best of success with his blog.

Blog Audience Measurement: What do you want to know?

A frequent question we get is "how do I know who is reading my blog?" And, "is anyone reading my blog?" 

Last month at the Business Blog Summit, Tris Hussey, a prolific blogger, addressed this question in an excellent session on Audience Measurement.  So, I invited Tris to be a guest on Conversations with Experts so we can share this information with you.  Here's the neat twist on this Conversation...Tris wants to get your questions about what YOU want to know about how to measure your blog's audience. Here's the Conversation info:

Is anybody listening out there? Measuring your blog's audience
Wednesday, November 29, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET (no charge, registration required)
Guest Expert: Tris Hussey, A View From the Isle

You've started your blog.  You're writing great posts, but who is reading them?  Is anyone out there?  Blog metrics is still in its infancy, but there are some tools, tips and tricks that you can use today to get a handle on your current audience and learn how to grow it.  You'll come away with easy and effective methods to start measuring blog audience today!

Register:  www.ConversationsWithExperts.com

If you have a burning question about blog metrics, how to measure your audience, or anything else related to this topic, please post your question using the comments link below. To make it even more interesting, we'll give away 3 copies of "What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting" to those people who we think (yes, this is totally subjective) have posed the best questions.