Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Can your prospects find you online?

Corporate Blogging Guru Debbie Weil endorses The Blog Squad...

"Denise and Patsi, two of my favorite blogging experts, have pegged exactly why your business needs a blog: to get found online. Heck, if you don't come up on the first page of  search results, you don't exist. Learn how to control your Google results with this fun, fast and super useful 13 week tutorial."

- Debbie Weil is a corporate and CEO blogging consultant and author of The Corporate Blogging Book (Penguin Portfolio 2006).

Blogging and Beyond Mentoring Program Now Open for Registration

I got a bad case of the flu over Christmas, so I wasn’t able to get this information out earlier as we had planned…

...The Blog Squad is launching a 13-week mentoring program to run in conjunction with our new Internet radio show, Blogging and Beyond.

Briefly, here’s the deal:

We are teaching simple online marketing tools you can use that will have a great impact on your 2007 business results. We aim to show you how to Attract, Sell and Profit using the same systems we have used to triple our business.

The Blogging and Beyond Mentor program follows along with our Internet radio show by the same name starting January 11.

You have the opportunity to participate in our mentoring program for a reduced fee if you register before January 2, 2007. Your Early Bird investment is only $97. On January 3, the tuition goes up to $197.

You can get all the details and answers to several frequently asked questions here:

http://www.blogsquadcontest.com/mentor/

We are limiting the program to 100 participants.

Patsi and I look forward to working with you in the program.

All the best to you in 2007!

Denise and Patsi
The Blog Squad

P.S. Quite a few people have already reserved their spot. You can too at
http://www.blogsquadcontest.com/mentor/

P.P.S. Be sure to read the Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Sign Up for the Blogging and Beyond Mentor Program NOW. I know at least one of the reasons will resonante with you!

Holiday Greetings from Denise and Patsi

All the best to you and your loved ones during this Holiday weekend!

Time's Person of the Year is Controversial

Yesterday, on my local NPR station KCRW, there was a discussion about the pros and cons of Time Magazine's choice of "You" as Person of the Year.  The show, To The Point, hosted by veteran jounalist Warren Olny, featured several sides to the issue:

Is Time on to something important or is it pandering to the mass readership it fears that it's losing? Does the Internet embody the "wisdom of crowds" or the blather of people who don't know what they're talking about?

Mena Trott, the founder of Six Apart and developer of TypePad, was one of the featured guests.  You can listen online or download the podcast.  Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Internet embodies the "wisdom of crowds" especially in the area of business communicaton and information.

Related post:
You: Time's Person of the Year and What You Should Be Doing About It

Let the voting begin!

Patsi and I have spent the last few days going back and forth, trying to pick the five finalists for our Ideal Client contest. It was soooo tough for us to decide. Over a hundred smart business professionals submitted essays. There were some really great business ideas and great specialty products that will really do well on the Internet.

There were also some very experienced and talented applicants, which made it especially difficult. But we did finally come up with five finalists, all of whom we would love to work with on our radio show Blogging and Beyond.

Won’t you help us decide on the finalist?

Go to www.BloggingandBeyond.com and cast your vote.

Blog Future, More Predictions

I just received this prediction from Allen Taylor via email. We were discussing the virtues of blogging for sales and marketing vs blogging for relationships and community (Allen just published a good article on this topic, "The Virtues of Guerilla Blogging," worth the read):

"I do agree with your statement: There is room for both and I wouldn't ditch the tried and true method, but I've found that it isn't for everyone. Some blogs are just meant to be marketing vehicles and they're better off being treated as such.

"I realize my POV is quite divergent and will meet with resistance. I don't know anyone else who is advocating it. Nevertheless, I believe blogging will reach a plateau in the next couple of years and people will move on to the "next great thing" - probably local search models, mobile search and video marketing.

"When blogging "revives" itself, it will take on more of a structure of what I am talking about. It will become a tool for SEM and, really, who will care if it gets read then? Video blogging will likely take its place."

Let's hear from you: What do you predict we will see happening with business blogs in 2007? While you are at it, tell us how you are going to be using your blog for business.

Blogging in 2007...Numbers Down, Quality Up?

Business Blog Consulting Blog asks the question: Will 2007 see the death of blogging? Originally posted by Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus on 12/18/06, "The analysts at Gartner have made their predictions for 2007 and they say that blogging will peak next year and all the hype will fizzle out.

"One of their top 10 predictions for 2007 is that the number of bloggers will level off in the first half of next year at roughly 100 million worldwide. The reason: most people who would ever dabble with web journals already have. Those who love it are committed to keeping it up, while others have got bored and moved on, said Daryl Plummer, chief Gartner fellow."

Paul Chaney comments on this and raises the point that these figures include all blogs and there are no stats on business blogs. The point he makes is that in some industries, professionals are just waking up and starting to use blogs effectively for business.

Six Apart's Holiday Movie

Six Apart, the parent company of TypePad has created a holiday movie and new product for you...

You: Time's Person of the Year and What You Should Be Doing About It

We've been saying it all along, the Internet is undergoing a "You-Revolution," and now Time Magazine just took a big yellow marker and underscored it! By declaring "You" as the Person of the Year, with your face reflected in it's Mylar/mirrored computer monitor cover, You are the winner, but also the loser unless you get into action...

What does this mean to you as an Internet marketer or small business person? It means the Internet is officially your domain. The Web just got a whole lot easier to use for the average person. It's been evolving that way for the last couple of years. Now would be the time to get your business on the Web in a way that attracts and interacts with your clients.

The Blog Squad has been humming this tune for the last 2 years or more (www.buildabetterblogsystem.com, www.buildabetterblogservice.com, www.blogtobook.com)... Can The Blog Squad and Time Magazine both be wrong? One of us maybe, both probably not.

Here are a few paragraphs about the Time Person of the Year announcement and what it means:

Internet Radio Contest...tic-tok..Closing at Midnight

We've been deluged with quality essays from people all over the world with amazing business niches, applying to become The Blog Squad's Ideal Client. The selected winner will be showcased and mentored on our VoiceAmerica radio show, Blogging and Beyond.

The top applicants are also getting some really amazing opportunities and bonuses. So if you are interested, visit www.BlogSquadContest.com and submit your application before Midnight, PT.

The radio show runs for 13 weeks starting Jan. 11, Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. PT.