Recipe For a Blog: 8 Key Ingredients to a Good Business Blog

A Delicious Blog Name
©2007 Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. & Denise Wakeman, The Blog Squad

As The Blog Squad, we hear this complaint from entrepreneurs who start blogging: “Why isn’t my blog working for my business?” As part of our “blog crisis prevention” program, we have reviewed hundreds of business blogs and can spot common errors immediately.

Blogs that work well for attracting new clients have these key elements:

1. A delicious blog name
2. A tag line or blog purpose statement
3. An easy way to get automatic blog updates
4. A list of categories
5. A list of recent posts and recent comments
6. Links to useful websites, products and services
7. Frequent posts with links relevant to the blog's purpose
8. An easy way for readers to have a conversation with the author

Ingredient #1: What's in a name?

A good blog name (or title) may be clever, but more importantly it must say what your blog is about. Ideally, the name lets the reader know whom the blog is for, and the focus of your topic. It is also compelling – it makes you hungry to dive in and start reading.

It’s rare to create a name that will do all that for you. Plus, you probably want the title to be clever. Never sacrifice clarity when trying to be clever. The name is important for search engines, so it should also use keywords that readers use when searching for products and services in your niche.

But, wait! As long as we’re creating the Ideal Blog Name, there’s more. It should also connect with your company name and contribute to your unique branding.

Don’t get discouraged. You’ve probably already formulated a title for your business or website that meets some of these requirements. In many cases, you can simply name your blog the same as your website, and tack “blog” or “online” at the end of it.

Finding a name for your blog also depends on the availability of that name as a domain URL. Search for your ideal blog name using your preferred domain registrar, such as www.AllinOneBizTools.com. You will want to "map” your registered blog name URL over the URL your blog provider created when you set up your blog. For branding purposes you don't want to have “typepad” or “blogspot” in your domain URL. You can get a free tutorial on how to map your domain here: http://www.buildabetterblog.com/2006/05/typepad_domain_.html

Next, you’ll want to tell readers who your blog is for and “what’s in it for them.” On some blogging platforms, this is done in the header, after the title and is called a tag line. The tag line states the benefits for readers, the readers you are targeting, as well as the blog author's name (you).

The next article in the series will focus on the blog tag line.  Stay tuned.

Comments

[Franck Silvestre]

It was an interesting blog post. I will try to stick to these 8 qualities for a better blog.

Your blog URL is excellent. It summarize the purpose of your blog.

[Bill Dueease]

Your receipt for successful blogging is a must read for anyone who wants to create useful, and effective business blogs. This is especially true before someone sets up his or her blog. By reading your 8 ingredients and following them as close as possible from the beginning, will prevent people from missing out and having to make changes after the fact.

[Annerose]

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.

[copycat recipes cookbook]

these suggestions are really great. Is there anywhere that you can get a really good quality blog for free? something that does not come off as spammy.