Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Rich Writers Blog: Inspiring Wealth in More Ways than One

The Blog Squad recently had the pleasure of working with Edita Kaye and Troy White of www.RichWritersBlog.com. We helped them to learn how to optimize their new blog for maximum results.

Edita and Troy wanted the blog as a companion communications tool to their www.RichWriters.com website, opening this week.

“We were looking to make our blog a rich resource for writers and authors,” said Edita. “In this case the Blog Squad’s expertise and background with Typepad and blogs saved us untold hours of trying to figure things out.”

Kaye and White have teamed up to give both the female and male perspectives to writers. Kaye feels that “too often writers don't think that their words can lead to wealth. We want to show them that they are wrong. There are literally thousands of ways writers enjoy wealth from their words,” said Kaye.

In a recent post, Troy wrote about finding a book he wrote 5 years ago and saved it on his computer, only to forget about it. Now he sees that it can be resurrected...and offered for sale. What an inspiring story! It's called "What kind of gold are you hiding away in your attic?"

Read the official press release announcing the Rich Writers blog launch.

To visit, go here for the blog, and here for their new website. Great resources for authors who deserve to have wealth for their words.

Freight Broker Training for the 21st Century

One of the things I love about business blog consulting is meeting people in completely different industries. I don't know anything about freight broker training, but John Thomas is mastering the art of blogging for his business at John Thomas on Freight Broker blog.

He offers training online and over the telephone, something new for his industry. He has some ebooks available, "Introduction to Freight Brokering," "A Typical Day in the Life of a Freight Broker," and "7 Tips on Freight Brokering."

This is a fine example of why The Blog Squad believes that almost all businesses benefit from a having a strong, professionally-done blog. We invite you to visit John's blog, even if you don't know much about freight brokering.

Blog as Sales Tool

If you're not a subscriber to our weekly ezine Savvy eBiz Tips, you probably missed our article yesterday about how to use a blog as a sales tool.  We highlighted a blog that is being used exclusively to promote and sell a high-end marketing seminar. Creating a conversation with your prospects is an ideal way to convert them to customers.  Check out the article on using a blog as a sales tool and take a look at the blog we feature as an example.

Blogging and Beyond Features Kathleen Gage

Click here to listen to the show live on the Web.

If you have a question for Kathleen Gage, please post it here and we'll do our best to get it answered on the show.

Small Company Big Image by Cynthia Trevino Blogs Big Marketing Tips

In our ongoing series of good business blogs to keep an eye on, we are proud to point readers to Cynthia Trevino's marketing blog, www.SmallCompanyBigImage.com.

Cynthia recently did a blog makeover with The Blog Squad, switching from WordPress to Typepad blogging platform, and incorporating improvements in the blog design and features.

She is a San Diego expert whose web site at Resonnect.com targets small and mid-size companies to adapt to new Web 2.0 technologies to find new customers, keep profitable ones and drive business growth.

Recent blog posts include:

The ROI of Business Blogging--Insights from Charlene Li & Forrester
How Not to Market to Businesses
Using Continuous Customer Conversations to Grow
Testimonial Marketing Goes Audio (Online)

Blogging and Beyond Now on iTunes

The Blogging and Beyond radio show is now available as a podcast on iTunes.  I've tested the subscription link and all is finally working properly.  You can easily subscribe on iTunes and the shows will automatically be downloaded to your iPod or mp3 player.

The Mortgage Manifesto by Ron Cahalan: a Consumer Advocate Blog

We recently had the pleasure of helping Ron Cahalan set up his blog, The Mortage Manifesto.

This is an admirable endeavor by Ron and his wife Kim, who left their mortgage practice to become consumer advocates dedicated to protecting consumers and "...to curb the predatory lending practices and the unethical, excessive profit taking of the mortgage banking industry."

Here are a couple of blog posts he recently published that certainly pique my interests:

• Refinancing: It is getting tougher!
• Fatal credit-score mistakes you could be making!
• Credit Scores: What would you like to know?
• Mortgage Horror Stories?

Cahalan has written several publications available to consumers: Lenders are Liars, the Mortage Manifest, and Confessions of a Mortgage Banker Home Study Course. Ron's website is www.lendersareliars.com.

Need help setting up a blog?  We offer full service blog set up and training.

Return on Blogging: Discussion Continues

We've been following the discussion on several blogs about the return on investment of blogging. Mostly it's big companies that want dollar calculations and proof, but even small businesses and independent professionals have concerns:

1. How much time is writing and maintaining a blog going to take?
2. How will I see the results?
3. How will I know my blog is working?
4. What's it going to cost in terms of money, time and energy?

We've seen spectacular results with some blogs... and we've seen them tank, get abandoned, or worse, continue without any results at all. There are a lot of variables, the biggest one, in my humble opinion, being how good are you at writing valuable content readers want and need?

Here are our top reasons for devoting time, energy and a couple of dollars to blog for your business:

• You'll get found by the people who need you and want you on the Internet
• You'll get known as an expertise in your field
• You'll build a base of readers who like what you have to say

Blogger Jobs

Thanks to John Trosko for this article from the Wall Street Journal on the details of being a full-time paid blogger. Yes, you can make a living from blogging, but those who do are few and far between.  Here's a sample of what you can expect:

THE HOURS: Self-employed bloggers set their own schedules. Writers of breaking-news blogs say 40- to 60-hour workweeks are the norm. To scoop his competitors, Mario Lavandeira, author of the celebrity-gossip blog PerezHilton.com, says he averages 19-hour workdays that start at 5:15 a.m.

The article also mentions that some bloggers can earn $2,000 to 10,000 per month with advertising. That never worked for me, but then I think it depends on the subject matter of your blog.

Blogging and Beyond Features Chris Baggott of Exact Target

If you have a question for Chris Baggott, please submit it here and we'll do our best to get it answered on the show.