Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Business Blog First Impressions: A List of Things You Believe In

Denise and I teach our blog clients that a good business blog must pass the "blink" test. In the blink of an eye, when a first time visitor lands on your blog, do they quickly get a sense of:

• Who the blog is for?
• What they'll learn?
• What you're an expert in?

There's a combination of good blog design and concise writing that creates this instant recognition. Your blog title is important, along with a tag line to describe in as few words as possible these three important elements. Other elements can attract visitors to stay, read and subscribe.

Here's an idea to deepen connections with readers right away.

Recently I ran across a side-bar item on a famous consultant/professor's blog that adds a tremendous amount of blink factor on a deep and profound level. It was called "15 Things I Believe." Wow, how's that for getting to know a blog author?

Could you possibly write a list of 7-12 deeply held values? Wouldn't that create connection with readers? If you want to read the example, visit Bob Sutton's Work Matters Blog. You might have to scroll down a little, it's on the left side. Talk about making a good impression...

Related Posts:
Blog "Blink Test"- Is Your Business Blog Well Branded?
10 Blog Design Tips for Branding & Building Trust

SEO for Bloggers: How to Get Started

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a mystery to most bloggers. I don't claim to be an SEO expert -- far from it -- but knowing a bit about how search engines work and how to find and use appropriate keywords for your content is useful (some would say critical) for creating an effective business blog.

For the last couple of days I've been reviewing a new training program called Wordpress SEO Secrets created by my colleague Michael Martine (@Remarkablogger on twitter). Like the title says, the program is directed primarily at bloggers who use Wordpress, but in my opinion, much of the content is important for all bloggers to know, regardless of the platform you use. 

The tutorials however, are all created for Wordpress. And since we know there are millions of Wordpress bloggers and some of them actually read this blog (even though it's on TypePad! :-) ) I thought it important to share this program with you.

When we work with clients, one of the first things we talk about is the fact that if you want to be found on the web by your ideal client, there are a few things that will greatly help:

TypePad Account FINALLY Upgraded

My TypePad account has finally been upgraded to the new platform and I'm excited. I think I'm among the last of the millions who use TypePad.  I was told it's because I have multiple blogs on my account (10) and multiple authors on several of the blogs. The migration is tricky and they didn't want to screw up my blog.

The system gets better and better. But, there's a downside...I realized I have to update the tutorials in the Build a Better Blog System AGAIN. The entire design module has been redesigned for the better. It's so much easier now to customize your TypePad blog.

If you own a copy of Build a Better Blog ebook, stay tuned for new tutorials coming soon...

Thank you TypePad. You're doing an awesome job on creating a powerful blog platform for professionals.

FeedBurner Problems? Check your Feedflares...

If any of you Typepad bloggers have noticed strange changes to your FeedFlares, we were alerted to problems with Feedburner yesterday. Thank you to Debra Dalgleish, an independent computer consultant, who's eagle eyes noticed the changes. Here's the message Debra sent:

Hi Patsi,

At the bottom of your latest article How NOT to Write an Email Promotion Message... there's a link "10 comments on this item" and it leads to http://www.hotsauceblog.com/hotsaucearchives/pimp-your-sauce-v3/

The "Email this" link looks suspect too. The previous article also has incorrect links in the Add a comment and Email this.

Regards,
Debra Dalgleish
Contextures

Please check your FeedFlares if you're using that FeedBurner feature on your blog that ends a post with Add a Comment, Email this, Twit this, or other choices. Fortunately, it's easy to deactivate FeedFlares on your FeedBurner account until the issue is resolved.

For more information on the issue, there's a FeedBurner Help Group on Google Groups. Even though it's apparently a FeedBurner issue, I was pleased to get a Typepad response within a couple of hours of opening a support ticket to say they were investigating with FeedBurner.

How to Automate Your Business Blog Marketing

Coach Deb Micek talked about business blog marketing essentials last week to over 700 of our listeners on the teleseminar: How to Make Your Blog An Automated Marketing Machine.

If you missed it, here's the audio replay: www.buildabetterblog.com/push-button-marketing.html.

We are all in favor of systems and blog platforms that can automate some of your marketing tasks. It's like having a magician behind the scenes working for you on your blog!

BLOGi360 offers many advantages to some of the other free and low-fee blogging platforms, especially if you use a blog for business and marketing.

So many professionals start a blog and then don't take the time to learn how to optimize it for business. Then they wonder why they don't get results. BLOGi360 offers many features that most blogging platforms don't include such as search engine optimization, sales pages, and training and support. And, they'll train you on what you need to know. They'll even set up your blog for you to get you started. Can't beat that. Check them out here.

P.S. We're not abandoning TypePad! It's our responsibility to let you know about software and systems that can serve you and best meet your business goals.

Blog 'Blink' Test: Is Your Business Blog Well Branded?

Let’s discuss how branding ties in with your blog.

Your blog must pass the “blink” test: It must be immediately recognizable and memorable.

Branding goes beyond finding a clever name. Your blog should of course be appropriately named for your business. And it must include these elements for good branding:

1. Naming your blog is critical. If you’re just starting your blog: are you branding YOU, your business, your book? Know the purpose of your blog so you can name it appropriately.
2. Tag line following the name of your blog:   
   
   • Who is the blog  for
   • What are the benefits for your readers
   • Who you are, your name and your expertise
3. A customized banner:   
   
   • Ties in with your brand, your website or logo
   • With your colors
   • Extends the look and feel that represents you, your values

How to Have a Poorly Branded Blog

As The Blog Squad, I like to joke we roam through the Blogosphere looking for great business blogs, and we swoop down and do an extreme blog makeover whenever we see a boring blog.

What we see going on in the Blogosphere is:

• Many business blogs are languishing

• Some haven’t been posted on in weeks or months

• Some are all over the map with their content

And it gets worse! Here’s a common mistake we see being committed on business blogs. We see blogs that have:

Little or poor brand recognition

Here’s what we mean by that; When visitors land on your blog, in a blink of the eye, they should know:

1. Who the blog is for
2. What the blog is about
3. Why they should stick around and read your content
4. Why they should subscribe
5. Who you are and why they should believe what you have to say
    

Without following best practices that address these points, a business blog is:

Massive Online Visibility: Everywhere you go, there you are...

Sooner or later, customers go online to find out more about your business and your reputation. What do they find when they search for your name, or your company? How visible are you?

It’s no secret that successful business owners and professionals can now have a strong Internet presence with little cost and without hiring tech staff.

So what do your potential clients find when they “Google” you? Have you checked lately?

Hopefully they find more than a static brochure-style website full of industry jargon, company kudos, and marketing hype.

Think about it in terms of what prospects really want to find out when they research you and your company… Here’s a big clue: what they want to know is: can they trust you?

5 Blaring Mistakes NOT to Make on Your Business Blogs

The Blog Squad is steaming mad. Folks, I hate to be negative, but when I see such blaring mistakes on blogs, I hear fingernails scraping on a blackboard. In the words of Charlie Brown, ARGHHHHHH!

Puhleeeze, do not do these things to your blog. There otta be a Board where I can report Cruelty to Readers.

I'm not going to embarrass you by naming names. You know who you are. Let's just review these mistakes and correct them before I get nasty though ...you've been warned.

Here's the latest fad in business blogging no-no's:

1. Poorly named blog that doesn't adequately describe what it's about
2. No authors name viewable right off the bat so readers know who's talking to them
3. Poorly written About page, which doesn't explain why the author has expertise or why we should believe anything they say...or care
4. Author or company-centric content, all about  their products and services, nothing about readers or clients' needs or wants
5. No way to subscribe to get email updates (on second thought, maybe this is a good thing...)
    

10 Blog Design Tips for Branding & Building Trust

Here's a review of important business blog design tips we shared on a call with The Master Business Building Club today.

(As a side note, The Master Business Building Club has some pretty amazing resources for anyone who wants to use the Internet to make money. One of our participants on the call had been up until 2 a.m. using the members'-only site to learn for her business! You can do this for a free 30-day trial membership yourself.)

Anyway, getting back to our blog design tips...

Here's a list of design elements that you should be using for branding on your blog: