Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Blook Tour Comes to an End

Many thanks to Ted Demopoulos for his guest posts this past week. Better late than never, I created a category for Ted's posts so you can easily find and review them.  Be sure to read the comments too, as there was some good discussion on his posts Blogging Improves Writing? My Secret and Blogging's Biggest Business Effect.

What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting is an excellent resource.  Rather than reading it in sequence, I've been flipping to random chapters to read expert tips.  This morning I read Chapter 49: Can I Make Blogging? This is a question Patsi and I almost always get when we do teleclasses about blogging.  And Chris Garret of Performancing makes some excellent points:

...money from blogging starts slowly. Significant money will come only months down the line after building traffic, reputation, and reader involvement steadily day by day...Being a professional blogger involves more than just writing. You need to build traffic and get links.  You can't assume that people will magically find your blog--you have to help them.

There's tons of great advice in this slim volume and at only $12.89 it's a great investment in your blogging success as well.

Thank you, Ted, for your wonderful contributions to Build a Better Blog!

Why Do You Blog?

Why do you blog? You must have some reason, some goals. These are the basis of your blog planning.

One gentleman (let's call him Smedley) I consult with just showed me his recently updated blog plan – yes plans need periodic updates. It was nine pages including an editorial calendar, specific posting dates, ROI calculations, charts and graphs. His plan works well for him.

Me? Well, my main blog, Blogging For Business, has a MUCH less rigorous plan. Originally it promoing my book Blogging for Business and consulting services using the time tested concept "if his free stuff is so good, his paid stuff must be even better." My plan has been updated to include promoting What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting and various other info products in the works.

Smedley's plan is incredible – multiple colors, finely proofread, and very detailed. My plan is primarily in my head. Smedley's plan works for him; mine works for me. I hope yours works for you too!

==============
Guest Blogger, Ted Demopoulos, blogs at The Ted Rap and is author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting.

It's all an experiment

While Robert French blogs and receives concrete benefits, he insists "everything being done these days with social media is still an experiment, " and I agree.  Robert teaches at Auburn University and uses blogs and other social media for several purposes, including to communicate with his students and  help them build online portfolios which help them stand out in the job-search process.

"It's all still so new," he rightfully proclaims. The blog explosion is still very young. Although we have plenty of examples of what works in specific situations, no one has found what works across all implementations. Maybe in 5 years we'll have some concrete data we can draw overall conclusions from.

Many early adopters are passionate and evangelistic, but lose perspective. There is too much "everyone must blog" mentality.

Robert is one of the  'voices of reason' in my latest book.

Blogs are simply tools. They have some great applications and Robert and I both share passion for social media like blogs, but not blind faith!

==============
Guest Blogger, Ted Demopoulos, blogs at The Ted Rap and is author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting.

Blogging's Biggest Business Effect

What is blogging's biggest effect on my business? A recent business survey made me critically rethink blogging's #1 biggest effect.

It's not more paid speeches, not the two book contracts, not more traffic, etc. - although those ARE effects I've seen.

It's the the enormous increase in networking -- and of course associated opportunities.

Maybe this should have been obvious to me. Of all the people I interviewed, many spoke about the networking opportunities.

• Bob Cargill listed it as one of his concrete reasons for blogging -- and it seems to have helped him big time in his brief search for a great job.
• Phil Gerbyshak describes blogging as "a natural relationship builder," and Phil believes strongly in the power of relationships.
• Robert Rosenthal blogs for better business relationship quality. There are some toxic clients and bad practices in his field, and he blogs about them, effectively driving away bad and attracting good clients.
• Christopher Salazar, a blogging intern when we spoke, was told to "network" but never how. Blogging made networking easy.

They do call it social media for a good reason! As the saying goes, "it's not what you know, it's who knows you" or something similar.

Bloggers know a lot of people, and a lot of people know them. In business, that's a BIG plus.

==============
Guest Blogger, Ted Demopoulos, blogs at The Ted Rap and is author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting.

Blogging Improves Writing? My Secret

Blogging improves writing, right? Practice makes perfect and all that stuff?

Blogging DOES improve writing, writing is a critical business skill, but practice DOES NOT make perfect.

Although blogging has greatly improved my writing, I'd still be making a great many of the same writing errors I was two years ago if I relied on only blogging to improve writing skills.  But there is something that combined with blogging has improved my writing even more.

Blog? What about my Web site?

A blog is a great business tool. Obviously with two business blogging books under my belt, I'm very pro-blog.

Do you need a Website too?  Maybe, but some people have blogs instead. Michael McLaughlin, co-author of the excellent Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, has a blog and a Web site to promote his book, but in retrospect he says he'd probably just start a blog (and thanks to Michael for being in What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting).

Fact is, many of you have Web sites. I certainly have one, and plan on having it effectively forever. Web sites can be great business tools too. Your Web site hopefully projects a professional appearance and is effective, but often Web sites fall short.

I regularly get contacted by people for help with starting blogging who have miserable Websites! I often help them to fix their Web sites first. Sometimes a mere hour or two 'fixing' a Website can have enormous effect.

We're talking simple things like:

• a keyword rich and different 'title tag' for each page (the title in the browser window)
• cleaning up grammar and possible spelling errors
• fixing pages with HTML errors and links that are no longer valid
• an up to date appearance, e.g. no "upcoming events" listed that are long over
• a professional look and feel  - it shouldn't look like your 12 year old nephew built it!

Businesses benefit from blogs. Most businesses should blog. But if you have a Web site, you might get a much bigger bang for the buck (i.e. ROI) by making some often trivial changes BEFORE you start blogging.

==============
Guest Blogger, Ted Demopoulos, blogs at The Ted Rap and is author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting.

Blook Tour Begins on Monday

The blook tour begins tomorrow.  Ted Demopoulos, author of What No One Ever Tells You about Blogging and Podcasting, will be posting daily this week.  Ted will answer any questions you ask in the Comments below each post.  Press release here.

Ted Demopoulos is one of the nation's foremost experts on blogging and other new and emerging technologies, and his new book, WHAT NO ONE EVER TELLS YOU ABOUT BLOGGING AND PODCASTING: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere (Kaplan Publishing, November, $18.95, paperback), presents his knowledge and that of 101 of the most established and well-known bloggers. Readers will learn techniques and strategies from hugely successful bloggers like Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki, helping them attract and maintain loyal readerships and build their businesses using the power of the blogosphere.

The 101 bloggers offer tips on creating a successful business blog, including:

• The importance of writing well-yes, it really does matter!
• The three key questions you must answer when planning your blog
• How to evangelize a blog
• The new rules of podcasting
• Tracking statistics to find out who's visiting your blog
• Managing critical ROI, legal, crisis management, and security considerations

The Blog Squad is proud to be among the 101 bloggers featured in the book.

Blook Tour Features Ted Demopoulos

The Blog Squad is pleased to announce that Ted Demopoulos, author of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting, will be stopping by this blog next week on his blook tour.

Ted will be posting Monday through Friday on subjects related to his book and of course, blogging and podcasting.  You are invited to post comments and ask questions that he will answer on the blog.

We're honored and excited to be hosting Ted, since we contributed two chapters to the book -- one on blogs and ezines and one on mistakes people make on their blogs.

Remember, stop by every day next week, Monday, November 6 through Friday, November 11 to learn what Ted has to say about blogs and podcasting. Don't want to miss a post? Be sure to subscribe to get daily updates.