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Business Blogging: Where Do I Start?
The new hot commodity is a blog for your small business so you've decided you must have one.
Before you begin think about it long term. Where do you think the blog is headed? What is the objective? Do you want it to be found by the search engines for specific terms? How often will you post? Who will the audience be? What will it look like a year from now? Five years from now?
If you think you may have this blog for a long time, consider hosting it with your own domain name. Blogger provides you with a free domain name (name.blogspot.com), or the option of ftp to your own domain. If, at some point in time in the future you want to move the blog and you've been using the blogspot name, you won't be able to take it with you. This means that all of the people who have your blog in their reader will "lose" you. It also means that you'll have to start from ground zero with the search engines.
Do some digging before you jump. A couple of good networks where you can get some education are:
- Blogging for Business at http://blogbrandz-network.ryze.com/ Make sure you sign up for the "Blogging for Marketers" email course. Priya has loaded the course with good blog information (and it costs you nothing).
- Blogger Forum at http://www.bloggerforum.com/modules/newbb/ The Blogger Forum is very welcoming to newbies. Browse around and just by looking at previous posts, you can learn a ton. they also have a section on blog platforms which talks about the different options available.
Once you're ready to go, what are you going to write about? Make sure you've brainstormed ideas so you don't run into the inevitable writer's block. You can always start with what you've written before. Do you have a newsletter? Look through your archive and "refresh" some of those old topics as a blog posting. How about your website? Do you have content you can turn into a blog topic? Do you participate in online forums or discussion lists? Find some advice you gave to someone there and turn it into a blog post.
This should get you started. Remember that small business blogging is a long term activity. Be ready.
Denise O'Berry is a small business expert who helps small business owners take action to grow their business. Don't know what to write about? Get the cure for blog writer's block at http://www.whatspossible.com/blogidea/
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InternetRetailer.com, IL - 18 hours ago
"We have worked hard to bring the best e-mail marketing, blogging, and RSS feed web application in the world to our customers. It is our mission to be the ...
Social Computing Magazine, NY - 13 hours ago
Perform a content audit that covers not only existing content that should be surfaced, but external content (RSS feeds,blogs,industry sites) that needs to ...
m-Travel.com - 3 hours ago
It combines blogging, RSS feed syndication, Twittering and email harvesting with hotel profiles on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, Photobucket, Squidoo, ...
Appscout
Appscout, NY - Aug 28, 2008
It mashes up blogging, RSS, and social networking without doing anything but changing the terminology. Blogger Buzz says eventually it will integrate with ...
Mashable, CA - 23 hours ago
... and the majority of it all ends up in an RSS feed at multiple points along the way. In short, micro-blogging isn’t killing traditional blogging, ...
indiainteracts.com, India - Sep 4, 2008
... September 4th, 2008 at 3:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. ...
PR CannaZine (press release), UK - Sep 2, 2008
Now, subscribe to RSS feeds on those topics, or printed magazines, newsletters - anything that has info on those subjects. ...
Donklephant - 12 hours ago
... 2008 and is filed under Blogging, Democrats, Independents, Republicans, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. ...
The Inquisitr, Australia - Sep 3, 2008
FriendFeed helps my blogging, and doesn’t hinder it. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter. ...
Fast Company - Aug 20, 2008
... in the last year to 18 mos. is because it has all the benefits of blogging (RSS,commenting,sharing,tagging,bookmarking) but none of the hassles. ...
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