Why Blog?

A blog provides an effective complement to your arsenal of online communication tools offering several advantages:

• Blogs aren’t hindered by the spam filters and inbox clutter which impede email.

• Blogs publish instantly using a simple interface.  No coding or formatting is required.

• Blogs drive traffic to your website.  Each entry on a blog is its own webpage, and search engines are attracted to fresh content.

• A blog can position you and your company as thought leaders in your industry.

• A blog is a cost effective way to get feedback from your prospects and customers.

• Blogs are already commenting on your industry, your product, and possibly your company.  You look clueless if you don’t join the conversation.

Who’s Blogging?

An increasing number of companies are blogging including 8% of the fortune 500 as of October, 2006.  The vanguard of business bloggers tend to be savvy, technology-oriented companies.

Business blogs can be written by the CEO, marketing staff, product experts or outsourced to freelancers.  The tone of the best blogs is edgy, opinionated and smart.

However, your blog doesn’t require creative genius to be effective.  A blog which provides useful content for your customers by contextualizing and aggregating information can be highly successful.

Blog Software is Available Free or at Minimal Cost

There are two types of blogging software: hosted and non-hosted.  Licensing and or hosting charges are minimal and some services are free.  TypePad.com is highly recommended and provides an easy way to start your blog.  Your blog can also be integrated into your company website.

Hosted

TypePad (small monthly fee)

http://www.TypePad.com

Blogger (free)

http://www.Blogger.com

Non-Hosted (install on your own server)

MovableType (small licensing fee)

http://www.MovableType.org

WordPress (free-open source)

http://www.WordPress.com

Get Started by Reading Blogs Related to Your Industry

The best way to get started is by reading blogs on topics that are central to your business.  You can read blogs by clicking on the URL and going to the blog page on the Web.  However, it’s much easier to sign up for a Web-based Newsreader which will grab the newest post for you.

The Newsreader assists you in selecting blogs by subject or keywords.  The reader displays the title, a brief summary and a link to the full entry.

Recommended Newsreaders are:

NewsGator

http://www.Newgator.com

Bloglines

http://bloglines.com

Feedreader

http://www.feedreader.com

Following Blog Conventions Will Help You Master This New Medium

• Post new content several times a month.  Frequent updates will keep your audience coming back.

• Keep your posts short.  Don’t write a treatise.  Short entries will maintain interest.

• Weave in content from other blogs and embed a link to your source.  Cross linking makes the blogosphere click.

• Focus on niche topics of interest to your audience.  Avoid diversions and generalizations.

RSS Feeds

Real Simple Syndication (RSS) is a new way to receive and distribute Web content.  RSS is used primarily for news feeds and blogs.  More and more orange RSS icons are appearing on websites. 

To receive RSS feeds you need to sign up with a Newsreader.  According to Technorati, more than 30 million RSS feeds were available as of March, 2006.

When new content is posted, RSS feeds automatically notify subscribers.  Most mainstream news and information sites publish RSS feeds.  Text, images, and audio files can be incorporated into RSS feeds.

RSS feeds eliminate the need to periodically check websites for updates.  RSS feeds can be used for brand monitoring, competitive intelligence, and internal/external communications.

RSS feeds can be incorporated into company websites providing a business blog.  For the advantages of including a blog as one element of your website see Business Blogs.