Many list owners have a formula that helps them figure out how valuable their subscribers are. This is usually done so that you figure out how much money each subscriber means to you. For example, this may be $1 a month, $5 or even more. To come to this figure, the list owner typically will add up the sales generated by a mailing and divide that figure by the total amount of subscribers. Most marketers prefer to get to the point where each person will earn them $5 a month.

This same formula can also be applied to your blog and many help you get a better idea of the payoff that you’ll be getting from spending the time and effort to establish your corporate blog. Once you have a better idea of how much each one of your visitors is worth, you may even be more motivated to keep adding new readers and to keep your promotional engine running.

Thanks to the power of corporate blogging, your visitors may eventually exceed the value of your list subscribers. If you are writing effectively and making sales, you can easily have your visitors worth more than $10 a month to you. Keep it up and see just how much it can grow over a short period of time.

But there are other ways to help you gauge how valuable your readers are – after all – money isn’t everything. A valuable reader is one that reaches out to you through the comments section, follows your work and tells their friends. The amount of people that do that is generally pretty small, unless you have a very popular site.

This is invaluable for many different reasons. First – you are getting free promotion and that is worth a bundle. Second, you’re getting better page views which can spell more revenue. Last but not least, you are building up a targeted audience – and that right there can be worth millions.

Think about the value that each one of your readers has before you post one more thing to your blog. Ask yourself whether or not that post is also valuable to them. After all, this is a two way street. Find ways to build up more valuable readers and learn how to monetize the ones that are not responding.

Managing a corporate blog is not a static position and there is a little bit of work involved, especially if you want to be successful. By learning how much your readers are actually worth, this can actually help you reach your goals in less time. Take the time today to see how much your readers are worth to you and figure out ways that you can increase their value.

At the same time, consider how you can increase the overall value of your blog, since these two are interconnected. Never stay stagnant, and keep moving forward. That is the key to building up a strong following – and one that is very valuable indeed.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-11 05:47:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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As readers become more involved with the blogs they frequent, a new form of communication is becoming prevalent – interactive blogging. There are a few ways to look at this and determine whether or not this form of interaction is right for your corporate blog and your readers. When used properly, interactive blogging can be a huge weapon in your arsenal towards building better relationships with your customers, but it can be a double edged sword.

First, let’s look at the most common form of interactive blogging, using your posts to answer reader questions. This commonly occurs when you have someone leave you a question in the comments section of your blog, frequently asking for more information on a certain topic. Now, if one person asks this question there is always a chance that there are more people that want to know the same thing.

You can use these comments to determine what your readers really want to know. If it’s a good question, consider writing a blog post that will answer it. If not, you can keep focusing your energies on your regular posts. However, it is a good idea to let your reader’s dictate what you will be writing about – at least to some extent – since this can help you develop a stronger reader following.

The second form of interactive blogging takes your comments section to a whole new level. This is where you encourage your readers to contribute on a regular basis and the comments section may even start to look a bit like a message board. This is another powerful tool that can benefit corporate blog owners.

First, you’ll be getting the benefit of having your readers return throughout the day to keep tabs on the ongoing conversation. You can also set up an RSS feed for your comments to make this easier. Second, you’ll be increasing the amount of page views you have as well as the opportunity to attract new readers through word of mouth advertising, and through search engine indexing.

Interactive blogging does have a catch though, as we mentioned above. If you can keep tabs on your readers and avoid having flame wars, or nasty comments, it can work quite well. However, if you let it get out of hand, you’re only asking for trouble. On one side, you’ll have readers that will wonder where you stand on the issue if you don’t take care of a problem, and on the other hand, if you take quick action and delete problem comments, you may be cast as against freedom of speech.

The easiest way to take advantage of interactive blogging is simply to set some ground rules, make them clear, and then stick to them. If your readers know right off the bat what they can and cannot do with your interactive blogging elements, there will be a lot less confusion and a lot more interacting going on. Try it for a week and see how your corporate blog changes.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-11-07 05:35:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Although writing for a blog is a bit limited in many cases, that does not mean that your posts shouldn’t invoke some sort of emotional response from your reader. This is the true key towards developing a devoted readership and sadly, many blogs fail to pass this test. While it can be tough to figure out what is going on in your reader’s minds, you can use a few clues to determine which of your posts accomplishes this. Once you have a better idea of what is working for you, you can emulate that same style in your other posts.

One of the best ways to determine whether or not you are creating an emotional response in your readers is to look at your comments section. If you barely get any comments at all, then you have failed to provoke an emotional response. These posts may be falling on deaf ears, and you may not be using your time as effectively as you could. A blog post could take you thirty minutes, but if it provokes an emotional response, then it was well worth the effort. Conversely, a post that takes two minutes but delivers no emotional impact is a waste of your time.

You can also gauge your posts effectiveness by how many other sites refer to it, and how many new subscribers you get after each post. If that spikes, then you know you have struck a chord. If it doesn’t then it is time to go back to the drawing board. Above all, you can always use traffic to help you determine if you are indeed striking a chord with your readers.

So, now that you know what happens after you write a post that provokes this response, how do you go about getting to that point. If you are already trained in persuasive writing, or even persuasive speaking, this should come naturally to you. The rest of us have to work at ways to strike that emotional chord.

Whenever you write a post, first and foremost it needs to be conversational. Even if you are imparting serious news, there is a way to do it in a conversational tone. Readers never liked to be “written at,” they want to be “written to.” By tweaking your style so that it it flows more naturally and reads more like a conversation than a dissertation, you can be well on the path towards that emotional response.

Remember, an emotional response can mean many things: Happy, Angry, Riled Up or Inspired are just a few emotions that can be imparted through the written word. You can practice the art of persuasive writing simply by reading some truly great speeches. Find the ones that evoke these emotions in you and then try to learn from that style. Over time, you will be able to naturally write in a persuasive manner, without even having to think twice about it. In the end, it is definitely worth the effort.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-04 05:16:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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You want your blog to be engaging, but that may not always be easy. Here are some great tips on how to keep your corporate blog reader friendly.

1. Pick your design well.

One of the biggest problems for corporate blogs is design. You can need to make sure that your blog is easy to read. This means sticking with simple backgrounds, regular text and a dark font. While black backgrounds may look nice for a blog, they are hard to read off of and your customers won’t appreciate having to strain their eyes. Shoot for a very neutral palette that is very easy to read on.

2. Don’t bore them to tears.

Sometimes, corporate news can be a bit boring to the average consumer. Try to change up your posts so that they are not continuous dronings that would put even the most die hard fan to sleep. Add fun elements such as polls to keep your readers engaged and willing to come back each day for more.

3. Talk to your readers, not at them.

One of the worst mistakes you can make is sounding like you are pontificating. Try to develop a writing style that is engaging so that you are talking to your readers not at them. This may take a little practice but in time you’ll be able to develop the right kind of writing style for your audience.

4. Always publish regularly.

Once you have a posting schedule stick to it as closely as possible. This may not always happen, but really make an effort to be a dependable blogger. You won’t have to worry about your readers losing interest and failing to come back since they never see anything new.

5. Try to run a few fun contests.

One of the best ways to make sure that your readers are engaged is to run a contest. Offer a free giveaway or something similar to all of your readers. You can have them place their entries in the comments section of your blog.

6. Allow comments.

Today’s blog readers want to be able to interact with you and this means allowing comments. If you are worried that things may get out of hand, use a moderation feature which will allow you to preview all the comments before they go live on your site. This gives you the best of both worlds and will make your blog much more fun to read.

7. Have a little fun.

While it is important to be professional, you don’t need to be dreary. Don’t be afraid to change things up every now and again to keep your readers guessing. This will help increase your daily visits and your readers will want to check back more often.

These are just a few tips that can help you create a very reader friendly blog. You may also need to work with a blog management company to increase your readers and to stay on target with your goals.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-07-02 05:41:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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One of the main problems facing corporate bloggers is that is all too easy to crash and burn. One controversial post is all that it takes to ruin your company’s image. There are many reasons that corporate blogs fail, but there are also solutions out there to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons that corporate blogs don’t make it and what can be done to make sure that your company succeeds.

1. Failure to keep a blog updated on a regular basis.

Many companies start a blog with the best of intentions but just don’t have the resources to keep it going. A failure to follow through with a blog can doom it from the beginning. You’ve got to be able to devote enough resources and time to keep your blog running and keep it updated as frequently as possible. You’ll lose readers if you don’t keep giving them something new to read.

2. Picking the wrong person for the job.

Picking a blogger is not an easy task. Executives rarely have time to blog and if they outsource the job to the wrong person in the company it can be disastrous. It is vital to pick someone that is well spoken, cool under pressure and very responsible. Otherwise, the result can be a nightmare, especially if the blog has a comments section that gets out of control.

3. Projecting the wrong image.

One of the most notorious corporate blogging failures was Walmart’s attempt to produce a blog that seemed to be non commercial on the surface, but was really a thinly veiled attempt to promote their store. The result was scorn in the blogging community and the blog quickly died. You want to make sure that your blog walks that fine line between commercialization and content readers can use. With the wrong approach, you can harm your company’s image.

Another aspect of this issue is that when you have an open forum, you need to know what to do with it. Blog posts that are unprofessional give reader’s the impression that your company is not professional either. On the other hand, stiff posts fail to produce the human touch.

Each one of these issues can be easily solved by hiring a company to manage your blog for you. This is very important for companies that do not have a lot of resources to devote to a regular blog, but they want to reap the benefits that a blog can bring. By hiring a professional, you can ensure that your posts will be well thought out and properly managed. In addition, you won’t have to worry about taking your employees off of their other projects to manage the blog.

Blog management services are worth their weight in gold. You’ll not only save money over the long term since you won’t be diverting resources, but you will be able to project the right image for your company that will get results.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-08-04 05:49:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Sometimes increasing the efficiency of a corporate blog is as simple as implementing some small but powerful steps. Here are a few incredibly intelligent ideas for corporate blogging that will allow you to be more efficient and more effective as a result.

1 - When there is a lot of discussion in the comments section of a blog post, or if someone adds information to the comments that is critical and bears repeating, it would be ideal to create a short blog post that quotes the most relevant information, pointing people to the comments made prior so that they can read everything that was said. This isn’t cheating, but rather gives subscribers who use RSS to read your blog a chance to check out some conversation that they may not necessarily be aware of.

2 – When someone writes about something that was posted in your blog, and something of significance is added to the understanding of the issue in their blog, then consider creating a short post that briefly quotes their part of the conversation, posting a link to point people to the other blogger’s post. This will help people who do not see the trackback and pingback links in your post to reach out to other posts in the “blogosphere”.

3 – Create a short post in your blog that links to the top posts for your blog, or perhaps the most controversial posts in your blog, or even the ones that you sweated over more than the others. This is a great way to get readers looking at your other posts.

4 – When you go to another blog to write a guest post, or when you post content or another site, create a short blog post in your own corporate blog that links to that post. Even if what you wrote about was not quite on topic for your own blog, it is still worthwhile to let your readers know what you are writing elsewhere so that they can get to know you better through reading your content.

5 – If you have a big, long subject to talk about, break it into smaller pieces and spread them out over a period of several days. Use the first one in order to introduce the topic thoroughly and to solicit responses, and then post the others including reader feedback as you go.

6 – Solicit responses and suggestions from your readers regarding further reading, tips, weird news, best tools and other information and ask them to post the results as link lists. You can create a completely separate post for each topic that you come up with. Some of the best posts on some blogs are simply short links to other sources, even without a lengthy explanation of the background about the post.

7 – When you see something that is strikingly funny, awful, unusual or interesting, post something short about it, without feeling that you have a weighty reason to point it out. You can easily post a 15-30 word blog post like a little note tucked inside the margin of a book or magazine without having to go into any further detail.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-31 05:02:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you’ve decided that you are going to allow readers to comment on your blog, there are a lot of benefits that you can reap. In addition to increased page views, comments allow you to build up a strong relationship with your readers. They can be very beneficial, but it may take a little while before you start seeing comments. Although writing engaging material is the best way to encourage reader participation, there are a few other tips that can be very useful.

1. Ask your readers a question.

This is one of the easiest ways to encourage more comments on your blog. Ask your readers a question that is pertinent to your post and ask them to leave their responses in the comment section. This can be a double edged sword, but when properly managed, you can do quite well. Just remember, if you don’t want to hear the answers, don’t ask the question. Go for questions that are not vitriolic to avoid excess controversy that could harm your company.

2. Run a contest.

This is probably the most blatant method, but it does work. Try running a contest for something that you sell, or a really great gift that will get a lot of attention. You’ll want to extend the contest for at least a week for the best results. Let your readers know that you’ll be picking a winner from among those that leave comments on your blog. The key is finding a gift that people will really want, since that will increase the likelihood of getting better comments and more participation.

3. Leave your own comments.

If you get a comment on your blog, it’s very important to respond to that person in the comments section. You can start a whole dialogue there and your visitors will go away with a brand new impression of you. By taking the time to answer a question or thank someone for their opinion, you are letting them know that you care about your readers. This helps them develop a stronger relationship with you and it will benefit your business in many different ways. Take the time to get personal and you’ll definitely see an increase in readership.

4. Make commenting easy for your readers.

Most of today’s blogging platforms have made it relatively easy for people to leave comments, but there are still some issues that may keep your readers from using the system. You need to make sure that it is incredibly easy to leave a comment. While asking users to register before they are allowed to leave comments can be helpful, it generally makes it more difficult and time consuming. It’s best to do away with this step. Your readers will be more likely to leave comments since they won’t feel as though they are giving you too much personal information. Today’s internet users are savvy and they care about the information they share, and if you don’t require this step, they will feel much more comfortable leaving a comment.

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Originally posted 2008-09-10 05:22:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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