One of the main problems facing corporate bloggers is that they do not treat their blogs like a business, and they may not take them seriously enough. There are fortunes to be made in the blogosphere, but many companies will fail to stake their claim, simply because they don’t spend enough time learning the business of blogging. If you want to get in there and dominate your niche, establish your company as the leading authority and get the edge over your competitors, it’s time to take a serious look at corporate blogging.

In order to treat your blog like a business, it is important to get the right mindset first. Many make the mistake of looking at a blog as a novelty, or as a waste of time. However, when used correctly, a corporate blog is anything but that. It is a powerful medium that can be leveraged in dozens of different ways, but only when done correctly. Here are some tips to help you turn your corporate blog into a business and a successful one at that.

1. Develop a cohesive strategy.

In order for your corporate blog to succeed, you’ve got to have a strategy in place for implementation and growth. If necessary, write up a plan that details your goals, and how you plan to achieve them.

2. Do your research.

If you’re jumping into corporate blogging without a modicum of information on best practices, techniques and in general, knowing how to use it to the best of its abilities, you are doing your company a grave disservice. Read books on corporate blogging, stay on top of the latest news in the industry and read the successful corporate blogs to get ideas of what you need to be doing.

3. Set aside an advertising budget.

In order for any company to grow, it’s got to have advertising, and a corporate blog is no different. Even if you have limited funds to devote to this project, with smart spending you can develop an ad campaign that will get the job done. Even small press releases can be incredibly effective and can drive free traffic to your blog.

4. Plant your seeds and tend them to make them grow.

A business needs a good start, and it needs to be tended, just like a plant, if you want it to grow. If you’re putting your corporate blog in rocky soil, and then leaving it to die, you’ll never be able to harvest the reward. Instead, prepare the ground first by testing the waters and implementing the tips above. Keep feeding your business with advertising and new content.

Once you start a corporate blog, you’ve got to be committed to helping it grow, just like you would any business. It takes time, it takes effort, but most of all, it takes your concentration and focus if you want it to be a success. It can be done, but only if you’re willing to make that investment.

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Originally posted 2008-11-28 05:40:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you are completely new to blogging, you may find that you have a lot of questions and at times, it can be hard to find the answers. We’ve compiled the most common issues facing new corporate bloggers and supplied the answers to these problems below.

1. Is this going to make my company more profitable?

Yes and no. It is important that you go into corporate blogging with the right mindset. Yes, it can be a very powerful means of promotion, but it’s going to take a lot of time and success will not happen overnight. The main reason that most companies get into corporate blogging is not to increase sales directly, but to improve their search engine rankings. Often, the result of a better ranking is more sales, but you should not view your corporate blog as a mythical tool that will rake in millions of dollars in sales.

2. What blogging platform should I use?

This is a tougher question because the answer is a bit nebulous. Everyone is going to have their preference, but overall, the most powerful and customizable platform has to be Wordpress. You’ll have two main options with Wordpress. First, you can set up an account on Wordpress.com, where they will host and install your blog for you, or you can download a free copy at Wordpress.org and install it on your own server.

For those that don’t have a lot of experience, the hosted version works quite well, despite its limitations. For those that need more options with plugins and configuration, installing it at the server level is the best option.

3. How do I promote my blog?

Once again, there is no set answer to this question, but there are several techniques that can be used successfully. First, you’ve got to make your blog easy to find on your own corporate site. Next, you’ll need to start promoting it in two different ways, directly and indirectly.

Direct promotion involves submitting your blog posts to social bookmarking and networking sites. Indirect promotion involves leaving comments on other blogs and leaving a link to your own blog inside. This should be used in moderation and your comments should always be related to the post and not blatant promotional attempts.

4. Is corporate blogging worth the effort?

Absolutely, but only if you are willing to spend extra time promoting your blog. If not, then it is a waste of your time. A good corporate blog will take a few months to catch on and you’ve got to be willing to take the time to really work on creating great posts and promoting them. Success is not going to happen instantly, and it will take work. However, you can see a big difference in your main site’s traffic and in public opinion when you really work on your blog.

Corporate blogging is not for everyone. If you’re interested in getting started, it is best to remember that it will take a lot of time and effort. For those willing to make that sacrifice, success is just around the corner.

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Originally posted 2008-09-16 05:43:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you’re ready to get into corporate blogging, you need to make sure that you are going in with the right attitude. There is a big difference between starting an okay blog and starting a stellar blog. You are in this to succeed, so you need to make sure that you are using the right techniques and mindset to accomplish this. Mediocrity is never a good thing, and in blogging, this is particularly true.

In order to make sure that your blog stands out from the competition, attracts readers and gets noticed, there are a few techniques that you can use.

1. Design is very important –a blog that is hard to read will not be read.

It is just that simple. While you need to match your blog’s design to that of your site, you also need to make sure that it can be easily read. This usually means a white overlay for the blog text using a black font. It may be visually boring to the design oriented, but it is easy to read. Less is more when it comes to designing a corporate blog. Make sure your logo is visible and that there is a strong visual link between your site and blog, but always make sure that the text is easy to read.

2. Use the right technology – there are many new tools out there that make blogging even easier.

These include social networking links as well as RSS feeds and management tools. The best blogs use a mix of these tools to help increase readership and get a better idea of how their blogs are doing. Corporate blogs can use these tools as well. You want to make it easy for your readers to enjoy your blog. This means going the extra mile to make sure that you do have an RSS feed, that it is easy for readers to share your posts and that they can easily find everything on your blog.

3. Comments should be encouraged – the whole point of a corporate blog is to shed that stiff corporate image and become personable.

Most blogging applications allow readers to leave comments. You should not turn this feature off. There are a few risks in allowing the general public to leave any sort of comment on your site, but you can head these off at the pass by instituting simple rules and sticking to them. For example, do not allow swearing or defamation in comments and remove any that break the rules. Use a moderation feature that will let you approve comments before they go live to avoid flame wars and embarrassing situations for your company.

These are just three simple ways that you can make your blog truly stellar. For extra help, it is a good idea to work with a company that specializes in managing corporate blogs. They can assist you in the creation of a blog that will be professional, fun and noticeable.

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Originally posted 2008-08-12 05:26:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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One of the most important keys to success as a corporate blogger is having the right mindset and the right expectations for your blog. If you go in thinking that it is going to change your entire company and you’ll be at the top of the list of the Fortune 500 within the next year, you’re most likely going to be disappointed. That’s why this week we decided to review a very important book titled: The E-Myth Revisited, Why Most Small Businesses Still Don’t Work And What You Can Do About Yours.

The author starts out discussing why businesses and their efforts fail. From those who can’t properly manage their time and resources, to business owners with skewed perceptions, everything is laid out in a very logical fashion. Even the best of us may be able to spot some trouble areas by reading this book. Even if you are already moderately successful, this book should help you take it to the next level.

The main focus of this book is finding the solution that will work for you. He relies heavily on the turn-key philosophy, and while that may not work for everyone, there is a lot of merit in his advice. By far the best section in this book is the one that deals with Finding a Small Business That Works. The author takes you through each step of building your objectives and implementing a strategy that will work. While it’s not specifically geared towards corporate bloggers, the advice contained herein is incredibly valuable and completely transferable to the blogging world.

While many have asserted that the American Dream is dead and gone, this book shows that it is still there, but we may need to rethink our perceptions of it. By focusing on ways to succeed logically, it is much easier to attain your goals. When you’re working for your company instead of against it, you can be assured of success. The author does a great job of inspiring the reader and relaying tips in such a way that you feel as though you can really put them to use right away. For those looking for a no-nonsense guide to succeeding at corporate blogging or improving their business, this is an incredibly valuable resource that should not be overlooked.

Overall, we highly recommend this book to anyone starting their own corporate blog, or struggling with their own home business. The tips and advice contained here in will make a difference in how you run your blog and how successful you can be. Everyone has the ability to run a successful business, but not everyone is able to achieve the success they dream about. This book does a great job in helping with perception as well as implementation of techniques that will work. If you are looking for the reasons why you may not be succeeding, and you want to change that, this book is well worth the time and money.

Originally posted 2008-09-12 05:34:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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