Are you ready to make blogging work for your business? If you already know the benefits associated with corporate blogging, then the next step is to put these concepts to work by creating your own corporate blog and sharing your company with the world. This is part 1 in a short series on tips for making blogging work for you.

1 – The first step is to find your domain name.

If you already have a website for your business, then the most advantageous option may be to attach your blog in some way to your normal business site. The next best thing would be to own the domain name that is most descriptive of your business when creating your blog. Either use your business name for your blog name, or your own name, so that you can help people link you and your blog with the company that you are intending to represent. Some of the most well known domain name registrars are GoDaddy, MyDomain, Register, PacNames and DotCalmDomains.

2 – Figure out which blogging tool or blogging platform is going to work best for you.

There are at least two different camps to consider when it comes to tools. The first is those who prefer self hosted blogs, and the second is those who prefer hosting tools. Where do you feel most comfortable? The decision is ultimately up to you but there are pros and cons associated with both options. Some of the options available to you are easily customizable hosted options like TypePad offered by SixApart, or Movable Type which offers more control than TypePad. If you want to host your own blog, WordPress may be more your style, as it offers a lot of customization and control and you can host it a lot more efficiently by yourself.

3 – Talk about yourself so your readers can get to know you.

Most blog templates have an “About” function. Use this wisely so that you may capture the true essence of who you are and what you are hoping to accomplish with your blog. You should aim to strike an excellent balance between human voice and “business speak” to show your readers that you mean business, but are just a passionate human being at the core.

4 – Register your blog and start spreading the word about your endeavor.

Get comfortable with your blog before you start speaking out about it. Once you have some content, and perhaps even a reader or two, you can start spreading the word about your blog. Register your blog at FeedBurner, available at http://www.feedburner.com so that you can provide RSS and e-mail feeds that people can use to gain access to your content. Technorati, at http://www.technorati.com is another excellent option as well as it will allow you to associate tags with your blog for better “findability”.

5 – Create a resource section or a blog roll to show your customers what you enjoy reading, or what resources you often visit.

Blog rolls are generous in two different ways, as not only do they allow people who you link to to find your blog, but they also help readers expand their knowledge by checking out the blogs that you recommend.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-19 05:07:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Here are nine ways to make corporate blogging even easier for you. Writing your blog should be enjoyable and fun, rather than just a task you have no interest in doing. These some really great tools should help make blogging more fun and enjoyable for you rather than a chore or a task that you would like to enjoy.

1. AutoCopy

You can skip the manual copying and pasting by using AutoCopy. If you want to quote passages you find on the web, or reference other snippets, forget using Control/Command +C and Control/Command +V once you’re at the right place in the markup language. Instead, install the AutoCopy tool, a free FireFox extension found at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/383. It will allow you to select text to automatically add it to the clipboard, then will allow you to paste it by middle clicking anywhere while in FireFox.

2. CoLT

This will allow you to copy both links and their titles, making it easier than ever for you to use the links you want in your blogs. CoLT is the Copy Link Text Firefox Extension, available at http://www.borngeek.com/firefox/colt/download.html.

3. Reusable Post and Image Templates

If you tend to post in ways that are similar in structure, you might as well create reusable templates for images and posting. Wired has a guide for automating actions in Photoshop. You can also grab free templates for Blogger and Wordpress or use a variety of different CSS templates that automate the posting process significantly.

4. Blog Live using Jott

Jott is a neat voicemail to text service that can allow you to post the things you need even when you are on the go. Jott, available through http://www.jott.com is compatible with Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr, WordPress and Livejournal.

5. Text Replacement

Use text replacement to automate repetitive code in your blog postings. This is a lot easier than embedding a flickr photo manually, or creating a custom signature template or custom headline, then add a text replacement app to your arsenal. Some examples are Tester from Windows, Snippits for Linux and TextExpander for Mac.

6. Google Alerts

Google Alerts will allow you to get topic based post ideas sent your email inbox every day. This will allow you to laser focus in on the particular websites, blog posts, news stories and group posts that you are intending to find.

7. Spend Less Time Resizing

Blogs need imagines, but finding the perfect image in the perfect size can be time consuming. Use Photoshop or GIMP, or choose Picnik available at http://www.picnik.com to make this process a great deal easier and hassle free.

8. Foxmarks

You can keep your post ideas synchronized with Foxmarks, because posting fodder can be found all the time but you need a way to store it if you are not yet ready to post about it. Foxmarks can be found at http://www.foxmarks.com.

9. Tumblr

A tumblelog is a quick post blog that is powered using the Tumblr web application which makes posting anything you want a lot less intimidating than if you were to blog in the wide-open HTML space like Movable Type or Wordpress. Learn more about Tumblr at http://www.tumblr.com.

Originally posted 2008-11-13 05:22:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you are completely new to blogging for small businesses, this is the book to read. While there are quite a few books dedicated to this subject, few are this easy to read, or this informative. We weren’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but we ended up being pleasantly surprised. Before we begin our review, it is important to note that this book is designed for the complete rank blogging amateur. If you are already well versed in the basics of blogging, there are a few things to learn, but it is really intended for those that need start up assistance and a push in the right direction.

Wibbels is well known for his EasyBakeBlog site where he teaches visitors how to easily set up their own blog. Much of this same advice made its way into this book and it is truly designed for thos that have absolutely no experience with HTML or the technical side of setting up a blog. He starts up with a brief history of blogs, and covers some very important terminology.

The reader can learn about trackbacks, an area which often confuses even the most intrepid bloggers. Also covered in this section are how to find blogs to read, how a blog is typically formatted as well as some basic tips on getting started. The ball gets rolling a little faster by Part Two when he shifts gears and starts to take a look at how blogging effects businesses.

We highly recommend reading part two very carefully, since there is a lot of insight here. Everything related to business blogging, making money and using your corporate blog effectively is covered in this section and anyone can learn a lot. We appreciated that the author continued to use his friendly prose in this section, making it a lot less threatening for newcomers.

Part Four is a little more advanced and goes into how to pick your blogging platform, how to handle posting and a lot of the technical issues that first time bloggers face. Our main issue with this section is that the author focused so heavily on TypePad as being the best solution. Given that WordPress has easily overtaken TypePad, readers may want to consider finding their best platform on their own.

TypePad certainly has its benefits, but for beginners, we definitely recommend WordPress first and foremost. Part Five of the book covers some specific TypePad promotional techniques, as well as general techniques that can be used to increase readership, handle RSS feeds and things like podcasting.

Overall, this was an engaging read that is well suited to beginners. We would have liked to have seen a few more platforms discussed and a little less reliance on TypePad. It ends up dating the book and making the content much less evergreen. That said, we still recommend this book to those that need a firm foundation in the basics of blogging, and learning how a corporate blog can benefit your business.

Originally posted 2008-09-26 05:35:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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