Brand building is the only route to business success in the present global market scenario. Sales alone cannot make a business successful since they do not increase until the brand becomes a forceful tool that will launch the business into the big league. Brand building is a tough task needing an investment of a lot of time and money, and every step needs to be done right. Even then, something may hold back the branding initiative.

In such a scenario blogging may prove to be savior in helping in the branding exercise and making it successful. Blogging can help in various ways, some of which are discussed below:

• Build an online image through blogs- Part of the branding initiative includes the addition of a jingle or a catch line that is so catchy that it stays in consumers’ minds. This is often to such an extent that the very mention of the brand first brings a very distinct image of the brand and then anything else. This has been termed as creation of a “franchise” in the mind by experts, and companies spend billions to create this mind franchising exercise. Another way to get your blog’s brand out there is to give-away free promotional products like stress balls with the blog’s name on them. One last effort can be to use blogging for increasing the branding endeavors, which will definitely help in creating an online presence for the brand and the products associated with it. Also, blogs are an open, free for all board where your brand stories can be narrated time and again, new thoughts added, and updates that help to keep the reading public in the loop. A blog is like a guided tour that continues over time. A personal perspective for a brand is possible only through blogs, and it makes people warm up to it.
• Blogs for initiating conversations- Blogs need not be a one way communication channel. It is a great way to initiate a conversation with consumers, get their views, feedback and recommendations. Often it is the end user who is able to point out flaws and drawbacks that can be rectified to improve the image of the brand and the products attached to it. Personal interaction helps to develop a personal rapport and with it comes faith and trust in the people behind the brand. A personal angle to a strictly professional or business relationship only adds to the advantages without any negative effects.
• Blogging helps in marketing by word-of-mouth- Blogs have a double effect. Besides opening a communication channel between brand owners and brand users, it also helps to create a network involving people connected to users, since all people talk to each other about good products and services. This can easily have a viral effect, since path breaking innovations will reach all the networks of the people you interact or communicate with. This word of mouth marketing is perhaps the best marketing tool there can be.
• Using connections for brand building- Blogging helps to build connections and these connections pay off in promoting brands. Blogging makes it easy to become powerful through knowledge and expertise in your field, and sharing this with others makes them see the extent of your knowledge. Once the target audience realizes this, they begin to accept your influence and warm up to the brand you promote. Connections are easy to make through this knowledge route. Being honest, letting your true self come out in your blogs, adds life to a few lines and the reading public loves that. Blogs thus become a perfect medium to showcase honesty, sincerity and expertise in your field, without any need for rhetoric or flowery writing styles. Connections will then naturally follow.
• Create communities on social networks through blogs- the impact of blogs can be extended to social networks like Facebook and Twitter as well. With shared interests the viral effect of a blog can do wonders for the brand a sword spreads, and so does the name and fame. Additional layers can be created through message boards, review sections, customer profiles and so on to form a whole community for a brand. This is assisted by social network platforms like Ning, CrowdVine and KickApps, which serve precisely this purpose.
• Using Cost effective brand building exercises- Brand building can be an expensive exercise and companies that have no dearth of resources go all out to spend on brand initiatives. However, this is neither warranted nor a necessary rule of thumb. Brands can be built on shoe string budgets, with little spending or none at all, as is the case with blogging. Many blog platform come free of cost and knowledge of blogging can improve over time to yield the best results.
• Partnerships help in reinforcing brands- Modern brands are based on the concept of distributed power. Brands are less an in-house brand expert’s forte and more can be gauged from the interactive consumer platforms where a true, unbiased picture emerges. Using these inputs to restructure and improve the brand and its image subsequently, are the way smart companies work. Partnership with meaningful participants helps. Blogging is one effective way to initiate partnerships that will help the brand.

According to Brian Solis, a famous media expert and business blogger, a humane blog with genuine and helpful advice combined with the ability to cultivate relationships and sustain them helps to form good connections, improve customer service, revise perceptions and improve the reach, resonance and loyalty of the brand in question.

About the Author

This is a guest post by Neil Jones, who Specializes in launching ecommerce sites, he is currently plying his trade as head of marketing for eMobileScan. With 18 websites based all around Europe they are on course to be one of Europe’s largest online retailers of Industrial handheld computers and label printers like the Motorola MC75 terminal or the Datalogic Memor. Neil has been an online marketer for the past 6 years and in that time he has owned and run a range of sites all built around the ecommerce platform.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

While podcasting is much bigger than it was a few years ago, it’s still not as big as a could be. Many bloggers have yet to get into the art of podcasting. Some are shy and aren’t ready to take that next step, while others want to, but just don’t know how to take that step.

Whatever your reason may be for not adding a podcast to your blog, you may want to consider the benefits. Podcasting is not just a marketing tool, it’s also a way to set yourself apart from the competition and really get in touch with your subscribers. So before counting it out, take a look over these reasons why you should add a podcast to your blog.

Educate Yourself

Having a weekly podcast can be a great learning experience for you because you’ll get to learn about new topics from the people that you talk to and interview. What better way to expand your knowledge than by talking to experts in that area? Your new-found knowledge is also a great way of increasing your authority and establishing yourself as a great source and leader in your industry. You’ll be able to expound in greater detail on the topics that you cover on your blog and build more trust with your readers.

Expand Your Reach

Through your podcast you’ll be able to network, connect and get noticed by new people. You’ll really get to do a lot of expanding because the people that you invite on your podcast will of course share the podcast with their network. It only gets better from there because some of those people will then share the podcast with their networks and so on.

Also, with the ability to publish podcasts for free on iTunes and other places, you’re bound to reach an entirely new audience. It’s a great way to build your brand and increase your exposure. People that may have never even heard of your will come across your podcast just by searching or browsing within your category.

Convenience

Your readers will now become listeners and they’ll really appreciate the convenience of being able to listen to your content on the go (via a mobile device) or while multitasking right at home or in the office. Listening actually takes less cognitive effort than reading, plus the Web has really made people more lazy. So, it’s only natural that your readers will enjoy listening to your podcasts because it will save them time and energy.

Build Relationships

Your podcast will give you the ability to improve your relationship with your current readers and build new relationships as well. It’s much easier to build a personal connection to a human voice than from writing; text can be so impersonal. Hearing your voice will let your listeners into your life and get to know the real you. You can also interact with them more and even respond to questions, remarks or feedback that they send.

If you’re now ready to take that next step, there are numerous resources on the Web to help you get started. Some methods are easier than other; so just be sure to find the method that best suits your needs and you’ll be a podcasting pro in no time!

About the Author

This post was written by Lior who advises to a live chat support software company called iAdvize. Lior Also works for an MA in Israel studies program.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Facebook and blogging, if both are done right, can be a powerful combination. Linking up your Facebook Page with your blog is a great way to get your blog readers more involved with your Facebook community, and it’s also a great chance to let your Facebook fans know what’s going on over on your blog.

It’s not difficult to link up your Facebook Page and your blog, in fact some of it can be set once and then will automatically continue to work for you. It’s just a matter of getting the pieces in place so that both your blog and your Facebook Page are communicating with each other and your people can easily connect with you where they are most comfortable interacting.

Let’s start with some things you can do on your Facebook Page.

Automatically Post Your Blog Updates

Every time you write a new blog post, you can have Facebook automatically publish that on your Facebook Page. This is a great way to let your fans know that there is new content over on the blog, and they can get a quick sneak peek to see if it’s something they want to check out or not.

All you need is a Facebook Page app that posts from an RSS feed. RSS Graffiti is a good example of one that is completely free and easy to set up.

Blog Directly In Facebook

Most bloggers will want to continue to have an external blog outside of Facebook, however, Facebook’s Notes app can act like a blog inside Facebook. With Notes you can write and post an article, include images and links, and post it right to your Facebook Page Wall. The Notes app is automatically added to any new Page, so you can easily find it by going in to the Apps section in your Edit Page backend.

The Notes app can also be used to import your blog and works great if your blog is primarily written. {Videos do not import properly, so if your blog has a lot of video, then I recommend just using the RSS Graffiti app for your blog.} The Notes app will import your new blog posts right into Notes, so that it’s now in your Facebook Page and your fans can comment on it there.

There are also a number of things you can set up on your blog to point to and connect to your Facebook Page.

Facebook Share Button

There are a number of good plugins for WordPress that add a Facebook Share button to each post on your blog. You can have one that shows the number of shares, or one that simply has the Share button with no count.

A Facebook Share button is a quick and easy way for readers to share your post if they like it. They are able to add their own comment, and Facebook pulls in the title, URL, short description and thumbnail, so it gives your blog some great exposure to the Share-er’s friends.

Facebook Comments

Adding Facebook comments to your blog can be a great way to bring some more interactivity with Facebook to your site. Facebook comments sync between your blog and Facebook so that user’s comments are posted to their Personal Profile when they comment.

Readers who are not on Facebook are not able to comment, however, so some people use Facebook Comments alongside the regular WordPress comments, or only use the Facebook Comments on certain pages of their blog.

Facebook Like

You can also add a simple Like button to each blog post. When readers click Like, it publishes a quick story to their profile saying that they Like it. The Like button also typically shows readers if any of their friends already like the post, so it can be a great way to show them that their friends are already interacting with your blog {if they actually are, of course}.

The Like button doesn’t let them add a comment or share the actual post, but it does give your post just a bit of visibility on Facebook. And visibility equals new fans and more interaction from current fans. Use it as well as the Facebook Share button to give your readers two easy ways give you some Facebook love.

Facebook Page Icon or Like Box

Many of your blog readers would love to be fans on Facebook, as well. Give them the option to do so right from your blog with a Facebook Page Like Box, which has the Like button right on your site, so they don’t have to leave your blog.

Or if you prefer to have them leave your site to go to Facebook, then use a Facebook icon that links to your Facebook Page. You can use just a plain text link, too, but if people are looking for how to connect with you on Facebook, they’ll be looking for the blue Facebook “F”. Don’t be shy about displaying that icon!

How to Find Apps and Plugins

If you’re not familiar with finding and installing new Facebook Page apps and WordPress plugins, just start doing some searching. You can use the search bar in Facebook to search for apps – just start typing what you’re looking for and Facebook will show you a list of suggestions. If looking for WordPress plugins, you can do a search on WordPress.org for plugins.

And don’t forget that Google is your best friend. You can search for Facebook apps and WordPress plugins right in Google, as well, and will find recommendations from others, as well as the actual apps and plugins on Facebook and WordPress.

Your Turn

Are you already using some of these tools and techniques? Which new ones are you going to start implementing? And are there any other techniques that you would like to add to the list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Image Credit: Anirudh Koul

About the Author

Jess is a quirky entrepreneur who helps fellow quirks EXPLODE their business on Facebook. She loves all things Facebook and being able to help business owners learn how to build an active audience to grow their business through Facebook. If you’d like to learn more, you can attend her FREE webinar, The Facebook Explosion Blueprint, or join The Facebook Explosion community on Facebook. You can also follow Jess’ blog and website over at www.jessilicious.com.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

I love blogging. I really do. And what’s not to love about it, whatever the reasons behind it. No matter if people pick up blogging as a way to share their opinions with the world, get a side buck or simply keep a public or private journal, the end result is just the same. Those that invest time and passion in their blogging activities, those that stick to it through better or worse, I believe that those are becoming better human beings, reaching a higher state of humanity through blogging.

We have learned to love human contact once again

Remember the days without computers and internet? Remember the days when kids were getting together, playing in the streets, constantly looking for adventures in the urban jungle? Remember how everyone from child to teenager and adult was looking to group up, find new friends? That was the time before mIRC, IMs, Counter Strike, World of Warcraft, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. With time, we grew close to fewer friends. We learned to keep the close ones closer and draw a clear separation line between friends and casual contacts.

Not anymore. With blogging, we’re getting back on track. We know that networking is that Ace card a blogger has hidden in his sleeve. And not just simple networking. We have learned that without sustained contact – developing real relations whenever possible through meet-ups, online or offline – there is no point in trying. Blogging gave us back that big circle of friends. We reach out in hope to be reached back.

We have learned to care more

While we do our daily networking and social media routines we show appreciation to those around us. You might think that linking to a post we enjoyed reading or retweeting someone’s tweet or article it’s nothing more than that, but you’d be wrong. It’s that feeling inside that pushes us to do a good thing for the ones sharing all this amazing content with us, and why not pushing it out there for all of our friends to discover it. If that ain’t caring – in our little virtual world – I don’t know what else is.

We’ve rediscovered our selflessness

Most times, just the fact that we put useful content out there for others to discover it’s a sign of us getting rid of our selfish habits. But there’s more to it. We have discovered that without giving away and not asking for something in return our own virtual universe would not expand. We give away eBooks, designs, apps, you name it. And yes, we HOPE it will open the gates to a whole new audience, new relationships and generally an increased awareness. But that is only HOPE. We’re not asking nor begging for anything in return, and that’s how I know we’ve reached a good level of selflessness.

Therefore, you should keep blogging. You should undoubtedly continue to put great resources out there, in any form: content, files, applications, you name it. Why? Because you’ll simply be blogging your way to a higher state of humanity!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

The niche of blogging tips is a crowded one and no wonder it’s that way. Blogging is so “the new black”. It gives you freedom, the perspective of making a few (or more) bucks and why not, for some might be just a way to vent. So, what better way to reach a constantly growing and renewing audience than by providing tips on how they should blog. The problem is that sometimes bloggers in this niche forget to be original and get stuck in the same circle of clichés.

Let me take you through my personal top 5 list of the most annoying blogging clichés.

5. Content is king

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one that reads this almost daily on some blog or Twitter. It gives me the feeling that people keep on discovering the wheel over and over again. We all know that content is king, but there’s so much more beyond that. How many or the articles you read on this topic go further into exploring the ways to give your content the deserved spotlight? My take is that without due promotion, aesthetics and a good network, your content is nothing but a king without a kingdom!

4. How to overcome a writer’s block

Are there any more ways to overcome a writer’s block? I’ve read so much advice on this, but fact is you only need to know/do 3 things:

• Step aside from what you’re trying to write.
• Get out of the house, do something different. There’s life outside blogging too!
• Ask other people for their opinion. You might consider it or not, but a fresh perspective is always welcome.

Other than this it’s all a matter of personal habits, of things we love to do and things that relax us.

3. Top X lists

He he, I know I’m guilty, but can you blame me? We all love lists! The trick is to know how and when to do another list post. Lists are such an easy way to get some new content published without worrying too much about creative writing, but please don’t overdo it. Have a good balance between in depth articles that will encourage your readers to think and react and list posts. Consider them a way to give your readers a moment to breathe.

Also, make sure you don’t copy other people’s lists, which is hard because lists are about mass-appeal, and if you chose a topic, chances are other bloggers have already been there and already done that, most probably in just the same way.

2. (How to) Make money blogging

Hype. Everyone wants to be the next 6 figure blogger (hate the term) and so many people state they can help you. Fact is, even if they could, they rarely do. I mean, have a look around at most of the crowned kings in the make money blogging niche and answer me this: how factual are their tips. Or better yet, how many tips, other than generic stuff they share? It’s all about “I’m affiliate to this, I’m affiliate to that, try it too.” Of course, through their affiliate links. I’m not saying you cannot make money online (God, please don’t smite me!). I’m just saying that there are only a few things you need to consider and not expect someone else to do it for you:

• Put great content out there. Nobody gives a poop (stop smiling, I’m just using decent language!) about how much you make if you don’t help them make that too.
• Try out different services. Some will prove to be money makers, some won’t, but there’s no generic recipe that will fit every blogger and his unique blogging style and topics, and most importantly their particular audience.
• Network like crazy! It’s the one big secret you rarely read, but if you watch closely, networking it’s all there is to it. Call it affiliate marketing, call it promotion, call it whatever you want. In the end it’s still multi-level marketing and it cannot be done without strong partners and happy followers!

Or, you might just want to create a brand for yourself that you can leverage to promote and distribute your own products, but that’s a path that requires work and where the fun in that when we could just expect money to fall from the sky.

And now for my all time favorite…

1. Stand out from the crowd!

I’m guessing I should be in perfect health right now from all the standing gymnastics I’ve done. No really, how many times a week do you read this? I know it sound nice, it even rhymes, but seriously, ain’t that the reason you blog about blogging, to help your readers achieve uniqueness and greatness? Should you add another generic “stand out from the crowd” post just to catch a damn long-tail keyword in search engine rankings?

Every time you use a blogging cliché…

You’ll make Mr. Newman sad, and seriously, see for yourself how sad he already is!

Jokes aside, consider this post as an advice to keep away from the blogging clichés. I know it’s hard since the niche is crowded and topics tend to come back into spotlight regularly, but if you must write about it, please try and get a fresh perspective or at least add some depth to your perspective. People rarely get down and dirty dissecting topics because using a cliché is just that: an easy way to get something out there. Why would you want to complicate your life? Really? Then I’d ask you: Why would you want to waste my time making me read the same over-recycled content?

Over to you

Tell me which are the most annoying blogging clichés you’ve come across in your blogging adventures? Drop me a comment, or better yet, write a post about it and give it a nice twist. Link it back here and if it’s really interesting I’ll include it in this post as a sample of “what others think”.

The cute sad pup in this photo is Bob aka Mr. Newman, which unfortunately passed away (one more reason not to upset him) and the shot was taken by Christopher Michel

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Nothing helps set a blog and its author apart and give them the visibility they need more effectively than a unique blogging voice, one that’s easily recognizable in each post you publish. Both general and niche blogs need their style to help them stand out. It’s an easy way to gain loyal fans, authority and reputation.

How exactly can you find your blogging voice and make sure it is recognizable in everything you publish? Here are a few tips:

1. Identify your blogging voice

Each person has their preferences for certain phrases, expressions, ways of building phrases or of presenting arguments. This personal style needs to be inserted into your blog writing and maintained throughout each post. You need to experiment to first come to understand which is your blogging voice, otherwise you’ll just stumble around blindly, picking up influences from who ever you might think is hot and popular at a certain point. It has to be your inner voice, not a fabricated one, as its being genuine will make it easier to maintain. It will be something that comes naturally when you write, not a forced tactic meant at setting you apart that you might overlook when getting into a topic you’re passionate about.

2. Use catchphrases

Everyone recognizes Midnight Caller’s “Good night, America… Wherever you are”. And if you don’t know this one, who on Earth does not immediately associate Bugs Bunny with “What’s up, dock?” or Porky Pig with “That’s all folks!”? They are used in movies, by writers, by radio show hosts. A certain turn and twist of a famous phrase, a typical start to to your posts’ conclusions, a personally developed way of inviting others to comment, an interjection that’s all you, supporting your blogging structure with such catchphrases will make your unique voice and style recognizable to your blog readers. It will become part of your brand.

The secret to a good catchphrase is to choose one that actually fits all and any post you might think of publishing and stay away for overused, cheesy catchphrases. For example, the overused, Pantene invented “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” might not make you seem unique and have the exactly opposite effect, resulting in a rolling-eyes gesture from readers that’s actually bad for your blog. Though that might be good for Kanye West!

3. Get your readers accustomed to receiving something extra from your post

If a catchphrase that fits all your articles is harder to pin down, you can create other writing habits that will later define your unique blogging voice to your audience. Start or end your post with famous quotes or lyrics, book recommendations or a quick roundup of other blogs debating the subject that are relevant to the topic you’re debating.

4. Using themes or blog series

Joanna Paterson over at Confident Writing further defined her unique blogging voice by choosing a theme for each month of blogging. All the posts published in a month would further expand the chosen theme. If you don’t have enough material for a monthly theme, you can choose a weekly theme or have a blog series published each month. State the theme at the end of the month and publish one or two parts each week. Also, try and come up with a unique and appealing name for your series.

5. Create your signature group writing project or award

While there is nothing new or impressive about group writing projects (GWP) or awards per se, creating a unique, signature GWP or system to award others will help readers better identify you and your blog and it will set you apart from the millions of blogs out there. Think of how we immediately connect the “What I learned from...” monthly GWP with Robert Hruzek. Or how the weekly list of new SOB badges says Liz Strauss and Successful-Blog.com to all of us!

And while we’re debating the unique blog topic, you might travel back through the archives and read this post too: What’s behind a unique blog?

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

As promised a while back, I’ve finished editing the Corporate Blogging Guide in PDF eBook format. So, today I give you the chapters you’ve had the chance to read online plus a whole new chapter (8. Technical aspects) and some bonus tips to guide you in your corporate blogging adventures!

How to download the eBook?

In order to download the ebook, all you have to do is to subscribe for free to Blogsessive’s RSS feed (if you haven’t done so until now) and you’ll find the download link at the end of each article in the feed.

eBook preview and contents

Here are two screenshots of the book’s cover and the contents page:

Don’t forget to subscribe…

… to Blogsessive’s RSS feed to download the eBook and to stay updated. There are plenty more freebies in the works, including a new WordPress theme and my second eBook: “From Zero to Blogging Hero: 100 Blogging Tips”

Enjoy the eBook friends!

PS: Please do not link to the download link in the feed. Instead, if you wish to promote this ebook, link to this post. Otherwise, I will consider it spam and wrongful usage!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Happy Halloween folks! As you might have noticed, Blogsessive has changed its “clothes” on this special occasion. Don’t worry, the nerd will be back tomorrow, when Dracula “leaves the building”.

Now, since this is a special occasion, the topic for today’s article has been inspired by a comment I received on part 6 of the Corporate Blogging Guide:

I think we all start our blogs worried people might not like us and when they do, we don’t want to change for fear of losing readers. I’ll take experiments to stagnation any day.
David Walker

The moment I read David’s comment I knew he made a really good remark. It is fear that keeps us in place. It is fear that keeps us from “spreading our wings”. We abide all the rules and all things that we know for sure will work and hope to be the next blogging “rockstar”. But, do you really believe those “rockstars” we all follow are there because they are copycats? Because they follow rules? Or might it be possible that they are the ones creating new rules? Might they be the ones revolutionizing the concepts?

Do you want to be a better blogger? Then…

Don’t be afraid to stray from the pattern!

What worked for other people, might work for you. But it might not also. Do you want to be another face in the crowd, or “the inspiration” for the crowd? If you want to inspire, then find the unexplored paths. Lead people to places they did not visit before! Try, try, and then, try again. Who cares if an experiment fails? You lost 3 subscribers? OK! Move on, fight to find that something that will get you 300 subscribers in return!

Don’t be afraid to be yourself!

It’s your blog! I’m not saying you should be an a*s, but if you have an opinion, put it out there. If you’re not comfortable with your own views and opinions you should not blog. Blogging is about being personal. You need to have your own voice, different than the voices you hear in the crowd around you! Out of 10 people that say the same thing, only one will go down in history for saying it the best way, his way!

Don’t be afraid to lose battles!

No one is victorious every time. It’s all about winning the war, right? I’ll give myself as an example here. I’m still “fighting this blogging war”. I lost battles. You’ve noticed the time I spent away from the blog. It was a lost battle. So, I took the time to find the right resources to continue “the war” and I’m back. Have I lost something along the way? A couple of email subscribers. I do get why they are not subscribed anymore, but those who believe in you and support you will be there, for better or worse. (Thanks again folks!) Everything that you lose, can be built again. We’re not born with these. We’re born naked. With the right mind set on it, we can overcome loses.

Don’t be afraid to dream!

Dream. Hope. Believe! If you don’t set your mind to the higher target, you’ll never achieve it. Know your limits, and when you know them, set your standard above them. It’s the only way you can actually reach your limits, because it’s hard to avoid falling in the trap of indulging into small victories or sufficiency.

It’s Halloween folks, but on this day, you should NOT be afraid!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

So, did you ask yourself if a blog is the right thing for your company? Is it a solution that will boost your business instead of being a resource consumer? If so, it’s time to find out what options are there in terms of positioning a corporate blog.

Each company has its specific communication needs. Based on said needs and other established targets, a newly launched company blog can help achieve specific goals, such as:

• Becoming an alternative, and dynamic method to publish content;
• Positioning employees as thought leaders and experts in their respective fields;
• Building a community around a company, product or service;
• Boosting sales;
• Encouraging customers to send their feedback;
• Speeding up customer service;
• Gaining you exposure through both new and traditional (print press, radio, TV) media;
• Positioning you as a trendy company that keeps up with new technologies;
• Becoming and effective channel for crisis communication;
• Supporting your HR efforts by offering an “alternative” look at your team and thus attracting new job applications;
• Helping your company rank higher for specific search phrases and attracting new backlinks.

It’s highly recommended to establish a set of complementary goals. If a company manages to focus on and reach its main goals, the adjacent targets will also be achieved at the same time.

Here are a couple of examples of complementary goal sets:

• Building a community + boosting sales + attracting feedback
• Positioning yourself as a thought leader + building a community + gaining media exposure

Other chapters of the Corporate Blogging Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction to Blogging
Chapter 2: Critical Questions Before Launching a Corporate Blog
Chapter 3: Setting up Goals and Blog Positioning (current)
Chapter 4: Types of Corporate Blogs
Chapter 5: Blog Editors & Editorial Policy
Chapter 6: Blogging Tips to Get You Started
Chapter 7: Blog Performance Tracking Tools

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Not all promoting and marketing techniques yield results in any given situation and likewise blogs aren’t always the best solution. In certain cases, a blog can become a useless investment, or worse, a way to boost the already negative view the audience has on a company.

Before launching a blog, each company needs to ask the following questions:

2.1. Is the blog a necessity or just a whim?

A company’s decision to launch a blog may be based on obvious advantages generated by the freedom of communication and by its being given a human touch. Considering these advantages or failing to do so, we still run into situations where a company chooses to launch a blog because of reasons such as:

• Our competitor X has launched a blog;
• It’s trendy, any teen has one. Why can’t we have one?
• We want to look high-tech / tech savvy.

In theory, none of the reasons above is a real obstacle, given it’s associated with and supported by other factors such as having the necessary resources to create and maintain a blog or a positive or neutral image in the market.

2.2 Do you have the needed resources to launch and maintain a blog?

Unlike classic company website, blogs keep consuming resources.

Blogs imply costs. Be it the technical side – design, development, hosting, be it hiring an experienced blogger to maintain it and publish fresh content, a blog needs financial resources.

Blogs take time. It takes time to create and publish content; it takes time to research, write posts, update them and maintain the blog. And for any company with a sense of business, time always means money.

Blogs need dedicated personnel. While there are quite a few tools to render content publishing automatic, the best results in corporate blogging are harvested by those publishing customized content, created by their own people. Are there people in your team who can maintain the blog? If not, do you have enough resources to bring in someone new?

Blog require information. And information is either created or needs to be searched for, analyzed and filtered. These steps also take time and need to be carried out by people who need to be effective and thorough in research, data filtering and content creation.

2.3 How does the online audience feel about your company?

We are talking about the online world, where the fastest and most relevant reactions are being published. How do we track them?

2.3.1 Reactions in the blogosphere: Technorati

Technorati.com is at the same time a blog search engine and a blog content aggregation service. According to the latest data, Technorati indexes and analyzes the activity of about 110 blogs from around the world.

Through a system reviewing both post tags and inter-blog links, Technorati returns relevant search result in a reverse-chronological order, the most recent ones being displayed first.

2.3.2 Reactions in the blogosphere: Google Blog Search

The world famous Google has a search engine entirely dedicated to blogs. Using the traditional search algorithms it’s already known for, Google Blog Search allows you to filter results based on multiple search parameters as well as on the date when the blog articles and reactions have been published.

Running a search for your company’s name will most likely return relevant results which are usually very personal, as they are reactions from within the blogosphere. If your brand mainly targets domestic customers, the wisest choice is to use the local version of the blog search engine.

And of course, running the search directly on the main Google search engine can return similarly relevant results.

2.3.3 Reactions in the online press from your field

Although it is not always the most relevant source, as it is often affiliated to certain trade groups or biased by advertising constraints, the online press covering your field can be an effective indicator for your company’s image by taking into account what their experts and analysts have to say about you.

2.3.4. Quantifying the risk factor

Based on the results obtained after analyzing all these online reactions, one can quite accurately quantify the risk factor their company is exposed to by publishing a blog, especially if it is a blog that allows comments to be posted.

A negative online image can lead to a virtually unlimited series of negative comments which rarely have to do with the actual content published on the blog. Visitors would have thus found a way to express all their frustration caused by real or imaginary flaws they see in the company’s products and services.

2.4 Interpreting the answers

It hardly takes a genius to determine if the blog is just a whim with a short life span and inexistent success in communicating with customers.

Also, it is obvious that without the necessary resources, a blog cannot be launched or it will be launched while lacking any real possibility of it being maintained in the future.

And who would ever want to help spread an already bad image through exposing themselves to ever present negative comments, especially in their own “online home”?

Other chapters of the Corporate Blogging Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction to Blogging
Chapter 2: Critical Questions Before Launching a Corporate Blog (current)
Chapter 3: Setting up Goals and Blog Positioning
Chapter 4: Types of Corporate Blogs
Chapter 5: Blog Editors & Editorial Policy
Chapter 6: Blogging Tips to Get You Started
Chapter 7: Blog Performance Tracking Tools

Photo credits to Johanna Ljungblom

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

A few months back I was invited to attend, as a speaker, an event on corporate blogging where the people in the audience were mostly PR Managers for different companies in my country. Along with the PowerPoint presentation, I have decided to also give those who attended the event more information on corporate blogging through an eBook I wrote at that time.

The following post is the first chapter of that eBook, translated into English. The rest of the chapters will be also published, over the next few days, except for the weekend. Now, let’s see what corporate blogging is about and if it is the right tool for you and your business.

1.1 Blog, Blogging, Blogosphere

The term blog, contracted form of weblog, defines a certain type of website where texts, photos, audio or video content are published in chronological order, much like an online diary.

The first blogs date back to 1993 when the term was first introduced, but they only started to be used more frequently in 1998 when the first blog community, Open Diary, appeared.

The true hit of the online mainstream happened around 2002-2003, when the first blog reactions regarding the Iraq war were published and when Google acquired the Blogger.com platform, which allows any person with Internet access to create and maintain their own blog.

The Blogosphere comprises all public blogs and is defined as a community based on the theory that all existing blogs are somehow interconnected, often through blogrolls or links inserted in their content.

A blogroll is a list of links, commonly displayed in a blog’s sidebar. The links usually point to blogs the author deems relevant to the content of their own blog or simply wants to recommend to their readers.

Therefore, through blogrolls, it is believed that any two blogs can be connected through one or more intermediary links.

Blogs allow publishing content in a wide range of types and formats, and these types of content lead to a first classification of blogs:

1. a. Classic blog – text content
2. b. Photoblog – publishes photo content
3. c. Videoblog – publishes video content
4. Audioblog (podcast) – publishes audio content

Microblogs and tumbleblogs, both defined as blogs with extremely short entries, are two other blog formats gaining more and more popularity in the past few years.

Regardless of information format, the online publishing of content through blog platforms is called blogging, and the author of a blog is called blogger.

1.2 Corporate blogging

Once they have hit the spotlights, the blogs’ potential to communicate effectively was immediately noticed by companies.

Initially seen as a mere tool to promote products and services, blogs gradually became part of a company’s brand. Aside from placing a name and a logo on them, blogs granted companies a persona they could be associated with. In short, they made them human. The corporate blog managed to break the barrier between the “inaccessible company” and its customers.

The true value of a company is undoubtedly fueled by its employees’ individual values. But how exactly can these values be expressed? How can they be best presented to the world?

Blogs allow companies to position their employees as industry leaders through the opinions they publish, through the breakthroughs shared on the blog, all in a human, personal form that eases communication with customers.

A few companies that have successfully adopted the concept of blogs are:

Adobe – http://blogs.adobe.com/
Microsoft – http://www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs/ and http://blogs.msdn.com/
Google – http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

The benefits of a well crafted and maintained blog are plenty, but is it the right tool for companies? Find out in the next chapters.

Other chapters of the Corporate Blogging Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction to Blogging (current)
Chapter 2: Critical Questions Before Launching a Corporate Blog
Chapter 3: Setting up Goals and Blog Positioning
Chapter 4: Types of Corporate Blogs
Chapter 5: Blog Editors & Editorial Policy
Chapter 6: Blogging Tips to Get You Started
Chapter 7: Blog Performance Tracking Tools

Photo credits to Peter Nielsen

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Tweetmeme buttons, plugins to show latest tweets on blogs, Twitter accounts linking to the owner’s blog, new posts being tweeted, and blog addresses and twitter links in signatures. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what else would show that blogging and tweeting go hand in hand for tons of people. If you think of names, blogging and microblogging, you kind of see the connection. If you think microblogging appeared later, you’d think much of the blogging knowledge is applicable. But how can you be on both platforms and make them work individually and as a team?

1. Spot the similarities

Blogs and Twitter are of the same species. They come from the world of the social web where the same rules apply. You know, give before you ask, be nice, share relevant information, never, ever, ever limit yourself to broadcasting, be conversational, help out. It’s not rocket science and it’s definitely not new. To make it more clear, here’s the example section: comment on other blogs before you expect comments – or – retweet before you expect your followers to retweet your 140 characters of content.

Catchy and interesting content is crucial for both. If your blog post is a big hit, make your tweets the same. “New blog post + link” won’t make a lot of people click. “Star Trek is real! We can all now teleport! + link + Fresh from the blog” might work a lot better.

They both need frequent updates. If you’re planning to create a blog and never post after the first time, you’ve failed. If you’re planning to get a Twitter account to say hi and have a cool button on your blog without ever doing anything more, you have failed. People expect updates from both bloggers and microbloggers.

Both need monitoring. You need to check responses, reactions and trends to be on top of your game. And if you’re blogging and tweeting right, that will take a whole lot of time.

Your blog and your Twitter account need to be welcoming and make it easy for visitors / followers to take action. Login required, captchas and about three other levels of security make it difficult to comment. Protected tweets make it difficult for new followers to 1. decide if they want to follow you and 2. actually do the following. It all has to be easy and accessible.

2. Acknowledge the differences

Blogs and tweets need different frequencies in updates. While it’s OK to post a couple of times each week on your blog, that might not work that great for Twitter. It’s more like a few posts per day. Yes, it takes time. It does take less time than to write a blog post. Plus content is readily available: your posts, industry news, tweets from those you follow. Add a few replies and you’ve got a quite active Twitter stream!

140 characters vs. virtually no limits. You need to adjust what you want to say to the platform you’re posting it to. Keep ideas short and sweet for Twitter and develop on the blog. Yes, we’ve all seen the huge ideas split into 4 consecutive tweets… But if you follow a few hundred people, you’ll see how fast the meaning gets lost in between tweets.

Different pace, different tempo! It all happens faster on Twitter. Yes, you can reply to a comment after two days. But if you reply to a tweet after the same amount of time, you have 90% chances that the person getting the response will have no clue what you’re talking about.

3. Fuel the team spirit

If it’s a team, it has to look like one! You are in the end promoting the same brand, so make sure to have common visual elements on your blog and Twitter page.

If it’s a team, it should feel like one! The style on the blog and that of your tweets need to be somewhat similar. People have to sense the same spirit behind it all; otherwise the connection between the two will be feeble. They’ll stick to one or the other, and your plan to make them work together would have failed.

If it’s a team, it should have the same purpose! Be it to promote your business, stay in touch with friends, position yourself as an expert, you need to have a common goal for both platforms. You can’t try to drive leads your way with the blog and talk about raising kids on Twitter if you have any plans to promote one through the other!

Over to you!

As it happens to just blogging, just tweeting, blogging and twitting, or any field for that matter, the pool of relevant information is always bigger than one person. What tips and tricks have you come across while trying to make your blog and twitter work like a dream team? Do share your advice in the comment box!

About the Author

This is a guest post by Alina Popescu, PR Consultant & Founder of Mirror Communications. If you’re looking for a fresh voice, balancing unique views on life with original PR and marketing tips, head over to her blog at WordsOfABrokenMirror.com, or better yet, subscribe to her RSS feed.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Let’s play! Today’s post is a fun, creative exercise that I’d be happy to complete with your help through the comments section. What is the exercise about? Blogging tips, of course.

This post is part of the change I wish to bring to Blogsessive and get closer to you folks, your needs and thoughts!

What I will do: Using the ODD letters (A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O, Q, S, U, W, Y) of the English alphabet I will list 13 blogging tips, each in a sentence starting with that letter.

What you could do: Share your tips and views by completing the sentences starting with EVEN letters (B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T, V, X, Z).

I’m sure that each and everyone of you has something to share with the community, so let’s get creative!

The Blogging Alphabet of Blog Tips

A. Acknowledge the latest trends in your area of blogging. Always stay up to date, informed.

B. …

C. Connect with other people, with bloggers in your niche. Offer help. Network. Friends are some of bloggers’ greatest “assets”.

D. …

E. Experiment with different approaches in your written speech. Depending on topic, you might find that different “voices” impact people in different ways. Push your communication skills.

F. …

G. Guide your audience through your content, through your posts, or posts’ paragraphs. Make your content accessible and readable.

H. …

I. Innovate. Don’t go on the same routes as everyone before you. Find your strengths and build a unique brand upon them.

J. …

K. Know when it’s time to let go. If an experiment or an idea doesn’t prove effective, leave your feelings aside and let it go before you’ve invested too much time and resources.

L. …

M. Mix your posts. Every once in a while add a small drop of fun. Informal and educational posts are great for your audience, but too many such posts in a row can become boring. Remember when you were in school. Your favorite teacher must have been the one that knew how to make learning fun!

N. …

O. Organize yourself. From writing habits to files, contacts and even structure of your blog’s categories. Create a pattern that will save you and your readers time!

P. …

Q. Quiz your target audience from time to time. Run polls and ask for views and opinions. Or make it even better. Run a real quiz and have some cool prizes ready. It helps getting more engagement from your community, as well as loyalty.

R. …

S. Seize opportunities as soon as they come up, especially if you’re an internet marketer. We’re living in an extremely fast world and what today is opportunity, tomorrow might be old news.

T. …

U. Unburden yourself. Learn how to delegate or outsource certain tasks while you focus on those you’re more skilled at or more time/cost effective.

V. …

W. Write. Write every day. Even if it’s not going to get published on the blog. Write as an exercise. Train your creativity and your writing habit until it all comes much more natural.

X. …

Y. Yield the best results by investing in your blog. Blogging consumes resources: time, money, energy, creativity. Be prepared to use them in order to succeed.

Z. …

Contribute to the alphabet

Leave your tips and contributions in the comment area and please use your NAME, not keywords. The best contributions will be selected for at PDF mini-ebook that I’ll make available for free download on the blog, and all contributions will be attributed to their authors with name and website link.

Sounds cool? Then jump in and let’s have fun!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

A few weeks ago I was driving down the highway. It was late at night and I was tired. The radio was starting to put me to sleep. Suddenly a song come on that woke me up – I could not believe what I was hearing. The song was that bad.

I am no expert when it comes to music. The last time I played an instrument was in grade 6 music class. It was the xylophone – I simply had to hit a a couple keys with a wooden mallet whenever the teacher pointed at me. I do not know anything about timing, rhythm or beat. But I do know how to listen to music. I know what music should sound like.

What I heard on the radio was not music – it was painful noise. No rhythm, no beat and the singing was nothing more then a girl squealing forced rhymes. I listened to the whole song just to find out if it was some kind of joke. Would the DJ admit that it was something his 5 year daughter composed and asked daddy to play on the radio? But at the end of the song the DJ only said, “… and that was The Shaggs”

The Shaggs

The Shaggs were a 3 girl band from the late 60′s. The girl’s ages ranged from 18 to 22. They had no intention of having a band, their father did. He had visions of being a big shot manager for the next big thing in music – his daughter’s band. He pulled them out of school and made them practice and play. He spent the family savings to buy instruments and record an album. The albums where distributed by the father to all the local stations.

Of course success did not come as the father had anticipated. And the reason is obvious – the music is terrible. It sounds like the instruments and singer are being thrown down a long flight of stairs. No tempo, erratic and completely off-kilter singing. The lyrics are about Halloween, a two legged dog, and how great parents are. It is simply bad music.

When I got home I was curios to find out who The Shaggs are and how they got on the radio. As shocked as I was when I heard how bad the music was, it was nothing compared to my amazement when I saw that on Amazon the album has a customer rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 and 131 reviews.

How Did The Shaggs Get On The Radio

They did not have thousand’s of hours of training, they did not have a million dollar promotion campaign, they did not have brilliant lyrics. How did they do it? How did they get popular enough to be heard on the radio?

The answer is what bloggers call a great backlink.

The famous musician Frank Zappa heard the album and publicly stated that the Shaggs are “better than the Beatles”. Why he thinks so or what he was on does not matter. What matters is that he said it. Suddenly The Shaggs were in the spotlight. People started to buy the album and listen to the music – it started to be played on the radio. Thanks to all the resulting publicity, in 1996 the Rolling Stones called the album one of the 100 “most influential alternative releases of all time”.

Terrible music but a big seller, all thanks to Zappa.

Focus on Getting the Zappa Backlink

The mantra you hear over and over again is that you need backlinks. The more backlinks you get the better chance you have of success. You might have the best blog in the world but without backlinks nobody will ever see it.

You are suppose to submit your blog to directories, make comment on other blogs, and submit articles. Accumulate as many as you can,the more the better.

True, this will increase the number of backlinks to your site. But even a hundred of these backlinks do not compare to a Zappa backlink – a backlink from a major player in your niche.

Get a backlink from the top blogger in your niche because it is worth more then the 100′s of backlinks from blog comments and directories. A nod of approval from someone famous and respected will instantaneously bring your blog into the spotlight. If they have a following of a 100,000 then suddenly 100,000 eyes will be on you.

How To Get the Zappa Backlink

Obviously the problem is getting the Zappa backlink. It is not easy and there is no step by step process to getting one. Nobody can give you advice on how to get it, there is no formula. You have to be creative and original. You have to find a way to get the attention of a big player and get them to mention you. There is the chance you will get lucky and receive one without trying, but more likely you will have to work hard for it.

A perfect example of a great backlink is this guest post. This blog is very popular with 1000′s of visitors a day. By putting in the time to create this guest post and having it accepted I suddenly get lots of exposure. The backlink from this high page rank blog can turn out to be my Zappa backlink.

You have a choice: you can either diligently spend a hours every week accumulating little backlinks that might make your blog a success over time. Or you can spend those hours going after the big score. The one big backlink that is worth a 100 little ones.

About the Author

Roman Jelinek is a new webmaster with a blog and website describing in detail what is involved in creating, maintaining and profiting from a site. Charts and statistics are used to reveal How This Website Makes Money Online. If you find the article interesting, do take the time to subscribe to his feed.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Yesterday, Syed Balkhi published one of his best posts lately: “Consistency & Frequency Are The Ultimate Downfall of Blogging“. While Syed was probably looking – as he stated at the article’s end – for a bit of controversy, he actually managed to create a very thoughtful post that made me write a follow up, something I rarely do.

Blogging “Experts” always preach that you must be consistent with your blog, and you should post frequently.

This is how Syed starts his article, making it clear where he’s going to hit, the famous “Be consistent, write frequently” blogging tip. While he makes some very good statement on consistency, I would have loved to see a more detailed explanation of what should be understood by “being consistent with your blog”, and since I did not find those, I’ll share my views in this article.

By blogging consistency you should understand that…

1. You should be consistent in quality

By quality consistency I mean that you should continuously thrive to improve both your writing quality and the usefulness of your articles. People follow you because of the practical use they have for your tips, or the fun factor you always provide and so on. If the quality is poor, make it good. If it’s good, make it better. There’s no perfect, but thrive for it, you’ll get close.

2. You should be consistent in writing style and tone

The folks that read your blog and follow you through feeds and Twitter, do so because of your personality. The more charming you are, the easier it is to get followers. When you’ve found that tone that suits you best, stick with it. Of course, with the occasional escapades. Once in a while it’s nice to break the blogging patterns.

3. You should be consistent in frequency

While frequent posting has its advantages in terms of traffic, when it affects the quality of your posts it can become your blog’s killer. If once a week is the rhythm than does not affect your creativity and quality, that’s how frequently you should post. Don’t post daily just because X does it. I don’t. Even more, whenever I feel that I come across a writer’s block I take a break from Blogsessive, and guess what. My readers are still here. My RSS subscribers are still here. Why? Because they understand and accept the fact that it’s better to sacrifice a week than sacrifice your readership and value.

All in all, Syed is a bit harsh and extreme saying that “consistency & frequency are the ultimate downfall of blogging”. But he’s got a point. Being consistent and frequent for the sake of it is wrong. Being constantly useful and frequently creative is what you should struggle for.

And one more thing to ponder about consistency…

Consistency is the key element in branding

Personal branding, just like any other type of branding is a compound of your actions. The better these actions are tied to each other, the more consistent your image/brand is. But just as with every other brand, there comes a time when you’re required to hit that “Refresh” button. And when you do that, it’s called rebranding.

The point of rebranding yourself? It’s infinitely better that instead of wasting time recycling others’ or your own ideas you should be using that time to reinvent yourself. Continue to provide value, just in a new shape.

My 2 cents on consistency: Be on the lookout for the best in you. Constantly!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

You know, planning a new blog post can be one of the most common problems for a new or recurring blogger. At the same time, the quality of one’s content can dwindle if you don’t take the proper time to consider what it is you want to write about, and stay on task. So how do you go about creating that perfect post idea?

Write When You’re Most Productive

To start, you should try writing when you’re the most productive. If you really want your content to sizzle, you need to be on top of your game, ready to outperform. For example, sitting in a comfortable chair and listening to music might be the best writing environment, while a silent library works for others. Naturally, it’s impossible to be able to sit down and be in perfect writing form 24/7, but being prepared to write is important to developing exceptional content.

Before you begin writing, why not try arranging your desk area in a way that suits you? Make your environment as comfortable as possible to get yourself into the writing mood. Try opening a window. Sounds crazy, right? Whatever you might think, creating an atmosphere that you feel at ease in will make you that much more productive.

Choose a Compelling Topic

If you really want to make an interesting post, you need to begin with an interesting idea. Generating ideas is as simple as considering a solution your readers might need, or a new product that has come out within your market. Let me show you some more ideas you might use for a blog post:

• 5 Ways to Do [Something]
• 20 [Market name] Professionals to Follow on Twitter
• How to Grow in [Your Choice]
• How I [Achievement] in [Timeframe]

One little suggestion might be to build upon previous posts that you’ve done for your blog. What areas have you covered that you can grow and develop more? Building upon your blog’s past content will make your new post even stronger. What’s more, it will give you a place to start when structuring your new blog post.

Structuring Your Post

Normally, bloggers will jump right into writing before deciding upon the layout of their blog post. But let’s be honest – considering the structure of your blog post will ultimately make it more effective. Taking one to two minutes to simply lay out your ideas in order will result in a much more professional post, which flows more seamlessly to your readers. However, you should not spend endless amounts of time on the arrangement on just one post. Figuring out the acceptable layout and moving on is perfectly fine. The bottom line is: spend some time arranging your ideas to avoid turning your posts into a reader’s nightmare.

Learn When to Publish

If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.

Why wait? Or why hurry, for that matter? The most important factor in planning a new blog post is when you’re going to publish it. Rhythm is especially critical in the development of a blog, and posting your new article online at a time of peak visiting hours will help raise subscribers and readership. In the past, new bloggers would simply post and let traffic take care of the rest. However, analytics software makes it easy to determine when people are reading your blog. Posting your new entry an hour or so before peak visiting time will help to improve visibility and exposure. Posting on a day when people are more apt to read your blog is also important.

You might be thinking that planning blog posts is for the more organized or elite bloggers, however, learning to plan out new posts is a skill that will help you to build your blogging experience and authority. Your content will excel with a little extra help.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Ever since blogging has become “mainstream”, companies have discovered a new marketing tool in blogs. Some took blogs even further and transformed them into brand elements and it proved to be a winning decision, as blogs have the power to give a voice and a personality to a company.

But even so, corporate blogging has not always been the best choice for some. Just as with any other marketing tool, it needs to fit your company’s profile, needs and expectations in order to be truly effective. Is a blog really going to help your company? Ask yourself these 3 essential questions before taking the step and launching a new corporate blog.

This post has been revised and included in the Corporate Blogging Guide.
You can read the revised post here.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

There are billions of blogs in the blogosphere. People always say that creating another blog might not be the better thing since almost everything online is saturated. Of course, that’s a complete baloney! Fortunately 60-70% of blogs don’t get traction and just couldn’t seem to make progress. And it’s because of several reasons which I wouldn’t want to talk about here.

Most people fall into this big misconception about blogging. This misconception is about “post and publish”. People think that the key to getting traffic is by creating a killer post, then publishing it. We all know it’s not the case. If no one reads your blog, then no one is even going to notice you created a good post! Obviously the one thing you have to do is to let people know “you” exists in the blogosphere. How? By spreading your content. Today I would like to talk about how you can possibly triple your traffic by spreading your content. Without further “fluff” here they are:

• Social Networking – I don’t understand why a lot of people are so much into the saturated social bookmarking when they have the whole social networking sites to work from! Look, how many of you have accounts in Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, Bebo, etc? I have, and I have an average of 500 contacts on each of them. If you can let your article reach them without sounding spammy then it can bring you a lot. I have done it with my blog and so far I don’t see any saturation in what I am doing.
• Your Article into Podcast – Seriously I am flabbergasted with podcasts nowadays. I always thought before that it’s lame and doesn’t really make much sense to me. But look how a lot of people are using (and consuming) it now. Now you can use a little service known as Odiogo. What Odiogo does is turn your posts into podcasts and have them downloadable. It also has a nice WordPress plugin that you can easily integrate in your blog.
• Your Article into PDF’s – A lot of people hasn’t used this method and frankly I haven’t yet but I think it worths a mention here. Post2PDF is a little WordPress plugin that turns your posts into PDF formats. And it doesn’t end there. You can then go to some famous forums related to your niche and spread it in the freebies section. Now make no mistake about it, people absolutely LOVE free eBooks and stuffs (just look at the forums). If you’re content is a hit, then prepare for truckloads of traffic and subscribers.
• Your Article into Video Posts – Unfortunately there is no software that can possibly convert an article into a video, but you can always take some time to do it yourself. Do a video on one of your killer posts, then submit it to TubeMogul. TubeMogul basically submits your video to famous video directories like YouTube, Vimeo and a lot more. Signing up for an account is free and it’s a very nice tool to get viral very easy.
• Tweet It! – Since Twitter has been one of the most talked about web application nowadays, I can’t help but talk about it too. Twitterfeed is a very cool plugin that basically posts (automatically) the latest article on your blog. Twitthis is another cool tool which enables your readers to tweet the post for you. Whether you have just 100 followers or 20K+ followers, these tools can really get the job done for you.

You can see that the key to getting traffic is getting viral and spreading yourself in as many places as you possibly can without being annoying. The truth about blogging (in my opinion) is that what you can get is based on how much “smart” effort you exerted on it. By doing the steps above, maybe you can get your blog known for a wider audience and have your traffic increased. What say you?

About the Author

Melvin Dichoso is an 18-year old internet marketer who’s been working in the internet for over a year. He’s currently taking up BS Computer Science and is planning to work in internet full-time sometime in the future. He blogs at Melvin Blog dot com where he shares his personal tack on internet geeky stuffs. If you find the article interesting, do take the time to subscribe to his feed.

Blogsessive is always open to guest posters. If you feel like your articles do match Blogsessive’s line of content and quality, contact me.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

How to blog? How to promote content? How to attract readers? How to keep them coming back? The are hundreds of blog offering blogging tips, and Blogsessive is only one of them. But, while running back and forth through the abundance of information, most times we forget about the basic principles of blogging.

Most times, we focus so much and invest too much of our time doing only one thing (ie: writing, promotion etc.) and we forget that blogging is actually a 3 step process, and all 3 steps should get the same level of attention.

These 3 primary steps of blogging are what I call the 3 C’s of blogging, or the 3C process:

1. Create
2. Communicate
3. Collect

Step 1: Create

There is no choice but to create something new, when starting from scratch. Without it, there are no other steps.

Invest everything you’ve got in this single moment in time. Focus on creating something valuable, timeless, helpful.

Create content. Create relationships and connections. Create resources. Create a brand around yourself.

Step 2: Communicate

There’s no point in keeping secret what you have just created. And obviously, no results (or ROI if you wish) from it. Are you proud of what you created? Then let the people know about it.

Communicate. Use the relationships you built to communicate. Communicate through them to those further away (just like the Twitter retweet). Use social media. Be proud and secure about the quality of your work, but don’t go over the top. People love successful people, but hate boasters.

Step into the conversations on your blog. Encourage them. When the 3 step cycle is complete, they’ll help you create again.

Step 3: Collect

If you’ve did everything right, now it time to collect the results. It’s time to collect awareness. Time to collect feedback, to collect income.

The better the creation and communication processes, the better the results.

Not a matter of ‘OR’, but a matter of ‘AND’

Remember:

• There no point in hoping for results without creating anything;
• Without creation, there’s nothing to communicate;
• Communicate well and attract better results.

With blogging, the 3 C’s process is a full circle. You cannot choose what to do better. You must do everything, the best way you can. Start to finish.

Photo credits: SXC.hu and altemark

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

Yesterday, Fi (Fantasy Interactive) sent out alpha invitations to their new product, Kontain.

This is one product I’ve signed up and (not very) patiently waited for its launch, as it should be pretty revolutionary in terms of user-friendliness. Basically, it’s the first Flash-based blogging platform open to world wide free public access.

Here’s how the folks at Fi describe Kontain:

Kontain is a free destination for users to media blog and share photos, videos and audio with friends, family, colleagues and even beautiful strangers. The core of each user's experience is media-driven and Kontain takes the everyday concept of blogging to a wider audience by making it easy for users of all demographics to "kontain" and share their life online. Simple enough for Mom and Dad, yet flexible and sophisticated for a web veteran, Kontain aims to be the Internet's premier destination for user-generated content.

The Alpha launch features (which would soon be backed up by a lot more features that are currently under development) as listed on the Kontain website are:

• Easy to Kontain your life
• Upload Photos, Videos and Audio
• Explore Kontain’s most popular
• Search the media way
• Personal dashboard
• Ratings and Popularity
• Commenting
• Basic privacy settings

A look into what’s in development shows us high resolution media uploads, galleries and collections, messaging, groups, subscriptions, stats, possibility of having your “kontainer” embedded on other websites, multimedia comments, rich(er) text editing, notes over multimedia and many more features.

Here are a few screenshots to help you familiarize with Kontain:

Get your Alpha account!

By the time I’m writing this post, there are still 8.500 accounts available (out of 10.000 a few hours ago) for this Alpha version of Kontain. If you are interested in this service, just go ahead and sign up for a free Kontain account.

My only worry for the time being is the SEO value of this platform and how will Google approach Kontain blogs, but I’m sure that the experience Fi has in the interactive media field will be put to a good use search-engine wise.

Kontain your life!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive