I recently had a family reunion over Thanksgiving and spent a good chunk of time talking with a cousin about Social Media, blogging, etc. This cousin is now getting ready to jump into the Social Media waters and I am providing some support along the way. This interaction has helped spark some additional thoughts I wanted to share on the topic of business blogging.
Make a list of blog ideas- have a list of blog topics ready whenever you have time to blog. If you are a organized person you probably have your blogging time scheduled in your calendar. But what happens when you have no inspiration? This is when a list of 10, 20 or more blog ideas comes in use. Just pick one that looks like a fun topic and get going.
Just do it- blogging is easy, don’t over think it, just jump in and get going. No-one will really be paying attention anyway at first. Don’t over think your blog posts, just make sure they are authentic both in content and voice.
A blog is just the beginning- once you start blogging you will want to make sure that you are promoting it across other Social Media and Web platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Stumble Upon, Email Newsletters, etc. Don’t expect the world to rush in and start a conversation with you once you’ve posted your first blog. It takes time and effort to get people interacting with your posts. Bring the blog to them.
I’m sure I could make list after list along these lines but, hey!, a blog should also be short! Give people a quick idea or thought and leave it at. Longer blogs can be useful at times but only when the subject matter requires that kind of depth. In general I shoot for 4-8 short paragraphs.
So this will do for now!
Make a list of blog ideas- have a list of blog topics ready whenever you have time to blog. If you are a organized person you probably have your blogging time scheduled in your calendar. But what happens when you have no inspiration? This is when a list of 10, 20 or more blog ideas comes in use. Just pick one that looks like a fun topic and get going.
Just do it- blogging is easy, don’t over think it, just jump in and get going. No-one will really be paying attention anyway at first. Don’t over think your blog posts, just make sure they are authentic both in content and voice.
A blog is just the beginning- once you start blogging you will want to make sure that you are promoting it across other Social Media and Web platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Stumble Upon, Email Newsletters, etc. Don’t expect the world to rush in and start a conversation with you once you’ve posted your first blog. It takes time and effort to get people interacting with your posts. Bring the blog to them.
I’m sure I could make list after list along these lines but, hey!, a blog should also be short! Give people a quick idea or thought and leave it at. Longer blogs can be useful at times but only when the subject matter requires that kind of depth. In general I shoot for 4-8 short paragraphs.
So this will do for now!
Good overview. One point I would like to make is to remind any business owner thinking about blogging about the fact that blogs are not sales pitches! Give people value and they will come back.