In the last post we talked about ‘what’ businesses should have a blog (every business) and some of the benefits to a business blog.

So, now let’s talk about business blog tips.  Things you should or shouldn’t do with your blog and how to build a successful business blog.

First, keep in mind that your goal is to create a community.  This means that you must always keep in focus that you want to get people involved, get them interacting with you and give them a reason to want to come back.

Second, remember that building a successful blog takes time.  It doesn’t happen overnight so be consistent and be patient.  Don’t give up just because you don’t see the results or traffic you want in a week or even a month.  It can easily take a year for a blog to start seeing some real success.  It could take longer, it could take less but if you keep your goals in mind, keep your readers at the forefront, and be consistent and patient, you will see the results.  

The worse thing you can do is let your blog go stale, it’ll surely die if you do.  People are thirsty for more so give it to them…not too much of course, but feed your visitors regularly and they will keep returning to your doorstep.  Fresh content is key. 

You need to decide where your blog’s home will be.  A business blog should be on its own domain so avoid free blogs, the cost is extremely low and well worth it.  My favorite is, of course, Wordpress.  Wordpress is very easy to manage and manipulate and also allows you to place your blog on your own domain.  And Google loves Wordpress blogs.

Then you need to pick a theme or have someone design your blog.  Wordpress has tons of free themes.  If you’re going to pick a theme, take your time.  There are a lot of themes, take the time to go through them.  Don’t just pick the first one you think you like.  Blog design and layout is very important.

You want your blog to be eye-catching and professional looking.  You want to pick a theme that relates to your blog’s theme and decide on how many columns you want, the colors that best go with your theme, and ensure ease of manipulation for you and ease of navigation for your readers.  Try a few on.  Sometimes they look better on the site than they do when you actually install them on your blog.  Don’t hesitate to try on as many as it takes for you to feel "perfect". 

There are a ton of plugins and widgets so take a minute to browse around and see what’s out there.  Don’t worry a ton about this at first if you’re not yet comfortable; you can always add the bells and whistles as you go and as you see fit.  Definitely make sure you install a way to check stats (stats plugin for WP) and a spam filter (askimet for WP).  Those are the first two you should install on any blog. 

Search for business blogs that are relative to yours, and maybe take a look at some that aren’t relative, and check out their layout, theme and direction.  Don’t copy them, being unique and just being "you" is very important but looking around will help you get some ideas.  You may see things you want to incorporate into your blog, find things that you want to stay away from and spark your creativity in general. 

Set up links on your blog/blogroll to your main site(s).  Don’t make all the links just about you but be sure to incorporate them.  This will help your site gain exposure.  Spruce up your "about me" page and tell the world a little about you and your purpose.  Be a little personal.  Remember, you’re building a community and that means getting a little personal.   Don’t get too personal but don’t come off as a cold brick wall either.  People like to see that you are actually human too.

Those are the basics, not that hard eh?  And here are a few links with more tips on business blogging and marketing your blog:

8 Tips for Building a Community on Your Blog – great ideas about how to socialize your blog and get people involved.

Online Marketing Wizards - info about finding and using keywords, submitting your blog and site to directories, generating traffic, and more. 

10 Principles of Successful Business Blogging – oldies but goodies.

A few more good tips – more information and reiteration of some of the points made here.

What othere tactics and principles have you found to make for a successful business blog?  Any must-do or must-not-dos? 

Karen J. for BestBusinessExpert.com

I was recently asked this question and, being the Internet fan that I am, I was honestly a bit perplexed.  "What businesses should blog?"  My question would, instead, be "what businesses shouldn’t blog?"

My first reaction to that question was, "What century are you living in to even ask that question?"  No matter how often I’m reminded of it, it never ceases to amaze me that so many people and business have not yet caught on. 

Blogs give any business a connection to their market, their customers, potential customers, potential partners; and, they open so many doors and opportunities.

it doesn’t matter how big or how small your business is, whether your business is an online business or an offline business (consider the possibilities of how you can integrate it to also be online), how successful your business is or what your business is.  You should have a blog. 

Blogs give you endless possibilities.  You can:

• Learn your market by being personal and "social" – this opens a two-way door rather than your one-way door website that doesn’t really allow for interaction.
• Get new ideas and feedback from readers about what they want, don’t want, like, dislike, etc.
• Build your brand and your status as an expert in your field.
• Establish real relationships with other leaders in your market as well as your customers.
• Use it as your "news" platform – make announcements, provide information about new product or service releases, special offers, etc.
• Give your "evangelists" a place to give you kudos.
• Drive traffic from your blog to your main site and vice-versa.
• Get creative with contests, give-aways, a "suggestion box", cool widgets that your readers will love and more.

The list goes on. There is so much you can do with your blog.  A blog is your business’ best friend.  Seriously.  It’s 2009 and the social aspect of the internet is booming, for everyone.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we’re way past the days of the boring ‘ol "phone book".  If you’re not social, those who are will probably be in a better position than you.  A blog is the perfect platform to make your business social and social has always beat anti-social.  Open the doors already!

Karen J. for BestBusinessExpert.com